re: Darius Miles

Darius Miles, ex-Alabama basketball player denied dismissal of capital murder charge

Judge Daniel F. Pruet denied a motion to dismiss the capital murder charge against former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles on Thursday, per court documents.

A pre-trial immunity hearing was held over three days in Tuscaloosa over the span of about a month in which the defense argued that Miles should be immune from prosecution because he acted in self-defense on Jan. 15 leading up to the fatal shooting of Jamea Harris on the Strip. Miles was indicted by a grand jury in March and charged with capital murder alongside Michael Davis, both of whom have been jailed without bond since Jan. 15. Investigators said the gun used to kill Harris belonged to Miles, 21, but that Davis, 21, pulled the trigger. Miles has pled not guilty.

Pruet repeatedly wrote in the ruling that the defense "failed to establish that (Miles) reasonably feared for his safety."

"The defendant failed to establish that he reasonably believed that anyone inside the Jeep was using or about to use deadly physical force or that they were committing or about to commit Assault in the 1st Degree or Assault in the 2nd Degree," Pruet wrote at the end of the 10-page ruling. "Accordingly, the Defendant's Motion is Denied."

Pruet noted Miles told investigators he saw a gun passed back in the Jeep that contained Harris, her boyfriend Cedric Johnson and her cousin, Asia Humphrey. But Pruet noted how no evidence was presented to him that Miles claimed to have been scared or threatened, "and he did not claim that anyone pointed the gun at him," Pruet wrote.

What's next in Darius Miles capital murder case?
The next big step in the case with Miles being denied immunity is either a plea agreement or a trial. More bond hearings could also be possible.