Bama Basketball Shooting Latest: Attorneys Claim DA's Office Withholding Evidence

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Defense attorneys for former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles have filed a motion requesting a judge to order the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney's Office to produce evidence they claim has been withheld from the defense.

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As Patch previously reported, Miles and his childhood friend — Maryland native Michael Lynn Davis — are both charged with capital murder in the Jan. 15 shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris during an early morning shootout on Grace Street near The Strip.

In a motion filed in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court on Tuesday, the Turner Law Group motioned that the court issue an order compelling the DA's office to provide the specified evidence within seven days of the order being issued.

Defense attorney Mary Turner argues that Miles was arrested and charged with capital murder within 15 hours of the shooting. In the interim period that followed, the Turner Law Group says it has sought security camera video from businesses near the shooting, only for business owners to inform them that the video evidence had been turned over to law enforcement.

Business owners also reportedly said law enforcement informed them that the Turner Law Group could obtain the video evidence from police. What's more, investigators for the Turner Law Group who were seeking to obtain video from one of the businesses was threatened with the possibility of arrest for criminal trespassing.

On Jan. 20 — less than a week after the fatal shooting — the Turner Law Group says it requested certain evidence from the District Attorney's Office, only to be told that the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit had not finished its investigation. This, despite charging Miles and Davis with capital murder the day of the shooting.

In response, the Turner Law Group issued subpoenas to various businesses near the shooting to obtain security camera footage from Jan. 14 – 15. This included Unique Bar, along with video from the City of Tuscaloosa and the University of Alabama.

However, the owner of Unique reportedly told defense attorneys that he could not comply with the subpoena because his equipment failed. Turner then points out that, prior to the equipment failure, the owner stated that law enforcement officers were able to secure video footage.

Prior to the preliminary hearing for Davis and Miles in February, the Turner Law Group on Feb. 13 contacted the District Attorney’s Office to request to view video from Unique Bar and the City of Tuscaloosa, who both stated their video footage was delivered to the DA's Office prior to the preliminary hearing.

Turner says the District Attorney’s Office refused this request. Three days later, the Tuscaloosa law firm made a similar request regarding footage from the University of Alabama that had been delivered to the DA's office. This request was also refused.

"Instead, the District Attorney’s Office stated that they would be removing this evidence out of its office and giving it to law enforcement," the motion filed on Tuesday says.

Both the City of Tuscaloosa and University of Alabama filed motions to quash the subpoenas, Turner said, with both saying the footage had been delivered to the District Attorney's Office.

Then, on Feb. 17, the University of Alabama sent a courtesy copy of its motion to the DA's office and defense attorneys, to which the DA's office reportedly denied any such footage was in its possession.

It's worth noting that Patch obtained copies of the separate motions filed by Tuscaloosa's Associate City Attorney Kimberly King and Caty Waldrop from the Office of Counsel for the University of Alabama System, which both support Turner's claims that the evidence was delivered to the DA's Office by both entities.

The Tuscaloosa County District Attorney's Office did not respond to requests from the Turner Law Group to comment on the conflicting statements.

"The Defendant’s attorneys were able to obtain footage from other businesses in the area that did comply with their subpoenas and were able to show at the preliminary hearing that the Jeep belonging to Jamea Harris, that was being driven by Cedric Johnson, circled the area after an interaction with the Defendant and met up with a Red Impala, which was driven by Shubonte Greene," the motion from the Turner Law Group reads.

As Patch previously reported, extensive video evidence viewed firsthand by Patch corroborates such claims, leading to the possibility of the case becoming a matter of self-defense.

This is a crucial piece of evidence for the defense, as Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit investigator Branden Culpepper said on the stand during the preliminary hearing that he believed Greene was the only occupant of the red Impala — a notion easily debunked during the preliminary hearing when video evidence showed another passenger get out of the Impala to retrieve something from the trunk of the vehicle.

The Turner Law Group goes on to argue that Culpepper testified that no investigation had been conducted to identify the other occupants of the Red Impala. This is also corroborated by a copy of the transcript from the preliminary hearing.

Another piece of video evidence presented during the preliminary hearing that has also been viewed numerous times by Patch shows the Jeep pulling up to the yield sign at Grace Street after circling the block and turning its headlights off the second Michael Davis — who is on foot — comes into view.

Culpepper, however, insisted that Johnson told investigators that he and the two other occupants of the Jeep, one being a University of Alabama student, were lost at the time and decided to cut their lights off.

In the push to get additional video evidence to support their client's claims, the Turner Law Group says it filed a motion for discovery on March 13 before sending a follow-up email last week to remind the DA's Office that discovery was due on March 27.

As of the publication of this story, the Turner Law Group says it has not received a response to its emails.

Monday represented the deadline for discovery and the Turner Law Group reportedly emailed the DA's office to see about picking up the discovery file.

Instead, the defense attorneys were informed that the District Attorney's Office had not received the felony packet from the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit — citing that it is considered "common practice" of the District Attorney’s Office that before a case is presented to the Grand Jury that a felony packet with discovery is sent to the District Attorney’s Office from the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit.

"The Violent Crimes Unit’s felony packet may not be 'received' yet; however, the District Attorney’s Office was able to conduct a preliminary hearing without its felony pack being received," Turner argues in the motion filed on Tuesday. "The District Attorney’s Office was able to present this case to a Grand Jury and obtain an indictment for Capital Murder without its felony pack being received. But now the District Attorney’s Office is using the alleged fact that 'the felony pack has not been received' as an excuse to not provide required information that has been confirmed to be in the District Attorney’s Office’s possession."

Still, Turner says it is not the felony packet that the law firm wants. Rather, defense attorneys for Darius Miles claim they simply want access to the video evidence that was delivered to the DA's Office.

Turner says the information is necessary to prepare for the new bond hearing before Circuit Judge Daniel Pruet, which is set for May 24, as Patch previously reported.

She also said the discovery file is necessary to assist in investigators for the defendant locating and talking to witnesses, especially the ones that law enforcement did not interview — namely Cedric Johnson, who shot Michael Davis twice during the shootout on Grace Street.

As Patch previously reported, attempts by defense attorneys to serve Johnson with a subpoena to testify as a witness have failed at all turns. Greene, the driver of the red Impala, was served a subpoena to testify at the preliminary hearing in February, but did not show up to court.

Patch has noted in past coverage that District Attorney Hays Webb, citing professional ethics, had said he will not comment on pending cases.

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