Contrasts On Display In Latest Bama Basketball Shooting Hearing

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Charles County, Maryland native Michael Lynn Davis sat handcuffed in an orange jail jumpsuit at the defense table in the seventh-floor courtroom of the Tuscaloosa County Courthouse Tuesday morning before being instructed by his attorney to turn around.

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Known affectionately as "Buzz" by his friends and loved ones, Davis scanned the stillness of the courtroom before noticing his parents sitting directly behind him. Apart from their smiling faces, the room was noticeably empty save for a couple of local reporters and a few sheriff's deputies.

Tuesday's brief hearing, which concerned a motion by Davis for a pre-trial immunity hearing and dismissal of the capital murder charge against him, lasted roughly three minutes.

The hearing was ultimately adjourned after Circuit Court Judge Daniel Pruet explained that the wording of the defense's motion was near verbatim to the same motion made over the summer by Darius Miles — the former Alabama basketball player also charged in the Jan. 15 shooting death of Birmingham mother Jamea Harris.

Judge Pruet then granted a request by Birmingham defense attorney John Robbins for a continuance of 14 days to amend the motion before the hearing resumes later this month.

For the sake of the case's expediency and to avoid redundant arguments that have already been made at length, Judge Pruet cited his decision to deny Miles pre-trial immunity in October as his reasoning for allowing the defense for Davis to retool its motion and return at a later date.

As Patch previously reported, Miles is accused of knowingly providing Davis with the legally owned handgun used in the fatal shootout with the victim's boyfriend, Cedric Johnson, in the early morning hours of Jan. 15 on Grace Street, just off the The Strip near the University of Alabama campus.

Davis was shot twice during the incident and was charged with capital murder just a few hours after the shooting, while Johnson has, at no point, been considered a suspect by investigators.

Defense attorneys for Miles and Davis both insist that Johnson was the actual aggressor in the deadly incident, with Miles telling police that he saw a gun passed to Johnson in Harris' black Jeep during a brief verbal altercation on The Strip in the minutes before the shooting.

Prosecutors, on the other hand, argue that Miles was aware of his friend's intention to use his pistol in an act of violence and provided him with the gun anyway. What's more, the state has pointed to Davis changing coats and donning a non-medical gaiter scarf to deliberately cover his face in the moments before the shots rang out as an indication of pre-meditation.

The pre-trial immunity hearing for Miles was a highly publicized affair, held over three long summer days in a courtroom packed with media and family members from both sides of the case.

This stands in stark contrast to the mostly empty courtroom on Tuesday, which sat noticeably devoid of any media gaggle or the scores of onlookers and supporters who have turned out in force for every hearing for Miles.

The family of Jamea Harris, for instance, has attended just about every court date for Miles, but was noticeably absent during the short hearing for Davis on Tuesday.

Apart from the criminal cases against the two suspects, the family of Jamea Harris is also actively pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit against the two men and former Alabama basketball standout Brandon Miller, who was at the scene of the January shooting but was never named as a suspect or charged with a crime. Investigators have also said it was Miller who delivered the gun to the scene of the shooting after being asked to do so by Miles.

While opportunities for on-record interviews and perspective were in short supply Tuesday, Tuscaloosa Patch did speak briefly with Davis' parents following the hearing. They were in positive spirits, all things considered, and offered up tired smiles when discussing their very limited physical interactions with Davis since his arrest.

When examining contrasts, it's also important to note the visible differences in approach by defense attorneys well ahead of an expected jury trial.

ALSO READ: COLUMN: Darius Miles Self-Defense Hearing | An Epilogue

As Patch has reported since the preliminary hearing held in the Tuscaloosa County Jail in February, the Turner Law Group — the Tuscaloosa firm representing Miles — has worked to distance their client's case from that of his childhood friend and fellow capital murder suspect.

This tactic is being employed to put the focus on Miles having feared for his safety and that of others as attorneys work to justify his decision to lend his handgun to Davis.

But for Davis, as was displayed Tuesday, the approach by his defense attorney seems to lean heavily on the case already made by the Turner Law Group.

Judge Pruet ultimately ruled against the motion for dismissal from Miles, agreeing with District Attorney Hays Webb in saying that the defense for the former Crimson Tide basketball player failed to provide sufficient evidence or testimony to support its claims of self-defense ahead of a jury trial.

The Turner Law Group in October then filed for a new bond hearing for Miles, along with setting a hearing date for the defense's motion to suppress statements Miles gave investigators before being read his Miranda rights on the morning of Jan. 15. This also came after the state said it would not seek the death penalty in the case.

Both hearings for Miles will be held on Feb. 22, 2024.

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