Alabama star freshman Brandon Miller brought the gun to teammate Darius Miles that was used fatally shoot Jamea Jonae Harris last month, according to police testimony discovered by AL.com.
Miller’s role in the murder was unclear until Tuesday. District Attorney Paula Whitle said the SEC Player of the Year frontrunner will not be charged due to his role. According to AL.com reporting, Darius Miles — a then Alabama basketball player who is one of two people the Alabama PD charged with the murder — texted Miller to bring him his gun the night of the shooting.
After bringing the gun to Miles, Miller and fellow freshman teammate Jaden Bradley’s cars blocked the road where the Jeep, Harris and her boyfriend were in, was parked.
Miller’s attorney, Jim Standridge, released a statement Wednesday denying that Miller and Bradley blocked the road while also stating the star freshman was not aware the gun was in his car after Miles left it in there earlier in the evening.
Alabama head coach Nate Oats commented on the situation in a Tuesday afternoon press conference, making it clear Miller was not in trouble with the program over the incident.
“We knew about that,” Oats said. “Can’t control everything everybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. College kids are out, Brandon hasn’t been in any type of trouble nor is he in any type of trouble in this case. Wrong spot at the wrong time.”
Later Tuesday night, Oats walked back his tone deaf comments in a released statement.
“I thought it was important for me to clarify the unfortunate remarks I made earlier,” Oats said. “This entire time I’ve tried to be thoughtful in my words relative to this tragic incident, and my statements came across poorly. We were informed by law enforcement of other student-athletes being in the vicinity, and law enforcement has repeatedly told us that no other student-athletes were suspects—they were witnesses only. Our understanding is that they have all been fully truthful and cooperative.
“In no way did I intend to downplay the seriousness of this situation or the tragedy of that night. My prayers continue to go out to Jamea Harris’s family.”
While Miles was removed from the Alabama program the day after the shooting, Miller hasn’t missed a game for the Crimson Tide where he’s been the best player on No. 2 Alabama (23-4, 13-1 SEC).
Miller is an Antioch, Tennessee native and is projected to be a lottery pick in this summer’s NBA Draft. Alabama sits atop the SEC standings and is currently a one-seed in next month’s NCAA Tournament according to bracketology experts.
