Alabama basketball player Darius Miles is one of two men charged with murder after being shot in Tuscaloosa on Sunday.
The shooting occurred at 2:45 a.m. ET and resulted in one casualty. Her 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris from Birmingham.
Miles, 21, was arrested along with Michael Lynn Davis, 20, after police spoke with multiple witnesses and confirmed video surveillance from the Strip where the shooting took place.
Miles was seen crying during a purp walk, in a video captured by AL.comand said to someone standing outside the Tuscaloosa County Jail:
“I love you. I love you more than you can imagine.”
What you need to know about Darius Miles and the murder charges he faces.
Who is Darius Miles?
Miles was a 21-year-old member of the Alabama basketball team. Jr. is in his third season with the program after joining the program as a three-star recruit and was expected to be a key player off the bench for Nate Oates’ team during the 2022-23 season.
As a sophomore, Miles averaged 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 17.2 minutes per game. This came after he played sparingly as a freshman. A further leap forward was expected in his junior year, but he was limited to six games with an ankle injury. He averaged 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per contest.
Miles left the team on December 28 due to what Oates deemed “personal issues”.
“I don’t know how long he’ll be out,” Oates said after Alabama’s win over Mississippi State. AL.com“We’re trying to support him and help him through it. That’s why he wasn’t on the bench tonight…”
Although no personal issues were disclosed, Miles was back on Alabama’s bench for a 106-66 victory over LSU on Saturday. He had been declared out of the season earlier in the day due to a nagging ankle injury.
Miles has since been fired from the team and expelled from campus as a result of the murder charges against him. His profile on the Alabama Athletics website has apparently been removed. Attempting to access returns a 404 error.
Where is Darius Miles from?
Miles is from Washington DC. He attended Theodore Roosevelt High School and starred in basketball for his team. This earned him a top 200 wanted rank and offers from Rutgers, Georgetown and Rhode Island. He ultimately chose to go to Alabama.
Darius Miles murder
Miles, along with Maryland native Michael Lynn Davis, have been charged with murder in connection with the shooting that killed Jamea Jonay Harris on The Strip in Tuscaloosa.
Tuscaloosa Police Capt. Jack Kennedy said police were dispatched to Bryant Denny Stadium early Sunday morning when a car approached them. A passenger in the car, Harris, was found dead on arrival.
The driver, who remained anonymous, told police that someone had shot at his car.
According to Kennedy, there was no previous relationship between the suspects, Miles and Davis, and either Harris or the driver.
“At this time, it appears that the shooting was the result of a minor altercation that occurred between the victim and the suspect after they met on the strip,” he explained at a press conference. AL.com.
Police did not specify the exact nature of the discussion. However, Harris’ mother Decara Cotton seems to have made it clear in her Facebook post:
“Took my baby’s life because she wouldn’t talk to him!!!!” she wrote.
I was told by Cotton AL.com Harris was “trying to enjoy a weekend with her cousin and her boyfriend who go to the University of Alabama.”
Miles was admitted to the Tuscaloosa County Jail at 6:45 pm ET. He and Davis must deal with the deadly murder charges they face.
Update (Jan 17th): According to ESPN, Citing investigators, Miles provided the gun used in the fatal shooting, but another man fired the weapon. Another man was accused by police of firing a gun and killing a young woman.
What is capital murder?
The capital murder is considered to be “the most serious violent crime in Alabama.” Dixon Law, LLCThis is a class A felony and carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison.
Furthermore, it means that capital punishment, also called the death penalty, is being considered.
Alabama is one of only 27 states in the United States that allow the death penalty. In fact, Alabama is only one of seven states that officially criminalizes capital murder within the state. Alabama, Arkansas, California, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Texas. Georgia has a similar provision known as “malicious murder.”
What constitutes capital murder? Dixon Rowe explains that it usually involves premeditated and premeditated murder. However, Alabama has other provisions for offenses including, but not limited to:
- Murder for employment.
- Murder of any kind of police officer or other state or federal peace officer.
- Homicide Two or more persons were killed by the defendant as part of a single act or course of action.
- Murder by a defendant convicted of another murder within the last 20 years.
- Murder of a victim under the age of 14.
That said, Alabama law classifies the following two offenses as capital offenses in accordance with the Dixon Act, so Miles is most likely charged with murder.
- A murder committed with or with a deadly weapon while the victim is in the vehicle.
- Murder committed by or through the use of lethal weapons fired or otherwise used in or from a vehicle.
So, if convicted, Miles could face a lengthy prison sentence, or even worse.
