COLUMN: An Unceasing Calamity

*This is an opinion column*

Editor's Note: This column has been updated to include statements issued Thursday by Kai Spears and his father, Marshall Athletic Director Christian Spears.

TUSCALOOSA, AL — I spent a full day writing this as a straight news story ... well-starched and buttoned up with objectivity.

So much for that.

I threw my notebook in the trash and started from scratch with what I had to pen this as a perspective column. This followed the University of Alabama late Wednesday night openly denying a New York Times report concerning the possibility of a fourth Crimson Tide basketball player on the scene of a fatal shooting in January that left a woman dead and a member of the team charged with capital murder.

No less, the revelation came hours ahead of the best team in UA history tipping off against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in Birmingham — and doing so as the No. 1 overall seed for first time in school history.

The New York Times story by Billy Witz focused on freshman walk-on Kai Spears, who was allegedly in the car with college basketball superstar Brandon Miller when his car was struck twice by bullets during the fatal shooting on Grace Street in January.

The freshman's father, Marshall University Athletic Director Christian Spears, issued a statement Thursday chastising the New York Times report.

"I am just incredibly disappointed in the irresponsible and demonstrably false reporting by the NY Times," he wrote. "We are exploring all legal options at this time."

While Spears does not appear any way involved in this tragedy, the chatter had started well before the headline started circulating, much like the initial gossip that Tide standouts Jaden Bradley and Brandon Miller — the reigning SEC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year — were at the scene the night of the shooting and possibly more involved in the investigation than many realized.

And this reporter vividly remembers that series of developments.

I've described it to folks like standing in a 100-year rainstorm. The droplets start and they're fairly easy to ignore at first. Then they gradually get heavier and, before you realize what's happened, you're under water — treading desperately for air and solid footing for a place to stand.

Indeed, numerous high-level sources just over the last few days had raised the possibility to Tuscaloosa Patch of a fourth UA basketball player at the scene on Jan. 15 when 23-year-old Jamea Harris was shot and killed on Grace Street near The Strip. And this did seem to line up with the lead homicide investigator saying in court that another unnamed individual was in Miller's car at the time of the shooting.

Going on nothing more than gut instinct, I figured the story about Spears could be true, but I only had a handful of compelling background sources and nothing in the way of official confirmation.

At least not enough to feel confident printing it, anyways.

Conversely, I thought at first it could be scuttlebutt spread by chatty townies after a New York Times reporter had started asking questions. And, just a few hours before tip-off, I still can't say if it's true with any kind of certainty.

Regardless, the UA Athletic Department sharply denied the story, responding to the New York Times with:

"Your story is inaccurate. Based on the information we have, there were no current student-athletes present at the scene other than Brandon Miller and Jaden Bradley, who are both fully cooperating witnesses. From the outset, UA Athletics has fully cooperated with law enforcement and supported their investigation.”

What's more, Kai Spears himself issued a statement on his Instagram Thursday that blasted the major newspaper following the New York Times report Wednesday.

"I have one thing to say — the report in the New York Times was 100% inaccurate and the writer had complete disregard for the truth," the freshman said. "I am trying to process and cope with these false statements that somehow have been published and then seen by so many."

The searing statements reinforced UA's position, despite the athletic department coming under fire at numerous turns for its timid approach to speaking on the situation from the time it first developed. After all, this reporter even made a rare appearance in the pool of Crimson Tide beat writers for head coach Nate Oats' press conference in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

Think back to that January day in the media room at Coleman Coliseum, which saw Oats offer up condolences to the Harris family, but decline to comment when asked if any other players were at the scene. Instead, questions were left unanswered and the team, sans Miles, traveled to Nashville and made easy work of Vanderbilt.

Time and again, the UA administration has failed to control the narrative around the program, as players not involved in the shooting have been peppered with questions about the shooting and left to twist in the wind during press conferences, while Oats has had to address the circumstances of the shooting almost every time he is in front of a TV camera.

The national scrutiny of the No. 1 seed Alabama men's basketball team has intensified with every win during the program's best regular season in school history and had in no way cooled as the team held its open practice at Legacy Arena in Birmingham Wednesday ahead of Thursday's first round matchup.

