Ex-Alabama basketball player Darius Miles was indicted on capital murder charges Friday for the Jan. 14 slaying of Jamea Jonae Harris.
Miles admitted to providing the gun his friend Michael Lynn Davis used to allegedly shoot Harris in a car in Tuscaloosa, according to his deposition and charge sheet.
“We are not surprised with the indictment. We were expecting it all along,” Davis’ attorney John Robbins told ESPN. “We’re happy that the state moved quickly on this matter so we can get into court and get this case tried as quickly as we can before a jury.
“We are going to vigorously defend this case and defend my client’s right to protect himself when someone points a gun at him and shoots him.”
Davis and Miles reportedly got into an altercation with Harris’ boyfriend, Cedric Johnson, in which Miles claimed he saw a gun being passed around Johnson’s Jeep.
Johnson says it was food, not a gun.
Miles texted then-Alabama teammate Brandon Miller to bring him his gun — which Miles had brought in Miller’s car — though it remains unclear if Miller saw the request.
Miller’s lawyers say he did not touch the weapon at any point.
Police testified on Feb. 21 that at 1:45 a.m., Davis and Johnson exchanged gunfire.
Davis then allegedly ran across the street, firing into Johnson’s vehicle, killing Harris.
Miles, a junior, was kicked off the Crimson Tide basketball team following his arrest.
Miller, a potential lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, has not faced any discipline from the team or school.
He has since drawn taunts from opposing fans and the ire of Harris’ parents, and was rebuked for a pre-game “frisk” introduction.
Miller addressed the shooting on Mar. 8, calling it “heartbreaking.”
“I never lose sight of the fact that a family has lost one of their loved ones that night,” Miller said. “This whole situation is just really heartbreaking. Respectfully, that’s all I’m going to be able to say on that.”
Alabama, the nation’s No. 4 ranked team at 26-5, will likely be a top seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
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