Breaking down Darius Miles capital murder case surveillance video: What we learned

A white car whipped across the middle turn lane in front of another car, drove up onto the sidewalk then rocketed in the other direction on University Boulevard.

Across the street from Twelve25 sports bar, a man shielding a woman while moving across the street halted and grabbed her to keep her from being hit by the white car.

A few people sprinted away along the sidewalk of University. On the other side of the street, several others ran away from the scene in the direction of the University of Alabama. A few stood still, but most scrambled.

At least 11 shots had just rang out at about 1:45 a.m. on Jan. 15, near the Strip in Tuscaloosa.

Gunfire had been exchanged that resulted in the death of Jamea Harris, a 23-year-old woman from Birmingham.

Investigators said the gun used to kill Harris belonged to former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles, 21, but that Michael Davis, now 21, pulled the trigger, per court documents. A grand jury indicted Miles and Davis on capital murder charges in March. Both have been jailed without bond since Jan. 15.

Two bond hearings have been held for Miles. Throughout, his attorney, Mary Turner, has argued Cedric Johnson, the boyfriend of Harris, was the initiator of the incident and that Miles provided the gun to Davis for protection. Davis’ attorney, John Robbins, has argued Davis acted in self-defense. Meanwhile, the state’s position is that Davis shot first.

To better understand what happened on Jan. 15 – past what only has been presented in courtrooms – The Tuscaloosa News spent dozens of hours examining footage from 12 surveillance cameras on and near the Strip, including Twelve25, the Houndstooth and Publix.

Here are some of the noteworthy takeaways and moments. All details from Jan. 15 are from the video unless specified otherwise.

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Names to know in Darius Miles capital murder case

Before the notes from surveillance video, here is more information about people who will be mentioned throughout.

Darius Miles: A 21-year-old former Alabama basketball player from the Washington, D.C., area. He hadn’t made an appearance in a game since Dec. 20, 2022, and UA had ruled him out for the year with an ankle injury on Jan. 14. He was averaging 6.5 minutes per game in his third season with the program.  

Michael “Buzz” Davis: A friend of Miles since childhood who is from Charles County, Maryland. He was 20 at the time of the shooting but has since turned 21. He is not affiliated with the University of Alabama, per police.

Jamea Harris: A 23-year-old woman from Birmingham and the mother of a 5-year-old boy named Kaine. She is not affiliated with UA.

Cedric Johnson: The boyfriend of Harris and the father of their son. From Birmingham, he is not affiliated with UA.

Asia Humphrey: A first cousin of Harris. She has been a student at UA for four years and expects to graduate in 2024.

Shu’Bonte Greene: A 23-year-old man from Birmingham.

Jaden Bradley: A 19-year-old basketball player who played his freshman season at Alabama. The former five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American transferred to Arizona in May.

Brandon Miller: Also a former five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American. As a 20-year-old freshman, Miller was SEC player of the year and SEC Tournament MVP in 2022-23. He declared for the 2023 NBA Draft and is expected to be a lottery pick.

Skylar Essex: The girlfriend of Miles.

Micah: Someone Humphrey knows, he was wearing a yellow sweatshirt on the night of the shooting. She didn’t specify his last name in court testimony.

Jack: Someone with Greene who wore a red jacket. Turner said in court Greene told the defense his name was Jack.

Kevon: Another person with Greene who wore a predominantly black and grey sweatshirt. Turner said in court Greene told the defense his name was Kevon.

The logistics: Escalation in a small space and a short time

Everything happened in a relatively small area over a relatively short period of time.

Most of the noteworthy moments that preceded Harris’ death occurred on University Boulevard or Grace Street. The events spanned about 11 minutes and less than a third of a mile.

Four vehicles are key: Miller’s Dodge Charger, Bradley’s Dodge Challenger, a red car Greene was driving and the black four-door Jeep Wrangler. Although drivers of each vehicle cannot be seen from surveillance video, they are known to be the drivers based on court testimony.

The first encounter at the Jeep

Harris and Humphrey were in the Jeep when it rolled up to the stop sign on Grace Street at University Boulevard. At 1:34:24 a.m., Johnson got in the back left passenger seat with a white bag.

The three had been at Twelve25, and Johnson got food from Quick Grill across the street before the two women retrieved the Jeep, Humphrey testified.

Not long after, Miles, Bradley and Davis left Twelve25. The two groups didn’t interact inside the sports bar, the police investigator testified. But that would change shortly.

