A fourth Alabama male basketball player at the scene of a fatal shooting in January, according to The New York Times, although the university denied this in a statement Wednesday.
Walk-on Kai Spears was allegedly with Brandon Miller inside another car whose windshield was hit by two bullets, according to the Times, which cited an unnamed source familiar with the matter as the person who linked Spears.
Jaden Bradley, a first-year guard, was also at the scene, according to previously released reports.
Darius Miles – arrested, fired from the team and charged with capital murder last week – was the fourth member, and Miles’ childhood friend Michael Lynn Davis has also been charged with capital murder as someone who allegedly fired the bullet that killed 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on January 15.
“Your story is inaccurate,” Alabama said in a statement responding to the Times story, according to AL.com. “Based on the information available to us, there were no current student-athletes present at the scene other than Brandon Miller and Jaden Bradley, who are both fully cooperating witnesses. fully cooperated with law enforcement and supported their investigation.
Spears, the son of Marshall University’s athletic director, declined to comment ahead of Alabama’s opener in the NCAA tournament, according to the Times, saying, “I’m sorry I can’t talk about it. .”
Spears, a freshman from Pittsburgh, did not appear in a game or record any stats in his first season with the Crimson Tide.
Miles was charged with giving the gun to Davis, while Miles allegedly texted Miller to bring his gun to the scene, according to law enforcement testimony.
Miller, who was neither charged nor punished by the team, was defended by his attorneys, who testified that he did not touch the gun.
Alabama will play its first game of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday after winning the SEC regular season title and conference tournament against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Birmingham.
Miller was accompanied by an armed security guard for the Crimson Tide’s practice the day before.
The 20-year-old said he will ‘always travel safely to all games’.