Alabama fans spotted in tasteless ‘Killin’ our way through the SEC’ T-shirts at conference tournament after Tide’s Darius Miles was indicted in fatal shooting of 23-year-old mother on January 15
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Two unidentified Alabama fans were seen wearing T-shirts reading ‘Killin’ our way through the SEC in ’23’ at the Southeastern Conference tournament on Saturday – two months after a Crimson Tide player was arrested for murder. Jamea Harris (pictured right), a 23-year-old mother, was shot to death near the University of Alabama campus in the early hours of January 15. Crimson Tide forward Darius Miles (pictured center) and another man, Michael Lynn Davis, have been arrested and indicted on capital murder charges in her death. Miles has since been kicked off the team.
Another Alabama forward, SEC Player of the Year Brandon Miller, brought a gun to Miles that night that was later used by Davis in the fatal shooting, according to police testimony. Miller has not been charged with any crime and has continued playing for the Crimson Tide, scoring 23 points in Alabama’s 82-63 win over Texas A&M in Sunday’s SEC title game. The ‘Killin’ T-shirts are the latest in a series of flippant reactions to the shooting. Miller was previously frisked by a teammate during pre-game introductions in an apparent reference to his reported link to the shooting. Alabama is now a No. 1 seed heading into their round-of-64 game against the winner of this week’s Texas A&M Corpus Christi-Southeastern Missouri State ‘First Four’ matchup.
In February, Tuscaloosa detective Branden Culpepper testified that Miles texted Miller on January 15, asking his then-teammate to bring his gun to an off-campus area, where 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris (pictured) was later shot and killed. Miller allegedly complied, driving the gun to Miles and another man, Michael Lynn Davis, who are both facing capital murder charges for Harris’ death. While Miles has been dismissed from the Crimson Tide basketball team ahead of his murder trial, Miller has not been charged by authorities. Tuscaloosa chief deputy D.A. Paula Whitley declined to tell AL.com why Miller wasn’t charged, saying: ‘That’s not a question I can answer. There’s nothing we could charge him with.’
The school’s athletic department was already aware of the allegations against Miller. ‘We knew about that,’ Crimson Tide basketball coach Nate Oats told reporters in February. ‘Can’t control everything anybody does outside of practice. Nobody knew that was going to happen. … 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.’ Oats insisted at the time that the program has been ‘fully cooperating with law enforcement the entire time.’ He also said the ‘whole situation is sad.’ Miller reacted to the shooting publicly for the first time on March 8. ‘This whole situation is just really heartbreaking, but respectfully that’s all I’m going to be able to say on that,’ Miller said. Pictured: Former Crimson Tide forward Darius Miles.
The 6-foot-9 Miller is the Tide’s leading scorer at 19.7 points a game, and is projected to be a lottery pick in June’s NBA Draft. Both ESPN and NBADraft.net have Miller being taken among the top five picks. In January, the University of Alabama said in a statement that Miles was no longer on the basketball team. Miles has maintained his innocence, and his lawyers say he is ‘heartbroken’ over the tragedy. ‘While Darius has been accused of being involved with this tragedy, he maintains his innocence and looks forward to his day in court,’ Miles’ attorneys said in January. Attorneys for Miles and Davis both requested that their respective clients me released on bond at Tuesday’s preliminary hearing.
Tuscaloosa County District Judge Joanne Jannik denied the request, ruling that there is enough evidence against Miles and Davis (pictured) to send the case to a grand jury for a potential indictment. Both Miles and Davis were crying at the end of Tuesday’s hearing, according to AL.com. Harris, a mother to a five-year-old son, was visiting her cousin and boyfriend in Tuscaloosa when she was shot and killed in the early hours of January 15. ‘She has a 5-year-old son that is still waiting for his mother to come home,’ DeCarla Heard, Harris’ mother, told reporters. ‘I want justice for my grandson.’
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