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At the same time, almost 58 miles to the west, former Crimson Tide forward Darius Miles and his childhood friend, Maryland native Michael Davis, sat behind bars inside the Tuscaloosa County Jail. Both were denied bond and were recently indicted for capital murder for their suspected roles in the fatal shooting in January.

In stark contrast to the glamor being enjoyed by his former teammates, Miles has expressed worries to his father concerning gang violence in jail and apparently fears for his safety. Also, the suspected triggerman, Michael Davis, still has a bullet in his shoulder and has had to leave the jail on more than one occasion to be treated for medical complications, according to his mother's testimony during his preliminary hearing in February.

As Tuscaloosa Patch learned this week, Miles doesn't have a driver's license and, until the fatal shooting on Jan. 15, had no prior criminal record. Instead, he had focused solely on the sport that earned him a full ride at The Capstone, where he became a minor contributor on one of the most iconic teams in school history.

But, as I wrote in a column the day after Miles was charged with capital murder, our heroes often fail and we have difficulty making sense of it.

The unceasing barrage of criticism leveled at the basketball program, however, doesn't appear to have had much in the way of impact when looking at the team's success on the court. This, despite everything from Oats having to issue an apology for his words regarding the case, to the controversy generated by the since-discarded pregame ritual for All-American Brandon Miller.

Indeed, those in the program are far from immune to the harsh realities of being a national pariah and Oats on Wednesday responded to media questions about armed guards protecting Miller in Birmingham.

As Patch previously reported, Miller was never charged in connection to the shooting, but did see his name come out in court during the preliminary hearing for Miles and Davis. This was because it was Miller who drove to the scene prior to the shooting after Miles had texted him asking for the superstar forward to bring him his legally owned handgun.

“If you guys saw some of what I’ve seen sent his way, I think you would understand why that’s the case,” Oats told media of the bodyguards on Wednesday. “And I don’t want to get into all that. The entire situation, as you know, is just a heart-breaking situation on all accounts. But some of the messages from people that can sit behind fake email addresses. But who knows whether they are real or not."

Oats then spoke to being a parent and reiterated the reported threats made against Miller — no doubt standing out more as a symptom of rabid college fandom than from any kind of sincere desire for justice for the victim.

"If you were able to see what I’ve seen then you would understand why that’s going on right now," he said. To Oats' credit, I've seen it with my own eyes on social media for the last three months ... erroneous stories from openly partisan news outlets, conjecture peddled as gospel and punditry of the most toxic variety.

DEVELOPING CIRCUMSTANCES

Legacy Arena will be packed this afternoon with the upper crust of Gump society and the fans lucky enough to secure tickets. Conversely, it goes without saying the family of Darius Miles will not be among the throngs of screaming fans in Birmingham for the historic tilt.

It also must be noted that the Miles family has mentioned Jamea Harris at every turn when publicly speaking on the fatal shooting and David Miles — his father — was interviewed for a nearly two-hour podcast by Maryland-area sports radio personality Butch McAdams earlier this week.

In the lengthy conversation, David Miles provided new insight regarding his son and vehemently railed against the circumstances of that fateful morning as they have been presented in the national media. His anecdotes ranged from Miles and Davis being friends since middle school, to maintaining his son's innocence based on the evidence laid out in court. And, to his credit, much of this could be corroborated by what this reporter has written about and what has been entered into the public record.

He spoke of how Darius Miles previously had a gun pulled on him during his time in Alabama and how, after the death of a friend, Miles encouraged Davis to move to Tuscaloosa and even secured his friend a job on the UA campus after lobbying on his behalf.

David Miles — a veteran of the war in Iraq who served six months before an injury cut short his tour of active service — also spoke out against Alabama's gun laws, especially a landmark change that went into effect on Jan. 1 that repealed the pistol permit requirement for the concealed possession of handgun. It's a hotly debated issue, but in the case of his son, Darius Miles legally owned his firearm and did not need any kind of documentation to possess the weapon.

The same legal protection under the law was also provided for Brandon Miller, who seems to have driven around that evening prior to the shooting without having any reason to think twice about his teammate's legally owned handgun being left in his car.

"If you go to Alabama, you can carry a gun without having paperwork on it," David Miles said. "You can be a resident of the state or non-resident and you can walk around the streets with a gun. Crazy, but that’s the law."

