Great questions.
Does anyone know what happened?
Seems like everyone agrees Miller delivered and literally handed Miles the gun.
I'm guessing that may not have happened.
Alabama's leading scorer brought gun to Teammate who then used it to commit Murder
- Thread starter Franisdaman
- Start date
Great questions.
Does anyone know what happened?
Seems like everyone agrees Miller delivered and literally handed Miles the gun.
I'm guessing that may not have happened.
Depends on the version you’ve heard. First one I heard he was texted, by Miles, to bring it to an address that Miles and the supposed shooter was at. If that’s the case why would he drive over there not knowing the gun was in the car already?
There are more refined versions that I’ve seen now that he picked up Miles on the way over to this place, not knowing Miles had the gun with him. Which of the few and counting versions are accurate?
This all stinks to high heaven and it should surprise no one that all the University of Alabama is concerned about is winning. 'Bama gonna 'Bama.
The getting patted down for a gun by a teammate when being announced for their game at about the free-throw line says about all you need to know about this kid. Originally it was reported and backed by his coach, who should have shut up, that he brought the loaded gun to the scene. Wasn't it him that also moved his girlfriend quickly out of the way right before the shooting or was that the other player who claimed not to know what was going on. As said on PTI this will definitely come back on Alabama one way or another. The taunting pat down intro was a slap in the face to the victims family who i believe left behind a young daughter. Coach, player, program, and fans are completely classless. I'd rather have a coach that gets a few t's than one that would trade his soul for a better chance at a championship.
Darius Miles asked Brandon to bring heat (the gun).
I have said it before; even though he is claiming otherwise, I think Brandon knew he had a loaded gun in his car. Possessing a firearm on campus is against the student code of conduct, where he should be facing discipline. And the fact that the firearm was used in a murder where Brandon was present should mean a severe penalty for Brandon.
If Brandon were a bench player he'd be long gone/kicked off the team. But since he's the star player of the #1 ranked team in the nation? Different rules apply. Bama has a natty to win.
yes.
And 3 Bama players were present. Only 1 of the 3 has faced discipline (he's in jail facing murder charges)
I take it you are not a lawyer. I am. Hopefully you are not in illegal possession of a firearm and planning to gift, sell or loan that firearm to a third person. That is not legal anywhere in the United States. Good general rule, you cannot transfer property that you cannot legally possess.
Assuming the facts in the story are true Miller was in illegal possession of the pistol, presumably because he was not old enough to legally own pistols. Miller was asked to bring a pistol to a specific place by Miles. Miller brought the pistol to the specific place, not a shooting range, and in a concealed fashion (illegal concealment of a firearm is usually some kind of crime, depending on the jurisdiction). So, a reasonable person in Miller's position would have a reason to believe Miles intended to use the pistol. Miles is further incriminated by moving his GF out of the line of fire, an act he would not have needed to take if did not know or suspect his pistol was going to be fired and she might get hit.
Providing the murder weapon to the murderer at the scene of a murder with the knowledge that the murderer was planning to fire the gun sure sounds a lot like "A person is legally accountable for the behavior of another constituting a criminal offense if, with the intent to promote or assist the commission of the offense: ... (2) He aids or abets such other person in committing the offense;" Alabama Code Title 44, Sec 13A-2-23(2) (2022). (Sorry to the real lawyers, I don't have a Blue Book at home). That is aiding and abetting the crime.
Since the crime was murder, the felony murder rule would apply in most states. So, the get away driver in a robbery during which someone was murdered is, in most states and federally, as guilty of the murder as the physical life taker. While doing some quick research on this topic, I learned Alabama has an unusually limited felony murder statute so that crime would not apply. Lucky for Miller, cuz felony murder is a capital offense in most jurisdictions.
The prosecutorial decision is interesting. Miller might be the key witness that links the murder weapon to the murderer and the prosecutors want him legally clean for the trial. Or he could be Alabama's leading scorer. Or any number of other reasons support the prosecutor's decision. They don't have to be good reasons because of prosecutorial discretion.
Assuming the facts in the story are true Miller was in illegal possession of the pistol, presumably because he was not old enough to legally own pistols. Miller was asked to bring a pistol to a specific place by Miles. Miller brought the pistol to the specific place, not a shooting range, and in a concealed fashion (illegal concealment of a firearm is usually some kind of crime, depending on the jurisdiction). So, a reasonable person in Miller's position would have a reason to believe Miles intended to use the pistol. Miles is further incriminated by moving his GF out of the line of fire, an act he would not have needed to take if did not know or suspect his pistol was going to be fired and she might get hit.
Providing the murder weapon to the murderer at the scene of a murder with the knowledge that the murderer was planning to fire the gun sure sounds a lot like "A person is legally accountable for the behavior of another constituting a criminal offense if, with the intent to promote or assist the commission of the offense: ... (2) He aids or abets such other person in committing the offense;" Alabama Code Title 44, Sec 13A-2-23(2) (2022). (Sorry to the real lawyers, I don't have a Blue Book at home). That is aiding and abetting the crime.
