Alabama basketball player Darius Miles was charged with capital murder in a shooting incident early Sunday morning in the Strip off University Blvd. near campus.
Miles, 21, a junior reserve forward from Washington, D.C., and Michael Lynn Davis, 20, of Charles County, Maryland, were both charged for the death of Jamea Harris, 23, of the Birmingham area.
Capital murder charges
“At this time, it appears that the only motive was a minor altercation that these individuals had with the victim as they were out on The Strip,” Kennedy said in a news conference Sunday evening. They didn’t have a previous relationship, he said.
He said the driver of another vehicle, in which Harris was a passenger, approached campus police near Bryant-Denny Stadium at about 1:45 a.m. saying that someone had shot into the vehicle, and he fired back.
One of the suspects was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital. Kennedy declined to disclose who fired the gun or who was hurt.
An emotional Miles, accused of capital murder, spoke to someone as he was being ushered into a law enforcement vehicle: “I swear I love you more than you can imagine.”
Miles was a reserve on the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide team. Alabama had announced before Saturday’s game against LSU that he was out for the season with an ankle injury. His bio has been removed from the athletic department website and the university said that he “has been removed from campus” and is no longer on the team.
Grieving
In a statement, officers of the university said “The University of Alabama’s utmost priority is the safety and well-being of the campus community……We are grieved by the incident that occurred near campus and extend our deepest condolences to the victim’s family and friends.”
Neither the driver of the other vehicle nor Harris nor Davis appeared to be affiliated with the university, Kennedy said.