David Miles also took this opportunity on the airwaves to say the Miles family was in the "fight of our lives" and lamented what he views as twisted narratives pushed by major news outlets.

And once again to his point, the first interviews of Harris' mother that were published in the immediate aftermath of the shooting resulted in an initial story that accused Darius Miles of firing the fatal shot that killed Jamea Harris after she refused his advances — a notion that was roundly refuted as the basic circumstances of the shooting became clear.

Still, the damage was done and many to this day still labor under the false belief that it was Miles who pulled the trigger. In other instances, as Patch has previously reported, half-baked national coverage from openly partisan outlets reported instead that it was Brandon Miller who killed Harris. Facts be damned.

"Our family is looking for a platform to tell Darius's side of the story, to shed light on what the media said Darius did and didn’t do," David Miles said on Monday.

The elder Miles spent a great deal of the podcast rehashing the step-by-step progression of that January morning, providing some information that could be verified by testimony and evidence presented in court, while innocently getting some details mixed up in other instances.

Much of what David Miles said Monday echoes what the defense attorney for his son has argued in court, including testimony from current Crimson Tide basketball player Jaden Bradley, who was at the scene of the shooting.

Indeed, Bradley told investigators that Miles had been a calming presence when things got tense after Davis could be seen on video dancing in the street near the black Jeep that carried Harris, her boyfriend Cedric Johnson and her first cousin Asia Humphrey.

And it was during these few moments that tempers reportedly ran hot, with Miles telling investigators that he saw a gun passed from Harris to Johnson, who was sitting in the back seat of the Jeep.

Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit investigator Branden Culpepper testified in court that the occupants of the Jeep had just gotten something to eat from Quick Grill on The Strip and it could have just as likely been food that was being passed to the back seat.

Yet, David Miles and Mary Turner — the defense attorney for Darius Miles — have argued otherwise, claiming that Darius Miles' behavior on the surveillance video shows him trying to deescalate the situation and get his friends away from the Jeep. To their credit, video evidence viewed by Tuscaloosa Patch seems to corroborate such claims, as Miles could be seen doubling back and urging Davis to leave the area.

"Now, as he’s walking away ... [Miles] keeps looking back like he’s on alert," David Miles said on the podcast, insisting that the situation scared his son to the point that he began texting Miller to bring him his handgun, which had allegedly been left in Miller's Dodge Challenger before the group went out for the night. "Looking at the video for the first time, it’s over with as far as we’re concerned. There were no more interactions with the Jeep. It was over with."

According to information presented during the hearing, Miller did not join his teammates and Davis at Club 1225 and instead went to dinner at a nearby restaurant. But it must be noted that the three occupants of the Jeep had been in Club 1225 and, by all accounts, had no visible interactions with the basketball players and Davis.

David Miles went on to explain that once his son, Davis and Bradley had left the vicinity of the Jeep after leaving the club, Cedric Johnson could be seen on video getting out of the Jeep and favoring his side — as if he were concealing something.

It's worth noting that Johnson has not been charged in connection to the fatal shooting and has not commented publicly on the circumstances of that night.

"Cedric Johnson was going to the [Jeep] with food in his hand and wasn’t favoring his hip," David Miles said. "Then he gets out and is favoring his hip."

David Miles then argued his interpretation of the video evidence captured along The Strip that night, saying Johnson could be seen going across University Boulevard to talk to a group of individuals, who video evidence showed him meeting up with a short time later in the early morning hours prior to the fatal shootout on Grace Street.

This is where the rubber meets the road for the investigation.

Indeed, around 3-4 minutes before the shooting, video evidence at approximately 1:41 a.m. shows the Jeep pulling into the parking lot of Preston Place Apartments off of Grace Street. The driver, Johnson, then turns the vehicle's hazard lights on before a red car comes into the parking lot.

This prompted Johnson to get out of the Jeep and go to the driver's window of the red car.

While what was discussed is not known at this time, his gestures are animated and he appears to be agitated, before walking back to the Jeep and turning out onto Grace Street. This was not before he cut off the headlights of the Jeep.

It was shown during the preliminary hearing for Davis and Miles that after Johnson walked back to the Jeep, an individual gets something out the trunk of the red car before turning out of the parking lot to follow the Jeep.

