Police Say Darius Miles Handed Off Gun Used in Deadly Shooting in Brandon Miller’s Car
When former Bama basketballer Darius Miles gave his friend Michael Davis the gun he allegedly used to shoot and kill a 23-year-old mother on the Tuscaloosa Strip last month, it was in the back of superstar Brandon Miller's car, investigators said Tuesday.
The revelation came during a still-ongoing hearing to determine if Miles and his co-defendant Michael Davis will be granted bond -- they are both charged with capital murder and have been jailed without bond since mid-January.
It also marks the first time that another player's name has officially come up in the wake of the killing, although it was widely rumored that Miles and his teammates had been together on the Strip celebrating their dominant victory over the LSU Tigers on Jan. 14th.
The bond hearing began just before 9 a.m. Tuesday in a small, crowded courtroom built inside the Tuscaloosa County Jail, where cameras, phones and recording devices are forbidden.
The first witness on the stand was Investigator Branden Culpepper, a Tuscaloosa Police officer assigned to the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit who has led this case from its onset.
Culpepper said Davis and Miles got into a verbal disagreement with the boyfriend of the eventual victim, 23-year-old Jamea Harris. While they were all revelling on the Strip during the night of the 14th and morning of the 15th.
Culpepper said after the argument and just before the shooting, Miles texted Miller and asked him to bring a gun over in case the argument led to violence.
Davis got in the backseat of Miller's Dodge Charger, Miles allegedly gave him a .40 caliber handgun with "one in the head," meaning a round was chambered and the gun was ready to fire.
Soon after, Davis allegedly opened fire on the black Jeep in which Harris and her companions were sitting. Culpepper said video evidence, forensic evidence and witness testimony all corroborate the narrative that Davis fired first.
Harris was struck and killed, and the driver of the Jeep returned fire with a weapon of his own and struck Davis in the shoulder, Culpepper said. Davis was still wearing a sling for the injury Tuesday morning.
The driver of the Jeep fled the scene and made it to the nearby Walk of Champions where a University of Alabama Police cruiser was parked, sparking a major law enforcement response and investigation. Miles and Davis were arrested the following day and both charged with capital murder for their alleged roles in Harris' death.
Culpepper said Miles and Davis both lied about how Davis had come to be shot and denied any involvement in the shooting but said Miller's account of what preceded the shooting almost exactly matched what investigators gathered from video evidence and other witness testimony.
The hearing was still going on at 10 a.m. Tuesday -- stay connected to the Thread to learn if either defendant. both or neither will be granted bond.