COLUMN: Murder Case Involving Former Alabama Basketball Player Inches Toward Trial

*This is an opinion column*

TUSCALOOSA, AL — I was the only tired soul, not to mention the only ink-stained wretch from the media, sitting in the hard wooden pews of a quiet courtroom at the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse Monday morning for a pre-trial hearing in the 2021 murder of a young mother that has been all but forgotten by the public.

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The details of the case led my mind to wander as I was also preparing for the second anniversary of an unrelated fatal shooting on a cold January morning two years ago that killed another young mother, this time from Birmingham, and resulted in two young men sitting in the Tuscaloosa County Jail charged with capital murder.

It's a case this reporter thinks about every day and one of only a handful of stories from over a decade in this business that I regularly lose sleep over.

It's forever altered my life and worldview.

Two years removed, I still find myself looking around wondering where the media circus from two years ago went every time I go to the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse for a new hearing.

ALSO READ: Video Evidence Provides Most Compelling Account Yet Of Alabama Basketball Murder Case

Indeed, Wednesday, Jan. 15, marks two years since 23-year-old Jamea Harris was shot and killed on Grace Street as she sat in the front passenger seat of her Jeep, while her boyfriend Cedric Johnson was behind the wheel and her terrified cousin covered her head in the back seat when shots rang out.

It's a tragedy any way you dice it and a case that's been slow to proceed in the justice system.

Discovery disputes and bond hearings have dominated much of the last year, while two key witnesses have also met untimely ends since that fateful January morning, one of natural causes before he could ever be subpoenaed to testify and the other in a motorcycle crash in Birmingham last April.

A child is without a mother today and several families are forever changed for the worse because of the senseless violence just off of The Strip in those early morning hours.

Here's where we have to be honest with ourselves, though.

Had Michael Lynn Davis — a Maryland native charged with capital murder who is accused of firing the fatal shot that killed Harris — been the lone party involved, I'd wager the case wouldn't command much interest two years later.

In the latest major development, court records show Davis is set to go to trial on May 5.

Keep in mind, dear reader, that the stakes are quite high in this case, so much so that District Attorney Hays Webb assumed the role of lead prosecutor beginning with the immunity hearing for the other accused suspect.

Many have also likely forgotten that Davis was shot twice during an altercation that has been quite difficult to make sense of. At one point, his parents told me that he wasn't getting proper medical attention in the aftermath of the shooting due to a bullet being lodged in his shoulder.

Never mind that the person who shot him, Cedric Johnson, was never charged, has yet to testify in court, and avoided being served subpoenas by defense attorneys at every turn other than once in open court. Even after being served, he's yet to go under oath.

Johnson was also, at one time, a defendant along with the accused and current Charlotte Hornets standout Brandon Miller in a wrongful death lawsuit separate from the criminal proceedings.

Johnson has since been dropped as a defendant in the lawsuit filed by his deceased girlfriend's family, which could prove just as telling as his reluctance to testify.

No, unless you're an immediate family member or close friend of the parties involved, your interest likely isn't focused on justice for Jamea Harris, Cedric Johnson or Michael Lynn Davis but for former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles.

Miles was a minor contributor on a Crimson Tide team that made the Sweet 16 in 2023 but wasn't on the active roster due to an injury and didn't dress for the 106-66 win over LSU in Coleman Coliseum just hours before the fatal shooting.

The Washington D.C., native to that point had averaged 4.2 points and 2.3 rebounds a game off the bench for a talented Crimson Tide team.

But that all ended when Miles was charged with capital murder and accused of providing the handgun to Davis that was allegedly used to kill Jamea Harris.

While Davis is set to have his day in court in a few months, represented by Birmingham attorney John Robbins, Tuscaloosa defense attorney Mary Turner of the Turner Law Group confirmed to Patch on the eve of the anniversary that a trial date "has not yet been scheduled" for Miles.

Two years later, though, my position is as unchanged as it was when I learned of the moment-by-moment details of that fateful January morning — details never offered to the public in the earliest stages of the murder case.

More evidence has trickled out in the numerous pre-trial hearings but nothing of substance, as of yet, to sway this reporter into thinking that some sinister Division-I athlete with no prior violent criminal record and the world at his fingertips acted with malice aforethought in plotting the shooting death of a young mother he didn't know ... mere minutes after a brief interaction between one of his friends and her boyfriend.

I'm not a lawyer, and maybe that's for the best, but if you believe such a theory, I'd argue you're making a dangerous presumption by giving folks more credit than they deserve for being so insidious.

Keep in mind, dear reader, that the media circus initially ran wild with rumors that it had been Miles who shot and killed Harris because she had turned down his romantic advances.

As another example that underscores the nuances of such a complex legal case study and the resulting public perception, I was the first and, for some reason, remain one of the only to report on why Davis, Miles, former Tide standout Brandon Miller and others were at the first of two crime scenes that January morning.

After all, it's one of the crucial details of the case if you're paying attention.

