A college basketball player was arrested and charged with murder over the weekend.
According to CNN, police officers in Alabama have arrested University of Alabama basketball player, Darius Miles, in connection with a shooting near the school campus on Sunday. The victim was a 23-year-old woman named Jamea Jonae Harris. Another man, Michael Lynn Davis, was also charged with the young woman’s killing. Both suspects are being charged with capital murder and are being held without bond.
ABC News reported that the 21-year-old man, who played
the forward position for the University of Alabama basketball team “is no longer a member of the Alabama men’s basketball team” after being detained by Tuscaloosa police officers.The school released a statement:
“The University of Alabama’s utmost priority is the safety and well-being of the campus community. We are grieved by the incident that occurred near campus last night and extend our deepest condolences to the victim’s family and friends. We are grateful for the quick and thorough response of law enforcement and emergency response teams, and we will continue to fully support the ongoing investigation.
“We were made aware of the recent charge against student-athlete Darius Miles; he has been removed from campus and is no longer a member of the Alabama men’s basketball team.”
Police officials have stated that the crime occurred at 1:45 a.m. on Sunday. Harris was shot and killed while she was sitting in a car less than half a mile from the school’s campus while on “The Strip.”
The victim’s boyfriend told police officers that shots were fired into the vehicle and he shot back in self-defense.
A press release from police authorities stated, “After processing the scenes, speaking with multiple witnesses, and viewing video surveillance, two suspects were developed.”
Harris lived in Birmingham and was in Tuscaloosa with her boyfriend. They had gone to the campus to visit her cousin at the University of Alabama, according to her mother DeCarla Cotton
. Cotton told CNN that she was told that one of the men approached Harris and tried to flirt with her, but she wasn’t accepting his advances.“He was advancing on her and she declined his attention. He refused to go away,” Cotton said.
Unit captain Jack Kennedy said, “It appears that the only motive to this was a minor altercation that these individuals had with the victim as they were out on The Strip.”