Alabama Basketball Player Darius Miles And Friend Michael Lynn Davis Indicted On Capital Murder Charges

Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and friend Michael Lynn Davis were indicted, as expected, by a Tuscaloosa grand jury on capital murder charges Friday. The indictments stem from the shooting death of Jamea Jonae Harris on Jan. 15 near the Alabama campus.

Miles, who was kicked off the Alabama team after his arrest on Jan. 15, and Davis are expected to have separate trials. They have remained in jail since Jan. 15. The two have been friends since their childhood in Washington D.C.

Alabama basketball player Darius Miles played briefly this season before suffering an injury and then being kicked off the team after his arrest on Jan. 15 on a capital murder charge. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Miles told Tuscaloosa Police he gave his gun to Davis at about 1:45 a.m. on Jan. 15 outside a bar, and police say Davis shot Harris multiple times. The police report says Davis was interested in Harris, who did not reciprocate.

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"We were expecting it all along," Davis' attorney John Robbins said after the grand jury's ruling. "We're happy 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 any client's right to protect himself when someone points a gun at him and shoots him."

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Police said Davis shot at Harris and her boyfriend Cedric Johnson first. Johnson also had a gun.

Miles' attorney Mary Turner said her client should not have been charged with capital murder.

"We are disappointed that the government (prosecuting attorneys) presented this case to the grand jury as capital murder, considering the evidence uncovered during our investigation," she said. "And the obvious weaknesses in the government's case brought to light during the preliminary hearing."

Turner did not specify the weaknesses in the prosecution's case.

Brandon Miller Put At Murder Scene With Darius Miles

At the preliminary hearing on Feb. 21, Alabama star basketball player Brandon Miller was linked to the crime. Police said he brought the murder weapon to the scene. Miles had left his gun in Miller's car and texted him after 1 a.m. that Saturday, asking him to bring him the gun.

"I need my joint (gun slang)," Miles said to Miller in the text, according to Tuscaloosa Police detective Branden Culpepper's testimony in the preliminary hearing.

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Miller, though, has not been charged as an accomplice or as an accessory to the crime. The University of Alabama also never suspended or disciplined Miller, a superstar freshman who leads the team in scoring with 19.6 points a game.

Just named the Southeastern Conference player and freshman of the year, Miller has continued to play for the No. 4 Crimson Tide (26-5) that won the SEC regular season at 16-2.

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Alabama is expected to receive a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament that starts next week. Miller scored 18 points with nine rebounds and five assists in a 72-49 win over Mississippi State Friday afternoon in the SEC Tournament in Nashville.

"Everybody's just leaning on each other," Miller said after the game when asked how he has dealt with so much off the court.

Before the tournament, Miller spoke about the murder at a press conference in Nashville.

"I never lose sight of the fact that a family lost one of their loved ones that night," he said. "This whole situation is just really heartbreaking. Respectfully, that's all I'm going to say on that."

Former Auburn and NBA basketball star Charles Barkley, who is a TNT commentator, said Miller should have been arrested, or at least suspended by Alabama.

“He should have been given a timeout to learn decisions have consequences,” Barkley said. "He’s lucky Alabama is behind the times. In 49 other states, he probably would have been charged with a crime."