Darius Miles (left) and Michael Lynn Davis charged with capital murder. Police say one of them killed Jamea Jonae Harris in an “unnecessary” shooting. (Images via Tuscaloosa Police Department)
A University of Alabama basketball player and one other man have been charged with capital murder following a young woman’s shooting death. Speaking to reporters in a press conference on Sunday, Tuscaloosa police Capt. Jack Kennedy of the Tuscaloosa Police Department declined to say whether athlete Darius Hairston Miles, 21, or co-defendant Michael Lynn Davis, 20, pulled the trigger, but the captain added that investigators do know who did it.
“Unnecessary” was the word that Kenney used to describe 23-year-old victim Jamea Jonae Harris being shot to death this weekend.
“It appears at this time that the shooting was the result of a minor argument that occurred between the victims and suspects after they encountered each other along the strip,” police wrote in a statement obtained by Law&Crime.
City and university police responded at approximately 1:45 a.m. on Sunday near Bryant-Denny Stadium, cops said. A driver had stopped there on seeing a university police vehicle and sought help.
“The vehicle, in addition to the driver, contained a deceased female that had been shot,” police said. “The driver reported that their vehicle had been shot into, and that he had also returned fire in self-defense, and may have struck a suspect. As mentioned earlier, the vehicle only stopped at the Walk of Champions for help, and it was quickly determined that the shooting had occurred at another location, the 400 Block of Grace Street off of University Blvd. (The Strip).”
Police claim that Miles and Davis, a Maryland man without an affiliation to the University of Alabama, were responsible.
Cops said that one of the defendants did have a gunshot wound, though it was non-life threatening. Speaking on Sunday, Kennedy declined to tell reporters which of them was injured. Miles was seen on video shortly after being escorted into a police vehicle.
“I love you more than you imagine,” he said, handcuffed and apparently emotional, to someone off-screen.
Police know of no prior relationship between Harris and her alleged killers, Kennedy said. The two are being being held without bond at the Tuscaloosa County Jail.
“Darius Miles and his family are heartbroken tonight over the death of Jamea Jonae Harris,” Miles attorneys William White, Clayton Tartt, and Suzanne Norman said in a statement to Law&Crime. “While Darius has been accused of being involved with this tragedy, he maintains his innocence and looks forward to his day in court. Our firm’s own investigation is ongoing, and no further statement will be made at this time.”
The University of Alabama expressed condolences to Harris’ family and friends, and they said they kicked Miles off the basketball team.
“We were made aware of the recent charge against student-athlete Darius Miles,” they said in a statement obtained by Birmingham-based Fox affiliate WBRC. “He has been removed from campus and is no longer a member of the Alabama men’s basketball team.”
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