Since the crime was murder, the felony murder rule would apply in most states. So, the get away driver in a robbery during which someone was murdered is, in most states and federally, as guilty of the murder as the physical life taker. While doing some quick research on this topic, I learned Alabama has an unusually limited felony murder statute so that crime would not apply. Lucky for Miller, cuz felony murder is a capital offense in most jurisdictions.
The prosecutorial decision is interesting. Miller might be the key witness that links the murder weapon to the murderer and the prosecutors want him legally clean for the trial. Or he could be Alabama's leading scorer. Or any number of other reasons support the prosecutor's decision. They don't have to be good reasons because of prosecutorial discretion.
The text are not a story or up for debate. The police have both text. He texted him asking for a ride. After some period of time the next text came. Don’t believe the time stamps have been released. Do you guys need a link to press releases on this?
The player that actually handed over the gun is being charged with murder. The gun was in the back seat, the question can evidence be found to prove he was the one that put the gun in the backseat.
Initially I read that the text was from Miles to Miller to bring it with him. The story line has changed a couple times since.
There is some smoke here. Question is, will the truth be found in this mess? Time will tell.
Thank you for the clarification on that. Much appreciated
In Bama, those rules are highly misspelled and written in crayon.Note that 3 Alabama men's basketball players were at the crime scene. Only one has been charged.
Bama is one of the favorites to win the National Championship and Brandon Miller is their star player so it's obvious why Bama is doing it's best to justify what they are doing.
This morning on ESPN radio Keyshawn Johnson even said Brandon Miller should be attending classes but be held out of basketball activities. Keyshawn and the host both agreed that if Brandon were a walk on player he would have been kicked off the team by now.
Alabama (and the police and DA) is saying that Brandon Miller is a cooperating witness, ignoring the fact that he was in possession of a firearm, which is a violation of student conduct.
From the Alabama Student Conduct handbook:
Article III: Proscribed Conduct
Any student found to have committed one or more of the following acts of misconduct is subject to the disciplinary sanctions outlined in Article V.
D. Offenses Disrupting Order or Disregarding Health and Safety
.........4. Possession or use of a dangerous weapon or firearm on University premises in violation of University , including, but not limited to, the University’s Dangerous Weapons and Firearms Policy.
Article V: Conduct Procedures
Members of the University community are strongly encouraged to participate in the conduct process as witnesses if they have knowledge or information regarding the alleged violation(s) in question and if they have been requested to participate.
Code of Student Conduct
secure2.compliancebridge.com
Replying to you because you are a lawyer, but I have a question about this situation.
Regardless of whether a law was violated, it's clear that Miller violated the student code of conduct. If the University of Alabama is aware of this clear violation (as they clearly are in this situation), doesn't it make it legally difficult for them to enforce the CoC with other students who are less talented at basketball, but whose parents have deep pockets?
Alabama MBB program deserves the SMU-style death penalty for how they are handling this situation.
Except it’s not. There’s no proof of him putting that gun in his car or actually handing it over to miles. The university isn’t going to just punish students with out evidence.
Yes it does. Although governmental entities have enormous discretion and privilege from liability your instincts are correct. It raises the equal protection argument. You boot a kid for drug possession but allow a guy with an illegal gun campus-that was involved in a homicide does not seem like equal treatment.
Although I have mixed feelings about no gun zones-they are hunting grounds for homicidal psychopaths trying to avoid the risk of being shot themselves-it is the rule at Alabama. If this guy is not booted Alabama will never be able to take any action against any student for having guns on campus without a very serious 1983 action.
What proof do they have ??? They can’t just boot someone because they think he put that gun in his car. Public opinion isn’t enough to void someone’s scholarship. Sure it seems like he transported it, but you can’t just assume that is what happened. If the city police aren’t charging him, you expect the university police to do something different ?
I would say it is much more likely that no one yet knows the complete picture. However, those text messages are not dispositive. Stupid criminals make a up a fake email or text conversation all the time. Like that is automatically exonerating.
Proof is any fact that can form the basis of a chain of inferences to produce a logical conclusion. Was the gun carried by hand or in a hat? Whose fingerprints are on the gun, 1 or more persons? If the gun was delivered by someone other than the shooter the middle man would have left prints. There could be three partial sets of prints. The leading scorer might have a tough explanation if his prints are on the gun. Was it carried in a hat? What kind of hat? Some hats would leave fiber traces on the hands of the handler. Was that checked? Was the gun registered? If so, to whom. Whose hat and where did they acquire the hat.
Who drove the car with the gun in it-because that is possession for sure. Whatever is in your vehicle is in your possession unless someone admits they put it there. Has someone admitted to doing so on the record? Probably not a long line of people wanting to admit they transported the gun or turned it over to the shooter in a homicide case. I cannot imagine there is no video footage of the car with the driver and its passengers. Facial recognition tech is a bitch for criminals. Dozens of other fact questions still out there. The driver also have a tough explanation about the gun in the car. Faires didn't put it there, so we might have someone running down some bullshit story about the guns mysterious disappearance.