Miles initially walked past the Jeep but came back. Davis and Bradley trailed a few steps behind him before Davis stopped to the front left of the Jeep at 1:36:41 and danced for about four seconds while Bradley kept walking. Then Davis walked up to the left rear window.

Bradley tugged on Davis’ right arm, but Davis kept talking to the three people inside. Once Miles arrived, he peered inside then stepped between Davis and the vehicle. Bradley later told police Miles had a calming effect on Davis.

Bradley successfully tugged Davis away from the Jeep as the interaction continued. But Davis shrugged off Bradley’s grasp and moved around Miles to talk into the left rear window again.

By 1:37:20, Davis started to back away from the Jeep with Bradley, while Miles continued to talk to people in the Jeep.

Two seconds later, Harris handed something from the front passenger seat to the back seat. Johnson told police it was food, per the police investigator. Miles told police he saw a gun passed back to Johnson and he got Davis away. The Tuscaloosa News could not determine the exact item passed back based on surveillance video.

At 1:37:25, Miles walked away, down Grace Street, with Davis and Bradley.

It’s unclear what role this interaction between the groups had in the eventual death of Harris, as different statements were made in court.

When Davis initially walked up to the Jeep and started dancing, Johnson told Davis, according to testimony from Humphrey: “No, brother, why don’t you be good?” She was sitting in the driver’s seat at the time.

According to Johnson's statement to police, these three things happened: Davis was attempting to talk to Harris, but she refused to talk to him; Johnson told Davis that Harris has a boyfriend and to move along; And Davis also asked him if he knew who he was and what he could do to him.

Humphrey, however, testified she didn’t hear any threats, saying all she heard was a statement from Davis: “I don’t want your girl.”

The meeting at the Jeep is significant because it is the only known interaction between the two groups in a separate location from the shooting. Several members of each group stood by each other shortly after midnight in line outside Twelve25, but there was no indication the two parties interacted at that time.

Johnson then meets with Greene and company twice

In the minutes after the exchange at the Jeep, Johnson had a few interactions of note.

Johnson got out of the Jeep at 1:37:51 a.m. First, he walked over to the right side of the Jeep. Three individuals were standing at the front passenger window, one of whom Humphrey knew named Micah. Wearing a yellow sweatshirt, Micah had been next to the driver's window while Miles, Davis and Bradley were there. Micah was trying to learn what the Jeep's next move was, Humphrey testified, but Humphrey couldn’t figure out how to open the window. So she told Micah to go to the passenger side to talk.

The two other individuals joined him at the passenger-side window. One asked for Harris’ number, but that didn’t make Johnson mad, Humphrey testified.

Micah and the two other individuals immediately left once Johnson got out and walked to their side. Johnson kept his right hand on his right hip the entire time. Afterward, Johnson started to walk back to the left side of the Jeep. Then he pivoted, walked across the street to Twelve25 to tell Greene something at 1:38:30 and walked back across University Boulevard to the Jeep.

Greene talked to Jack and Kevon, and all three walked across University Boulevard but in the direction of the Houndstooth. The trio walked in front of the bar, then off camera.

Johnson was about to meet up with them again.

About 90 seconds after Johnson returned, the Jeep, which had been idling for six minutes at the intersection of University Boulevard and Grace Street, turned right onto University, toward where Greene, Jack and Kevon walked. Johnson was now driving and Humphrey had moved to the back left passenger seat.

The Jeep quickly turned right onto the first available side road, an alley on the other side of the Houndstooth. Near a red dumpster, the Jeep stopped. Johnson parked, got out and walked over to the red car that arrived off camera from behind a building and parked on the other side of the red dumpster. Greene was the driver, per court testimony.

Johnson leaned into the red car for about eight seconds, then returned to the Jeep.

Jack got out of the back right seat of the red car and went to the trunk. Greene told an investigator for the defense that Jack retrieved a shotgun, Turner said during Miles' May bond hearing.

The contents of the discussions Johnson had with Greene cannot be determined from video seen by The Tuscaloosa News or court testimony.

Jeep's headlights turned off

After meeting with Greene by the dumpster, the Jeep turned right, onto a short narrow road that connects to Grace Street, between the Houndstooth and a condo construction site. The Jeep drove slowly then, once it arrived near Grace Street, shut off its headlights.

Shortly after, the red car, with Greene driving, pulled up behind the Jeep, which had sat at the edge of Grace Street for about 30 seconds, waiting for a vehicle and people to clear. At 1:42:57 a.m., the Jeep and red car turned left onto Grace Street, in the opposite direction of University Boulevard.

The Jeep returns

Turning left onto Grace Street, the Jeep and red car soon pass Bradley’s Challenger, which is driving the other way, toward University Boulevard. Soon after, Miller’s Charger pulls up behind Bradley.