Early news reports, at the initial insistence of prosecutors, posited that Miller — the eventual No.2 overall pick in the NBA Draft — intentionally blocked the narrow street with his car to set up the fatal shooting by blocking the Jeep. Such an argument completely ignores the unrelated brawl involving a large group of young women near the CVS at Grace Street and University Boulevard that drew the Tide basketball group to the scene in the first place.

Miller, whose car was hit by gunfire when the shooting commenced, has fully cooperated with police by all accounts and even provided the dash cam audio from his car that picked up the conversation where Miles can be heard telling Davis where his legally owned handgun was in the car.

Interestingly enough, the state quietly walked back this initial accusation made during the three-hour preliminary hearing in February 2023 for Davis and Miles in the Tuscaloosa County Jail courtroom before their cases were tried separately moving forward.

Miller's defense attorney Jim Standridge said in the immediate aftermath of the shooting when his famous client's name first became connected with the case:

"Without Brandon knowing any of this context, and as Brandon was already on the way to pick up Mr. Miles, Mr. Miles texted Brandon and asked him to bring him his firearm. ... Brandon subsequently arrived at the scene to pick up Mr. Miles. Brandon never got out of his vehicle or interacted with anyone in Ms. Harris’ party ... Brandon never touched the gun, was not involved in its exchange to Mr. Davis in any way, and never knew that illegal activity involving the gun would occur."

I even mentioned this fact to the assistant general manager of one NBA team, a well-informed man representing a franchise with a top-5 pick that ultimately didn't draft Miller, when he cold-called me in the weeks before the draft doing background research on one of the most coveted prospects in college basketball.

Nevertheless, among the women seen in the security camera video of the fight at the first crime scene on Grace Street was the girlfriend of Darius Miles — Skylar Essex — before the now-former Tide forward and Davis were shown pulling her and others away from the scrum and, according to testimony and witness statements, were working to de-escalate the situation.

This appears to be the sole reason the Tide basketball group was present at what would become the first of two crime scenes, with the other being the Walk of Champions a few moments later, where a University of Alabama Police officer first reported that someone had been shot when the Jeep pulled up.

After the fight is broken up and the crowd mostly disperses, Essex can be seen on security footage following Miles and Davis to Miller's vehicle. Miles then walks Essex back to her car a short distance away.

Meanwhile, the black Jeep is captured on video executing a U-turn nearby and starting back down Grace Street in their direction, eventually pulling in behind Miller's car with its headlights turned off.

Davis, in one of the newest developments provided in court by District Attorney Hays Webb, allegedly changed jackets, pulled a gaiter scarf over his face and walked off in another direction from the group before he can be seen running up to the driver's side window.

The first shot was fired at 1:45 a.m.

The initial muzzle flash, as I saw it multiple times on video, appears to correspond with security video audio and looks to come from inside the Jeep. Defense attorneys argue that Johnson was already armed and fired the first several shots, striking Davis first.

Video personally viewed by Patch also shows Davis hitting the ground and trying to run a few feet in the opposite direction, before getting to his feet and firing a shot that shattered the windshield of the Jeep — the one that presumably killed Jamea Harris.

Davis was picked up moments later by Essex and Miles, who maintain that they did not know what had transpired, just that their friend had been shot.

I've sat down with Essex in person to discuss it and her recollection of those early morning hours appears genuine when relating what I saw in the video evidence.

"He's reading the Bible, working out and he plays Spades," she told me in February 2023 when I asked what Miles was doing to occupy his mind in jail. "He reads his devotional. He likes to write notes about them. And he naps."

Miles was denied bond two more times following my conversation with Essex on the patio of a hotel in downtown Tuscaloosa as we sat at a table full of his family members.

I spoke at length with Essex Tuesday evening and she's still unshakable in her conviction.

ALSO READ: 'Keeping Hope Alive': Family Of Darius Miles Offers Perspective After Bond Hearing

Nevertheless, as the fight was broken up on Grace Street, the black Jeep driven by Cedric Johnson, with Jamea Harris in the front passenger seat and her cousin, UA student Asia Humphrey, in the back seat, could be seen circling the block before its headlights were turned off in the moments before the Jeep pulled in behind the two vehicles parked on Grace Street.

It's another crucial piece of evidence to this reporter.

Defense attorneys for Miles have said throughout the case that the headlights on the Jeep went dark well before the vehicle could have been spotted by Davis, Miles, and others as the scene cleared from the brawl beside CVS.

Photos posted to social media show that Johnson and Harris were in town for the excitement on The Strip following Alabama's basketball game against LSU and, based on their direction of travel seen on multiple security cameras, the couple could have easily stayed on University Boulevard and been back in Birmingham in roughly an hour or anywhere else other than Grace Street.

To underscore this point, one photo of Johnson clearly shows a pistol handle sticking out of his waistband less than 24 hours before the shooting.

The Jeep took a somewhat complicated route to get to Grace Street and in doing so met with two of the key witnesses who have since died in the parking lot of an apartment complex.

