Immunity Hearing For Darius Miles Continued To Later Date

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Following a second day of testimony and discussions over evidence, the immunity hearing for former Alabama men's basketball player and capital murder suspect Darius Miles has been continued to a later date due to issues with witnesses and timing.

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Circuit Court Judge Daniel Pruet has yet to set a date for the hearing to resume.

As Patch previously reported, multiple witnesses took the stand on Monday during the first day of the hearing, which saw discussions mainly focus on video footage being admitted as evidence.

What's more, Monday also saw Judge Pruet issue a bench warrant for witness Shu'Bonte Greene, who had not shown up to testify in court after being served a subpoena for the immunity hearing.

Tuesday's hearing began at 9 a.m., but was twice recessed before police brought Greene from the Birmingham area to testify. This was not before Pruet confirmed the news that the state would not seek the death penalty in its case against Miles.

Miles is being tried separately from his childhood friend Michael Davis, who allegedly used the handgun owned by Miles in the shooting that killed 23-year-old Jamea Harris.

Patch previously reported that it was Greene who was alleged to be the driver of a red Impala shown in security footage that meets up in the parking lot of an apartment complex with the Jeep driven by Cedric Johnson — the boyfriend of Harris and the father of her child.

Also in the Jeep was Harris's cousin, Asia Humphrey, who initially testified at the preliminary hearing for Miles and Michael Lynn Davis in February.

Under oath on Tuesday as a hostile witness, Greene was questioned by defense attorney Mary Turner of the Turner Law Group, the firm representing Miles.

Greene explained that he has known Cedric Johnson, who shot Davis twice during the shootout on Grace Street the morning of Jan. 15, for roughly 14 years and considered him like a brother, despite not being related by blood.

Johnson has not been served a subpoena to testify during the immunity hearing, despite extensive efforts by the Turner Law Group and its contracted private investigations firm.

Turner went on to ask about Johnson and Greene's shared ties to a criminal gang in the Birmingham area referred to as the West End Money Gang. The defense also said images from social media seem to validate some connection.

Greene responded that while they both had been members of the gang, both men had quit after learning that "it wasn't what we thought it was."

Shu'Bonte Greene testifies

The evening of Jan. 14, Greene said it was Jamea Harris' idea to travel from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa and she was joined by her boyfriend and cousin in making the trip the night of Alabama men's basketball's home game against the LSU Tigers in Tuscaloosa.

Greene, joined by Jack Thompson and KeeVon Johnson, followed in a red Chevy Impala that Greene's mother would report stolen following the shootout on Grace Street.

KeeVon Johnson died in March at the age of 26.

Greene said he first stopped at Krispy Kreme in Tuscaloosa that evening, before meeting back up with Harris, Cedric Johnson and Humphrey at Club Twelve25 on The Strip.

Click the link below for a minute-by-minute timeline of the events of the fatal shooting.

ALSO READ: Bama Basketball Shooting Latest | Video Evidence Illuminates Tragedy

Turner focused on one interaction in the moments immediately prior to the shooting, around 1:41 a.m., when the black Jeep driven by Johnson can be seen meeting with the red Impala driven by Greene.

Johnson gets out of the Jeep and the two can be seen having a conversation before Thompson — a passenger in the back seat of the Impala — gets out and retrieves something from the trunk.

Turner claims that the item retrieved was a shotgun allegedly fired around the time of the shootout that killed Jamea Harris.

Greene said he could not recall if there had been a shotgun in the vehicle, despite Turner alleging that Greene told private investigator David Hill that Thompson "got the pump out the trunk."

Greene argued that this testimony was only given after Hill had told him about the video — footage he had not seen until Tuesday in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court.

Following this action, Greene confirmed during his testimony that he pulled out of the parking lot to follow Johnson, Harris and Humphrey in the black Jeep.

At one point, Greene broke from answering questions and told Turner that he didn't want to talk to her due to the questions relating to his role in the shooting. Despite Turner bringing up his Greene's extensive criminal record, he said on the stand that, yes, he had been arrested for different crimes in the past, "but not for murder."

"I ain't no suspect," he said. "I didn't do nothing."

After following the Jeep out of the parking lot and into the area where the shooting occurred, Greene also confirmed that the Jeep cut its headlights off as it pulled close to the eventual crime scene on Grace Street.

Greene later told police at the Walk of Champions, where Johnson drove the Jeep after Harris had been shot and stopped when he spotted a University of Alabama Police officer, that he saw a gun go off and didn't know who fired first.

Prior to getting to the Walk of Champions on foot, Greene said during his testimony that he got out of the vehicle and let Jack Thompson drive the car to another location.

When asked by Turner why he didn't tell police about the two other men with him or the interaction with Cedric Johnson immediately prior to the shooting, Greene said he "didn't think it was important."

Turner's questions for Greene on the stand concluded with Cedric Johnson and if Greene had ever seen him with a gun. While Greene said he had not, he did say Johnson had a pistol permit prior to the Alabama law changing on Jan. 1 repealing the state's requirement for a permit to conceal carry a handgun.

The hearing concluded with several short videos being published into the record, including a clip taken at 1:42 a.m. that shows the Jeep cutting off its headlights right before it turns on Grace Street in the direction of the cars driven by Alabama basketball players Jaden Bradley and Brandon Miller.

Turner has insisted throughout the case that the headlights being turned off is telling with respect to Johnson's motives in driving up to where the group of Alabama basketball players were parked after Miles and Davis broke up an unrelated fight involving a large group of women near CVS off of the Strip.

The Tuscaloosa County District Attorney's Office said at one point during the hearing that it has five dash camera videos from Miller's vehicle, to which Judge Pruet said the court would circle back on the logistics of the videos as they relate to the immunity hearing.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, an immunity hearing allows a judge to rule on aspects of self-defense in certain cases if the evidence is conclusive enough. This is to save both time and money for a lengthy trial if enough evidence is available to make a definitive ruling. Otherwise, the case is sent to a jury trial.

It was Miller's dash cam that reportedly recorded a verbal interaction between Miles and Michael Davis where someone, allegedly Miles, can be heard saying where the gun is located in the back of Miller’s car.

This occurred just minutes after Miles claimed to have seen a handgun passed to Cedric Johnson in the back seat of the Jeep during a brief verbal altercation between Johnson and Davis on the Strip.

Defense attorneys for Miles have also claimed that the text messages sent from their client to Miller relating to his legally owned handgun left in the vehicle show that Miles was afraid for his safety and that of others.

Judge Daniel Pruet adjourned the proceeding and said he would set a date in the next day or so for when the immunity hearing will resume.

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