When asked by investigators why they had initially stopped and turned on the Jeep's hazard lights, Johnson said it was because he was from Birmingham and they had been lost.

The defense, however, pointed out that Asia Humphrey — the other woman in the Jeep who testified during the preliminary hearing — was a junior at the University of Alabama at the time of the shooting, along with mentioning the different means of way-finding such as a GPS on one's phone.

During his podcast interview earlier this week, David Miles also mentioned the testimony that the occupants of the Jeep were "lost," before speculating as to their motives.

"Darius, at this time, you see him on video in the car with Jaden Bradley and Brandon Miller pulling up behind them [on Grace Street]," he said. "Cedric Johnson and them are still riding around with their lights out."

It was during this time that an unrelated physical altercation broke out involving the girlfriend of Darius Miles and several other women. Indeed, during the preliminary hearing it was mentioned that Michael Davis was in the scrum attempting to break up the fight and Miles can be seen getting out of Bradley's vehicle and trying to remove his girlfriend from the situation.

Tensions were high and it was during this time that Davis and Miles reportedly noticed the black Jeep riding around with its headlights off.

David Miles then argued that the Jeep was recorded again executing a U-turn and coming back down Grace Street in the direction of the two vehicles.

It was at this time that Davis and Miles can both be seen walking toward Miller's car, which was after Miles had texted Miller to bring him his gun. The defense argues this request was made because Miles feared for his own safety and that of his friends.

Violent Crimes Unit investigator Brendan Culpepper said dash cam audio from Miller's vehicle captured the brief conversation between Davis and Miles in the moments prior to the shooting, which recorded Davis asking Miles if there was a round in the chamber of the handgun.

Following this exchange, Davis walked away from the vehicle and Miles was recorded walking back to his girlfriend, urging her around the side of a nearby building to where her vehicle was parked after the fight she had been involved in.

Miles is then seen walking up to Jaden Bradley's vehicle, opening the door and shutting it, before walking to Miller's vehicle and doing the same thing. Then, the Jeep, still with its lights off, pulls in behind Miller's car.

At this point, Davis is reported to have run between the two vehicles before shots rang out. As of the publication of this story, intense debate persists over those few seconds ... including who fired first.

After Jamea Harris was struck in the face with a bullet that entered the vehicle through the driver's side windshield during the exchange of gunfire, Johnson then peeled back onto University Boulevard and made contact with a University of Alabama police officer near Bryant-Denny Stadium's Walk of Champions.

A short time later, Miles called 911 from University Downs apartments to report that his friend had been shot.

Two crime scenes were established by police — on Grace Street and at the Walk of Champions —well before it was mentioned in court that investigators recovered a revolver from the Jeep, along with a magazine for an unspecified firearm that has yet to be recovered.

This is also where David Miles does raise an interesting point, arguing on the podcast that "I don’t understand how it's physically possible for you to walk up on [a] vehicle, shoot [I.E. Jamea Harris] first, [Johnson] not get shot, but you can return fire and hit him [twice] if you didn’t already have your gun in position to fire. It’s just physically impossible."

While law enforcement was quick to identify Davis as one of the two individuals who fired shots during the altercation, the evidence against Miles seems far less airtight — lying to the 911 dispatcher about his knowledge of the circumstances of how Davis was shot, his pistol being the alleged handgun that fired the fatal shot and the opaque text message communications with Brandon Miller mentioning his gun.

But that evidence is for a jury to mull over and rule on at this point.

What should be discussed out in the open, however, is the university's handling of the optics regarding the tragedy and how its ham-fisted actions have helped feed the national narrative bearing down on our community.

This basketball team may very well be the first from Tuscaloosa to win it all, but the damage from a PR standpoint has been done and, regardless of the outcome, this tragedy is sure to hang over the story of this season for decades to come. And, as seen with everybody from David Miles to Dick Vitale ... everyone has a story or an opinion on the matter.

As March Madness kicks off, the heavy clouds, metaphorically speaking, are looming overhead and it seems like the chaos is far from subsiding.

Ryan Phillips is an award-winning journalist, editor and opinion columnist. He is also the founder and field editor of Tuscaloosa Patch. The views expressed in this column are his own and in no way reflective of any views held by our parent company or sponsors.