Alabama basketball player charged with murder

The Alabama men’s basketball team has been rocked by news that one of their players, Darius Miles, has been charged with capital murder in connection with a fatal shooting which happened near the university campus on Sunday. According to reports, the 21-year-old junior reserve forward from Washington, D.C. was booked into the Tuscaloosa County Jail around 6:45 p.m. that same evening. The University announced that Miles is no longer part of the team.

Tuscaloosa police Capt. Jack Kennedy said the shooting occurred early Sunday morning in a strip close to the campus and 23-year-old Jamea Harris of the Birmingham area was killed. Miles and 20-year-old Michael Lynn Davis of Charles County, Maryland have both been charged with capital murder due to the shots being fired into a vehicle. Kennedy added that the only motive for the crime appears to have been a minor altercation between the accused and the victim.

Both the driver of the other car and Harris had no affiliation with the university, Kennedy said. Miles’ attorneys released a statement on Monday saying that he and his family were “heartbroken” and that he maintained his innocence.

The Alabama head coach, Nate Oats, expressed his condolences to Harris’ family and spoke briefly about Miles during a news conference on Monday. Oats said Miles had been dealing with a personal challenge and an ankle injury before the shooting occurred and that he had been away from the team last month. He also added that he had spoken to Miles’ mother and that Miles was the only team member connected to the shooting.

In a video posted by AL.com, Miles was seen being escorted into a law enforcement vehicle with an emotional goodbye to someone. Miles had played in 6 games this season and scored two points in Alabama’s 84-64 win over Jackson State on December 20th.