Charlotte Hornets rookie and former Alabama basketball player Brandon Miller is one of three men named in a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of Jamea Harris, a woman who was killed in a shooting in January near the University of Alabama campus.
The lawsuit was filed on Friday in U.S. district court for the Northern District of Alabama Western Division by Harris' mother and asked for a jury trial to award damages to the victim's family. Harris was with her boyfriend in Tuscaloosa visiting her cousin when she was shot and killed back in January.
The other two men named in the lawsuit are former Alabama player Darius Miles and Michael Davis, both of whom are in jail and facing capital murder charges in the death of Harris. Miller was not charged with a crime, but Miles is accused of bringing the gun to Davis, who shot and killed Harris.
In a February hearing, a police investigator testified that Miller was present during the shooting and that the gun police said Miles gave Davis that killed Harris was from the back of his car.
The lawsuit alleged Miles, Davis, and Miller "knew or should have known that bringing a dangerous weapon to a dispute and discharging said weapon would likely result in harm." The complaint also stated that "as a direct or proximate consequence of the negligence or wantonness of each of the defendants," Harris was caused to suffer serious fatal injuries.
The attorneys for Harris' family told ESPN they want the truth from all three men behind Jamea's death and the events that led to the shooting that fateful night.
"They would like to hear testimony from all three of the young men involved concerning what they did, said and saw," Farris said. "The family would like the opportunity, through their attorneys, to investigate why and how the gun was brought to the scene of a confrontation that resulted in the death of their daughter. Once we have had the opportunity to evaluate the evidence in the case, we can make decisions about the degree of culpability, if any, of each."
Miller is getting ready to start his first season in the NBA as a rookie with the Charlotte Hornets. He signed a contract in July worth $49 million over four years and will make $11 million in the first year of his deal.
