Defense lawyers seeks bond for basketball player

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Defense lawyers are asking for a University of Alabama basketball player charged with capital murder to be released on bond, arguing he is not a threat to the community and there is scant evidence against him.

Darius Miles’ attorney on Thursday asked a judge to set a bond hearing. The 21-year-old former junior reserve forward for the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide is accused of providing the gun in a fatal shooting that killed a young woman near the University of Alabama campus. The university released a statement saying Miles was removed from the team and the campus following his arrest, but offered no further details on his status as a student. Miles is currently being held without bond at the Tuscaloosa County Jail.

Defense lawyer Mary Turner wrote in the request that Miles is not a flight risk and has no prior criminal history. She also asserted that the prosecution would be unable to produce enough evidence at the bail hearing for a jury to sustain a capital conviction against Miles. She argued one standard regarding bail is to deny bail if prosecutors show evidence that could sustain a conviction and “to allow bail if the evidence is not so efficacious.”

Prosecutors have not responded to the request for a bond hearing.

Miles and Michael Lynn Davis, 20, are charged with capital murder in the shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Harris. The shooting occurred early Sunday morning on the Strip, a student-oriented business district of bars and restaurants near the Tuscaloosa campus. Harris was sitting in the passenger seat of a car when she was struck by a bullet, police said.

Investigators wrote in a court document that Miles admitted to providing the gun used in the fatal shooting, but Davis fired the weapon.

Miles will appear before a judge for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 7 at the Tuscaloosa County Jail, according to a court document.