Immunity Hearing Requested For Former Tide Basketball Player In Capital Murder Case

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Defense attorneys for former Alabama basketball player and capital murder suspect Darius Miles have requested a pre-trial immunity hearing that could see Circuit Court Judge Daniel Pruet rule on aspects of self-defense following the shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris.

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While a date has not been set, defense attorney Mary Turner of the Turner Law Group filed the motion on Wednesday in the hopes that evidence will show Miles had no knowledgeable role in the fatal shooting on Grace Street the morning of Jan. 15.

As Patch previously reported, a pre-trial immunity hearing consists of the presiding judge being presented all available evidence and given the opportunity to issue a ruling if there is a clear case of self-defense — thus avoiding a lengthly and costly trial.

In theory, Pruet could issue a ruling dropping the charges against Miles if the defense can prove that his actions fell within the parameters of Alabama's "Stand Your Ground" law — a nebulous law that has various interpretations, considering whose opinion of the law is being offered.

If Pruet denies the motion, the defense attorneys for Miles will still be able to advocate for their client's innocence to a jury at trial.

ALSO READ: Understanding Alabama's Self-Defense Laws

Miles was denied bond during a second bond hearing in May, after the former Alabama basketball player and Washington, D.C.-native was charged with capital murder for allegedly providing the gun used in the fatal shooting by his childhood friend Michael Davis.

It's worth noting that Davis was shot twice by Harris's boyfriend Cedric Johnson during the shootout and Johnson was served a subpoena by the Turner Law Group to testify at a later date during the bond hearing in May. Johnson has not, at any point, been teased as a suspect nor has he been charged with any criminal offense relating to the shooting death of the mother of his child.

As Patch previously reported, Turner has argued at length for the innocence of her client, saying he felt threatened following a verbal altercation on the Strip between Davis and Johnson, during which he claims to have seen Harris — sitting in the passenger seat of her Jeep as her cousin was behind the wheel — hand a pistol to Johnson sitting in the back seat.

In the minutes that followed, Turner says potential witnesses, including Shu'Bonte Greene, could be seen on video driving a red Chevy Impala the morning of the shooting.

At one point during the video evidence presented during the preliminary hearing in February, Johnson can be seen interacting with Greene and two other men in the parking lot of a nearby apartment complex — within walking distance of where the shooting occurred.

In one of the new revelations during the latest hearing in May, Turner said Greene was unable to testify because he is currently in jail in Jefferson County. Identifying the two other men has also been difficult for the defense, with Turner saying during the most recent hearing that one of the men is believed to have died in the few months since the shooting.

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

Still, Turner pointed out that, as seen on security camera footage, Johnson meets with Greene in the parking lot of an apartment complex a street over from where the shooting occurred minutes later. It's during this interaction that Turner says one of the men gets out of the Impala and retrieves a shotgun from the car's trunk.

Regarding the fatal shooting, however, Turner has insisted — which is corroborated by video evidence viewed by Tuscaloosa Patch — that Miles was not the shooter on the morning of Jan. 15 and was not even present at the scene.

Indeed, as Patch previously reported, Miles and his girlfriend were believed to have picked up Davis immediately after the shooting and claimed to not know how he had been shot before Miles called 911.

At one point during the hearing in May, Turner said Miles was a block away from the scene when shots were fired. Conversely, Whitley argued that Miles, instead, intentionally got his girlfriend out of the way in the moments prior to the shooting because he knew what was about to happen.

Nevertheless, the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney's Office claims that Miles provided the handgun to Davis, knowing it would be used in the commission of a violent crime.

Judge Pruet has yet to rule on the motion for an immunity hearing and no new court dates have been set as of the publication of this story.

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