Everything to know about Brandon Miller’s connection to deadly Alabama shooting

Alabama basketball star Brandon Miller has been embroiled in controversy due to his role in a shooting that resulted in a murder charge for his teammate.

In a perfect world, the focus for Alabama basketball right now would be on the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Sadly, a tragedy of life-and-death proportion is rightly front and center for the college basketball world. And one of the top players in the country, Brandon Miller, is involved.

On Jan. 15, Jamea Harris, a 23-year-old mother to a five-year-old, was shot dead during an altercation allegedly involving Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and his friend Michael Davis.

Police allege Davis used Miles’ gun to shoot and kill Harris, who was sitting in a car outside of a strip mall. There had been an incident involving Davis and Miles and Harris and her boyfriend preceding the shooting.

Davis and Miles were arrested and charged with capital murder within days. Miles was removed from the basketball team.

What is Brandon Miller accused of?

During a preliminary hearing for Davis and Miles, a Tuscaloosa Police investigator testified that Miles texted Miller, the Alabama basketball star, and asked him to bring him his gun. Miller, who maintains he was already on his way to pick up Miles from where he had left him earlier in the night, followed through on the request. The situation escalated when Miles retrieved the gun from the backseat of Miller’s car and supplied it to Davis.

The district attorney has indicated that the Alabama freshman will not be charged with a crime. However, the university has faced criticism for not disciplining Miller in some way given the seriousness of his role. After all, he allegedly delivered a murder weapon to the scene of the crime.

Miller’s attorney and Alabama officials have stated that Miller never handled the gun and was not aware of the escalating situation.

While Miles was a reserve player for the Crimson Tide, Miller is the team’s leading scorer, a candidate for national awards and a potential lottery pick in the NBA Draft.

What did Nate Oates say about Brandon Miller and the shooting?

Alabama head coach Nate Oates was criticized for appearing to downplay the incident and Miller’s involvement.

“We knew about that. Can’t control everything anybody 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,” Oates said via AL.com. “Wrong spot at the wrong time.”

Oates had to apologize and clarify his comments, which were deemed callous.

“I’m not here to make excuses, but I want to make it clear I didn’t have the details from the hearing that morning since I was coming straight from practice. I used a poor choice of words, making it appear I wasn’t taking this tragic situation seriously, which we have throughout the course of it. I sincerely apologize for that,” he said via Sporting News.

Brandon Miller’s attorney released a statement

Jim Standridge, an attorney in Tuscaloosa representing Miller, released a statement meant to clarify some of the information that came out in the preliminary hearing:

"As one of the attorneys for Brandon Miller, I want to provide additional facts on Brandon’s behalf in response to misstatements in reporting yesterday regarding Brandon. Brandon and his family are horrified and saddened by the events that led to the senseless death of Ms. Harris and continue to offer their most sincere thoughts and prayers for her family.On January 14th Brandon played in a basketball game in the afternoon and later was asked by Darius Miles for a ride to the Strip area to go to a night club. Mr. Miles brought his legal handgun and left it in the back seat of Brandon’s vehicle. Brandon never saw the handgun nor handled it.Further, it is our understanding that the weapon was concealed under some clothing in the back seat of his car. Brandon did not go inside the nightclub. Instead, he left and went to a restaurant to eat. At approximately midnight, Mr. Miles began asking Brandon to come pick him up so that they could leave and go to another location and join friends. Brandon advised that he would be along later, and, approximately one hour later, Brandon began to leave the restaurant to pick up Mr. Miles, but first had to give another companion a ride home.Before Brandon arrived to pick up Mr. Miles, Mr. Miles and the individual with Ms. Harris apparently exchanged words. 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. He was never involved in a verbal altercation with Cedric Johnson or Mr. Davis. 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.Brandon did not block the Jeep driven by Mr. Johnson. In fact, Brandon had already parked on Grace Street when the jeep pulled up behind him. The street was never blocked by Brandon’s vehicle. Gunfire erupted shortly after the jeep arrived and Brandon’s vehicle was struck by bullets fired from one of the guns. Brandon quickly left the area when gunfire erupted. As soon as he was notified that someone had been injured and the police wished to speak with him, he has fully cooperated with law enforcement’s investigation.All of the events described above are clearly captured on video. There is no dispute about Brandon’s activities during this evening.Brandon has submitted to multiple interviews to assist law enforcement in further understanding the situation, he has volunteered to have his phone contents extracted as well as that of the contents of his automobile. He will continue to cooperate as any citizen should who has witnessed a serious incident. Brandon does not own a firearm and has never even handled a firearm. Moreover, he had no knowledge of any intent to use any weapon."

Jamea Harris’ family called out Alabama for letting Brandon Miller play

Harris’ family members have been outspoken about Alabama’s failure to punish Miller.

DeCarla Cotton, Harris’ mother, called it “unimaginable” that Miller has been allowed to continue playing, according to USA Today Sports.

“It’s just unimaginable, and it’s like his life is just going on,” Cotton said. “He took a brief pause and it didn’t stop. It’s like, OK, slap on the wrist and go play ball.”

Cotton didn’t hold back her thoughts about Miller’s role and his denial of fault.

“When somebody says bring a gun to them, what do you think they’re going to do with it?” Cotton said. “And if there was no gun, she would not be dead.”

Harris’ stepfather, Delvin Heard, ripped into Oates for his “godawful” comments which “crossed the line.”

“The retraction meant nothing to us because over this five-week period, he has made a habit of making reckless statements. When I say reckless, I mean statements not considering the victim in this whole thing, which is Jamea Harris,” Heard told USA Today.

Will Alabama suspend Brandon Miller?

At this point, Alabama has held firm in its decision not to discipline Miller or Jaden Bradley, another Crimson Tide player who was apparently at the scene.

“UA Athletics continues to cooperate fully with law enforcement in the on-going investigation of this tragic situation,” the university said in a statement. “Based on all the information we have received, Brandon Miller is not considered a suspect in this case, only a cooperative witness. Today’s statement from Brandon’s lawyer adds additional context that the University has considered as part of its review of the facts. Based on all of the facts we have gathered, Brandon remains an active member of our team.”

That’s where things stand. Miller played for Alabama on Wednesday against South Carolina. He faced boos and chants of “lock him up” from Gamecocks fans.

If there are any more updates, this story will be updated.