ALSO READ: Key Witness In Jamea Harris Murder Case Killed In Birmingham

One of the since-deceased witnesses — Shu'Bonte Greene — is seen on security video meeting with the occupants of the Black Jeep just minutes before the shooting. In several pre-trial hearings, defense attorneys for Miles pointed out that it appears one of the occupants of Greene's stolen red Chevy Impala gets something out of the car's trunk, presumably a gun.

Greene also testified that he and Johnson had prior gang affiliations in the Birmingham area, namely with the West End Money Gang, before saying that he and Johnson had become disillusioned with the gang and quit.

For Davis, Miles and others, the night seemed to be coming to an end after spending time at Twelve25 on The Strip — a short walking distance from the scene of the shooting.

For the group in the Jeep, they were parked off of The Strip near the Houndstooth so they could get something to eat from Quik Grill.

For Twelve25 , the eventual shooting resulted in an ill-fated, protracted legal battle with the City of Tuscaloosa over occupancy requirements immediately following the shooting.

ALSO READ: Twelve25 Voluntarily Drops Lawsuit Against City Of Tuscaloosa

As I previously reported, defense attorney Mary Turner, who is representing Miles, alleged during the immunity hearing that Miles first saw what he believed to be a handgun passed from Harris in the front passenger seat to her boyfriend sitting in the back seat shortly after a verbal altercation with Davis when the two groups crossed paths.

Davis later told investigators he had been drinking and had little recollection of what happened.

Harris' cousin Asia Humphrey was at the wheel during the only interaction between the two groups that evening in the minutes before the fatal shooting and surveillance video shows Cedric Johnson exiting the Jeep after the verbal spat and getting in the driver's seat.

Under oath during the preliminary hearing in the Tuscaloosa County Jail, Humphrey testified before a standing-room-only crowd that she never heard Davis, nor anyone else, make any threats before or during the shooting, despite being in the driver's seat of the Jeep at the time.

Humphrey did testify that Johnson rolled down a back passenger window during the initial altercation on The Strip to tell Davis "No brother, why don't you be good?"

The only words Humphrey claimed she heard from Davis were "I don't want your girl."

It's at this point that Miles, still carrying his to-go box of chicken wings, can be seen on video doubling back to retrieve his friends and urging them to come along.

Former Alabama basketball player Jaden Bradley even told investigators, as Patch previously reported, that Miles had been a "calming presence" for Davis during the minor altercation.

But as Miles and others quickly walked away from the Jeep, it's here that Miles is believed to have texted Brandon Miller to bring him his handgun that he had left in the back seat of Miller's car under a hat before going out that night.

"I need my joint (gun) a n---- RL ("Real Life") just got da fakin," Miles texted to Miller, before texting him two minutes later "Bett we at [Jaden Bradley's] car."

Miles has never had a driver's license, reportedly first rode with Miller that night and left the vicinity of the Grace Street crime scene in the passenger seat of his girlfriend's car before the first shot was fired. By the time they picked up a wounded Michael Lynn Davis a few moments later, defense attorneys argue that Essex and Miles had no idea what had just happened.

While some will argue that it's a matter of interpretation for those trying to understand how young people communicate in text messages, your narrator is young enough to understand what the term "fakin" means in this context.

Don't take my word for it, though. The popular website Urban Dictionary defines "fakin" or "pumpfaking" as:

"When you pretend to have a weapon, normally a gun, around your waistband. Sticking your hand on your waist pretending to hold the grip of the weapon. Normally used to threaten others around them or using it to scare someone that doesn’t know if they’ve got a gun or not."

Representing a first in my journalism career, Urban Dictionary was cited in a capital murder case to define the lingo in a text message.

But I digress.

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, I set out to understand Alabama's "Stand Your Ground" law and learned that it's not so much who shoots first but who feels threatened first.

A few months after the shooting, I spoke with Shelby County defense attorney Erik Fine, the founder of Patriot Law, Inc. — a decidedly conservative, Second Amendment-focused firm —about Alabama's self-defense statutes.

Fine proved quite helpful in providing an easy-to-understand, three-part checklist for determining if the actions during the incident met the criteria for protection under the law.

ALSO READ: Alabama Basketball Shooting Latest: Understanding State's Self-Defense Laws

1. You've got to be threatened in a place where you have a right to be.
2. You can't be engaged in unlawful activity.
3. Most importantly: You have to be justified in whatever level of force is used.

"A lot of this is left up to a jury and a lot of these things happen in split seconds, so juries have to make that determination," he told Patch when explaining the courtroom protocols in a self-defense case. "Judges don't like to make these kinds of decisions. If there are these types of questions, a judge will turn them over to a jury."

This is as good of a parting thought as any, as many publicly wonder why the case seems to be moving so slowly.

Even two years later, experience has taught me to advise patience for my readers when it comes to a murder case, not to mention one as high-profile and high-stakes as this.

Ryan Phillips is an award-winning journalist, editor and opinion columnist. He is also the founder and field editor of Tuscaloosa Patch. The opinions expressed in this column are in no way a reflection of our parent company or sponsors. Email news tips to ryan.phillips@patch.com.