A University of Alabama basketball player has been arrested for fatally shooting a woman near the Tuscaloosa campus. Darius Miles, 21, a star player of the Alabama university basketball team was arrested along with 20-year-old Michael Lynn Davis for allegedly opening fire at a car that killed one of the woman passengers.
Jamea Jonae Harris, the 23-year-old passenger, was struck by a bullet and died on the spot, cops said. Miles was caught on camera profusely weeping as he was perp-walked in handcuffs to a police car by a couple of cops after being charged with capital murder at the Tuscaloosa County Jail on Sunday.
Sportsman or Criminal
On Sunday, Miles yelled, "I swear I love you more than you can imagine" as he was loaded into a waiting police cruiser as he was escorted out of the Tuscaloosa County Jail on camera. It is not known who he was telling these words.
According to police, Miles and 20-year-old Michael Lynn Davis were arrested for reportedly firing fire at a car in "The Strip," an area close to campus, at around 1:45 in the morning, according to a local ABC News affiliate station.
Jamea Jonae Harris, a 23-year-old passenger, was shot and killed, according to the police. One of the suspects was shot and hurt when the driver of the second car started firing. It was not clear which suspect was shot.
Investigators believe the two parties had gotten into a little fight along "The Strip" before the shots were fired.
"At this time, it appears that the only motive was a minor altercation that these individuals had with the victim as they were out on The Strip," Kennedy said in a news conference Sunday evening. They didn't have a previous relationship, he said.
According to Tuscaloosa Police Captain Jack Kennedy, the death involved gunshots fired into a car, which led to the capital murder charge.
Kennedy said that at around 1:45 a.m., the driver of a different vehicle, in which Harris was a passenger, contacted campus police near Bryant-Denny Stadium and reported that someone had shot into it. The driver then allegedly returned fire.
The driver claimed that he may have hit a suspect with his return fire out of self-defense, and the suspect was later treated for non-life-threatening wounds at a nearby hospital.
Career-Damaging Incident
The incident, according to AL.com, took place near Bryant-Denny Stadium, where the Crimson Tide football team plays in front of 100,000 spectators, on the 400 Block of Grace Street off of University Boulevard.
Miles, a junior at the University of Alabama and a native of Washington, D.C., played forward for the team. He was reportedly benched during the team's game against Louisiana State University on Saturday due to an ankle injury.
Prior to that, Nate Oats, the team's coach, had said on December 28 that he "wasn't sure how long he'll be out" due to the player's absence due to a "personal problem."
Following the arrest of Miles on murder charges, the university expelled him from the team, according to a statement.
"We were made aware of the recent charge against student-athlete Darius Miles; he has been removed from campus and is no longer a member of the Alabama men's basketball team," the university said.
Additionally, the institution is providing its students with counseling services. Kennedy stated that neither the driver of the other car, Harris, nor Davis seemed to be connected to the institution.
