Miller amongst ex-Tide on witness list for May trial

• Michael RothsteinApr 18, 2025, 04:36 PM ET Close Michael Rothstein is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Rothstein covers the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow him through Twitter @MikeRothstein.

4 previous members of the Alabama guys’s basketball program, consisting of existing Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller, are on the witness list for the May 5 capital murder trial of Michael Davis in Tuscaloosa, according to court records.The previous players– Miller, Jaden Bradley and Nick Pringle– along with former trainee supervisor Cooper Lee might be asked to affirm. None of the men on the witness list have actually been accused of misbehavior in the case. They might be served subpoenas and then be anticipated to appear in court. The trial will happen in Alabama’s Sixth Circuit Court with Judge Daniel Pruet presiding.Davis is alleged to have actually shot and eliminated Jamea Harris in an altercation on The Strip, a location of bars and restaurants near to the Alabama school, on Jan. 15, 2023. Davis and previous Crimson Tide basketball player Darius Miles were arrested and prosecuted. Alabama district attorneys charged Miles with”aiding and abetting”Davis by supposedly providing the weapon, according to the charge sheet. The charges became capital charges because Harris was shot and eliminated while in a vehicle.Editor’s Picks< img src="https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/photo/2023/0307/ncb_alabama_illustration_v2_1296x1296.png&w=130&h=130&scale=crop&location=center

“width=” 65″height=

“65”/ > Throughout a February 2023 hearing related to the shooting, a cops detective testified that Miller, then a freshman, had actually brought the pistol to Miles the night of the shooting which Miles had texted Miller and asked him to do so. Miller’s car windscreen was struck by bullets throughout the exchange of gunfire, according to authorities. He and Bradley, who also was on the scene that night, were not charged.Miller’s then-attorney, Jim Standridge, stated his client had “no knowledge of any intent to utilize the weapon”which Miller never touched the weapon. Standridge retired last year.Miller, 22, was the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NBA draft.

He suffered a season-ending broken ligament in his best wrist in January.Prosecutors formerly had actually decreased to pursue the death penalty in Miles’case, which is anticipated to go to trial later on this year. On Thursday, Tuscaloosa County Assistant District Attorney Paula Whitley informed ESPN the capital punishment has also been gotten rid of in Davis’ case.Whitley declined to elaborate on the choice other than to say normally in capital cases, her office will look at multiple elements, consisting of trying “to be constant and look at what other cases in which the capital punishment has actually been looked for.”Davis ‘lawyer, John Robbins, validated to ESPN the capital punishment choice. He also told ESPN he was not shocked by any of the names

on the Alacourt site as potential witnesses in the case.Whitley said a subpoena would be prepared for each potential witness. She decreased to respond to whether any of the four would be asked to affirm however validated their identities.According to court records, none of the 4 have actually been formally served with subpoenas yet.Messages entrusted to Miller’s agent and attorney were not returned to ESPN. Same with the University of Arizona, where Bradley now plays.

A message left for Lee was not immediately returned. Pringle, who just recently transferred from South Carolina

to Arkansas, declined to comment Friday through his agent, Donnell Bruce.If a witness is out of state, there are different procedures required to guarantee a subpoena is served, usually working with a court because jurisdiction, stated Gar Blume, a Tuscaloosa-based criminal defense lawyer without any ties to either the Miles or Davis

cases.Blume informed ESPN the state could inform potential witnesses three things: Be on call, be there when the trial starts or do not stress over showing up at all. That choice is not normally revealed or always reported to the defense, Blume said.Blume said witnesses usually are anticipated to appear

in-person unless both sides accept allow a witness to appear by means of remote video. Blume said defense counsel “will nearly never ever accept that due to the fact that of the accused’s right to conflict.”Blume said witnesses for the prosecution are usually expected to appear in court the very first day of a trial. Prosecutors can keep a witness there throughout the trial, however they aren’t constantly allowed inside the courtroom. “You’re not permitted to sit in the courtroom due to the fact that one witness is not enabled to hear what other witnesses say,”

Blume stated.”Now, there are a number of exceptions to that.”An accused can always be in the courtroom. Exact same with the main investigator and an agent of the victim or victim’s family. Decarla Heard, Harris’mom, is noted as one of the witnesses. Prospective experts also can be in the courtroom for statement in case they require to refute or rebut other expert testimony.If a witness is called by the defense, Blume said,

attorneys often will inquire to be on call and offered to appear within 24 hr– in part since district attorneys present their case initially. He stated defense lawyer don’t want prospective witnesses to have to wait on days.But if asked to appear, Blume said, a witness may spend days waiting to see if he or she is required.

“You have to be there,”Blume said.”Till they get around to calling you. “Last month, a wrongful death civil fit submitted by Heard in 2023 versus Miller, Davis and Miles was settled. As part of the settlement, a trust fund was to be established for Harris’child.ESPN’s

Elizabeth Merrill added to this report.