Ex-Alabama basketball player seeks dismissal of capital murder charges
An Alabama judge has granted a former Alabama basketball player accused of capital murder a hearing to decide whether charges in the case will be dismissed.
Attorneys for Darius Miles on Wednesday filed a motion for immunity, asking Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge Daniel Pruet to dismiss capital murder charges on the grounds of self-defense, news outlets reported. Miles is accused in the Jan. 15 shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris, of Birmingham.
Miles "respectfully requests that the Court, upon hearing the evidence, find (him) immune from prosecution" and the case against him dismissed, according to a filing from his attorney, Mary Turner, on Wednesday.
Pruet granted Miles’ request for an immunity hearing, which is set for Aug. 21.
Miles, 21, and Michael Davis are both charged in connection to Harris’ death.
Davis, 20, has sought youthful offender status and since then court files for Davis have been sealed. The outcome of that request was not clear as of Friday morning, al.com reported.
Pruet denied bond for Miles in May, saying the issue will be revisited at a later date.
The shooting occurred on the Strip, a student-oriented business district of bars and restaurants near the Tuscaloosa campus. Investigators said Harris was sitting in the passenger seat of a car when she was struck by a bullet, which brings a capital murder charge in Alabama.
Davis is accused of firing the gun that killed the young woman, according to court documents filed in Tuscaloosa. Investigators wrote in a court document that Miles admitted to providing the handgun immediately before the shooting.
Defense lawyers suggested in an earlier court hearing that the two were reacting defensively following an altercation with a young man in Harris’ group.
Miles was dismissed from the Alabama team after his arrest.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
