Alabama star freshman Brandon Miller brought the gun that teammate Darius Miles allegedly used in a January killing in Tuscaloosa, according to police testimony cited by AL.com. The shooting led to capital murder charges against Miles, who was dismissed from the team. Another man, Michael Davis, was also charged with capital murder in the shooting which left Jamea Jonae Harris dead.
Miller's role, which was not revealed publicly until Tuesday's law enforcement testimony, has not resulted in charges or known punishment from within the team. Miller is regarded as a likely lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Tuscaloosa chief deputy District Attorney Paula Whitley told Al.com that "there's nothing we could charge him with."
Citing the testimony of Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit officer Branden Culpepper, the Tuscaloosa News reported that the gun belonged to Miles and Miller provided the weapon upon Miles' request. Miller's windshield was hit twice by gunfire during the altercation, according to police testimony cited by Al.com.
In a Wednesday statement from Miller's attorney, Jim Standridge, he claimed that Miller "never touched the gun, was not involved in its exchange to Mr. Davis in any way, and never knew that illegal activity involving the gun would occur."
The statement also denies an allegation that Miller's vehicle blocked the victim's vehicle.
"Brandon has submitted to multiple interviews to assist law enforcement in further understanding the situation, he has volunteered to have his phone contents extracted as well as that of the contents of his automobile," the statement said. "He will continue to cooperate as any citizen should who has witnessed a serious incident. Brandon does not own a firearm and has never even handled a firearm. Moreover, he had no knowledge of any intent to use any weapon."
Alabama coach Nate Oats told reporters on Tuesday that his star forward "hasn't been in any type of trouble nor is he in any type of trouble in this case."
"Wrong spot at the wrong time," Oats said.
Those comments from Oats drew a plethora of criticism, and the Tide coach later attempted to clarify them.
"I thought it was important for me to clarify the unfortunate remarks I made earlier," Oats said in a statement. "This entire time I've tried to be thoughtful in my words relative to this tragic incident, and my statements came across poorly. We were informed by law enforcement of other student-athletes being in the vicinity, and law enforcement has repeatedly told us that no other student-athletes were suspects—they were witnesses only. Our understanding is that they have all been fully truthful and cooperative.
"In no way did I intend to downplay the seriousness of this situation or the tragedy of that night. My prayers continue to go out to Jamea Harris's family."
Alabama plays at South Carolina on Wednesday night in the team's first game since Tuesday's court testimony shed new light on the case.
