Ex-University of Alabama basketball player Darius Miles pleads not guilty to murder in shooting
By Amy Simonson, CNN
Former University of Alabama basketball player Darius Miles pleaded not guilty Monday to a capital murder charge in connection with a shooting in January, court records show.
A waiver of arraignment filed in the Circuit Court of Tuscaloosa County indicates an attorney for Miles entered the not guilty plea, almost three months after he was arrested for his alleged involvement in the shooting that killed Jamea Jonae Harris, 23, near the University of Alabama campus in mid-January.
Prosecutors have accused Miles of aiding and abetting his co-defendant, who they say fired the shot that killed Harris, who police found in the early morning hours of January 15.
Witnesses said Miles gave the shooter the weapon, according to depositions from a Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office investigator, which also said Miles admitted to providing the shooter with the handgun immediately prior to the shooting.
In February, a judge ordered both Miles and his co-defendant, Michael Lynn Davis, held without bond.
Miles, who was removed from the basketball team after the university learned of the charge, was a junior at the university, according to an archived version of the men’s basketball team roster. He was in the midst of playing his third season as a forward for the Alabama Crimson Tide, the archived page shows.
The team’s star player, Brandon Miller — slated to be picked near the top of June’s NBA draft — was a “cooperative witness” and “not considered a suspect” in the case, according to the Alabama athletic department.
A law enforcement officer testified that Miles had texted Miller to bring Miles’ gun to the scene where the shooting happened, according to CNN affiliate WBMA.
Miller, who is not charged with any crime, spoke in early March for the first time since the shooting, calling it “heartbreaking.”
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