Miller and Bradley’s cars were parked when the Jeep and the red car turned around on Grace Street at 1:44:02 a.m..

Grace Street isn't a dead-end street – going north eventually leads to Riverside and Campus drives. Johnson, who has not yet testified in court, told police he turned around on Grace because he wasn’t from around there and was trying to find the best way out. He gave a similar explanation as to why he turned onto the side road from University Boulevard earlier.

Humphrey testified that Johnson never communicated to her that he didn’t know how to get out of there or that he is not familiar with Tuscaloosa. Johnson also never asked Humphrey for directions.

Miles and Davis go to Miller’s car

Miles got out of the front passenger seat of Bradley’s Challenger once they stopped on Grace Street. Miles walked toward University Boulevard in the direction of Essex, who is his girlfriend, and Davis.

By 1:44:09a.m., they all arrived back at the Challenger. Then, Essex stayed put as Miles and Davis walked to the back right door of Miller’s Charger. What occurred behind the door, after they opened it, cannot be seen in the surveillance footage The Tuscaloosa News viewed. But audio taken from Miller's car, obtained through a warrant, explained what was happening.

Here's the conversation Miles and Davis had, per testimony:

“The heat is in the hat,” one said, per the police investigator.

“Is there one in the head?” the other replied.

“You know it is,” the other said.

Their conversation referred to a handgun, the police investigator testified. “One in the head” meant one bullet in the gun’s chamber, according to the investigator's testimony. The investigator testified Davis got the gun himself, that Miles did not hand it to him but told him where it was, and that Miles acknowledged he and Davis went to Miller's car to get Miles' gun.

Miles, who had been in Miller's car earlier in the evening and was dropped off at Twelve25, had texted Miller to bring his joint, which the police investigator testified meant Miles' gun, because someone “rl jus got da fakin,” Miles texted Miller.

Turner cited Urban Dictionary in court, saying "fakin" meant threatening.

Miller’s attorney, Jim Standridge, said in a statement Miller was already on his way to pick up Miles when Miles sent the text asking for Miles’ gun. Standridge also said Miller never touched the gun, wasn’t involved in the exchange and never knew illegal activity involving the gun would occur.

Eight seconds passed while Miles and Davis were behind the back right door of Miller's car, then Miles returned to Essex by the Challenger. Davis went the other direction, going between a nearby condo construction site and another building behind it.

Miles ushers Essex away from Grace Street

At 1:44:43 a.m., Miles moved Essex, who was by Bradley’s Challenger, away from the cars and onto the side road between the Houndstooth parking lot and construction site. Miles left her there and returned to the cars.

The police investigator testified that Davis had told Miles to tell Essex to leave.

Miles, at 1:45:09 a.m., looked into the Challenger. Then he walked back to the Charger and looked inside there, too. Then Miles walked past the Charger and past the Jeep, which still had its headlights off, and had pulled up behind the Charger.

Meanwhile, Davis walked out from between the two buildings toward Grace Street. Miles and Davis passed each other a few steps off Grace Street. The police investigator testified that, from what he could tell, the two didn’t exchange words.

The shooting

Davis started to jog once he stepped onto Grace Street. He cut in front of the red car and behind the Jeep.

At 1:45:37 a.m., Davis arrived at the driver’s door. He squared up and raised his arm. A muzzle flash appeared, but surveillance video that The Tuscaloosa News viewed did not clearly show whether that flash came from a gun inside the Jeep or from the gun Davis had.

From there, Davis and Johnson exchanged gunfire. As it continued, Davis fell back into a pole.

He jumped up and kept shooting as he ran across Grace Street. In the process, Davis cut in front of Miller’s Charger as he was shooting. The police investigator testified Miller's windshield sustained two shots. . At least one Davis fired can be clearly seen hitting the windshield on the passenger side from surveillance video.

By 1:45:45 a.m., Davis had stopped shooting and sprinted onto the small road between the Houndstooth and condo construction site.

Meanwhile, the Jeep, Charger and Challenger tried to leave Grace Street as quickly as possible. The Jeep and Charger bumped each other from the side as the two vehicles kept moving, trying to exit. Bradley's Challenger turned right first onto University Boulevard. Then the Jeep turned left onto University Boulevard toward the Walk of Champions. Finally, Miller’s Charger turned right onto University Boulevard and drove off camera at 1:46:03 a.m.

Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News/USA TODAY Network. Reach him via email: nkelly@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Darius Miles capital murder case surveillance video