No one should come to any conclusion until we know all the facts that can be known. The facts in the OP article certainly incriminate the leading scorer. The text messages favor the leading scorer. But there are many more facts to be developed.
The County Attorney is elected. Maybe prosecuting the best player on a nationally prominent team is not politically healthy for him? The cops would lie in a heartbeat for the County Attorney and release on exonerating evidence.
EDIT: We have a regular poster that is a retired and well respected LEO. I won't out him by name but he would probably have an even better view of the investigation that would follow a capital murder.
Last edited:
Alabama currently is playing for an SEC Championship and a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Their leading scorer, Brandon Miler, who brought "the heat" to the murder scene and whose vehicle got hit with a couple rounds, has not missed a game.
Story from ESPN:
www.espn.com
Their leading scorer, Brandon Miler, who brought "the heat" to the murder scene and whose vehicle got hit with a couple rounds, has not missed a game.
Story from ESPN:
How Alabama players, woman's friends converged one fatal night in Tuscaloosa
The story of what happened the night a 23-year-old mother died in a shooting on The Strip near the University of Alabama campus.
It wasn't much fun watching Kansas win the National Championship last year. And this year Alabama is the favorite.
After Brandon's car was struck several times with bullets, he fled the scene. I am assuming he then called his parents, who then likely and very quickly lawyered him up, making sure he said the correct things to law enforcement (ie, that he had no idea there was a gun in his vehicle when he was asked by Miles to bring "the heat").
The Bama head coach recognizes that he has a team that is talented enough to win the NCAA Tournament and he isn't going to let anything stand in his way. Ideally, and I don't know if this is possible, Miller might retroactively be pronounced to be an ineligible player and they would have default on all the games he played in after the commission of the crime. But that would be athletic justice, something that is a rare commodity these days (see Kansas).
It's not unprecedented. UCLA had to vacate their national runner-up in 1980 after they were found to be cheating after the fact.
The same thing happened with Michigan after they won the very first B1G Tournament championship.
That has always been a good trivia question: Who won the first B1G Tournament championship?
Answer: No one.
The SEC. Win at all costs.
Ole Miss has hired Chris Beard.
Alabama's Brandon Miller hasn't missed a game after delivering the murder weapon and having his car hit by several rounds of ammo.
Ole Miss has hired Chris Beard.
Alabama's Brandon Miller hasn't missed a game after delivering the murder weapon and having his car hit by several rounds of ammo.
I would guess there have been some threats?
What a mess, but they brought it on themselves.
Funny, sometimes a murder victim's people are looking for some payback. Would not want to be this guy if the victim was connected to anything more dangerous than some low level bangers or whose family has a more Old Testament sense of justice.
Alabama's Brandon Miller has armed security guard due to threats
March 15, 2023
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Alabama star Brandon Miller was accompanied to the NCAA tournament by an armed security guard Wednesday because of threats directed at him, Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said.
"If you guys saw some of what I've seen sent his way, I think you would understand why that's the case," Oats said of the extra protection the school has lined up for Miller. "I don't want to get into all that. The entire situation, as you know, is just a heartbreaking situation on all accounts."
Miller's name surfaced last month in court testimony involving the capital murder case of former Alabama player Darius Miles and another man, who are charged in the fatal shooting of 23-year-old Jamea Harris on Jan. 15.
A police officer testified that Miles texted Miller asking him to bring Miles' gun in the early-morning hours of the shooting. Fellow freshman starter Jaden Bradley was also at the scene. Neither Miller nor Bradley has been accused of any crime, and the university has described Miller as a cooperating witness, not a suspect.
The Crimson Tide (29-5) have a No. 1 seed in the tournament for the first time in school history. They'll play their opening game in the South Regional on Thursday, facing No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Birmingham -- less than an hour's drive from the Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa.
The guard, who wore a gun, badge and Alabama polo shirt, accompanied Miller to the interview area and later watched him take part in a light practice.
The freshman, who was the SEC player and newcomer of the year, declined to go into specifics about the extra security, implying that it was nothing unusual.
"I always travel with security to all the games," Miller said. "That's all I'm going to say on that."
But Oats conceded that it was hardly business as usual.
"Some of the messages from people that can sit behind fake email addresses, but who knows whether they're real or not," Oats said. "But if you'd seen what I've seen, you would understand what's going on right now."
Oats added that he looks at all his players like his own children: "I put myself in his parents' shoes, and our administration has seen the stuff that I've seen. It's appropriate. But it's nothing a college kid should have to go through."
After Miller's name came to light in the case, he received a harsh reception during a victory at South Carolina, where the crowd chanted "lock him up" and "guilty."
Miller has repeatedly declined to discuss details of the case, saying last week only that he has relied on the camaraderie of his teammates to cope with issues off the court.
"I just lean on my teammates," he said. "They're like family for me away from home."
Bama's Miller has armed guard due to threats
Alabama star Brandon Miller was accompanied to the NCAA tournament by an armed security guard Wednesday because of threats directed at him, Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said.
