Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller, the second overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, is the subject of a wrongful death lawsuit.
ESPN reports that Miller and two other men, former Alabama player Darius Miles and Michael Davis, were named in the suit. Miles and Davis are facing capital murder charges for the shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris. Miller was not charged in the January 15 homicide.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama Western Division by the Harris family, demands a jury trial to award damages.
“(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 lawsuit reads. “(Harris died) as a direct or proximate consequence of the negligence or wantonness of each of the defendants.”
During testimony back in February, a police investigator said that Miller was at the scene of the crime and that the firearm used in the shooting had been retrieved from his car. However, Miller’s attorney, Jim Standridge, has stated that Miles brought the gun into Miller’s car and that the star forward was not aware of its presence.
“(Miller had) no knowledge of any intent to use the weapon,” Standridge said in a February statement. “Further, it is our understanding that the weapon was concealed under some clothing in the back seat of his car.”
A Tuscaloosa chief deputy district attorney said that Miles could not be charged for a crime because there was nothing to charge him with.
“They would like to hear testimony from all three of the young men involved concerning what they did, said and saw,” Harris family attorney Kirby D. Farris said, via ESPN. “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 addressed the shooting in March, saying, “I never lose sight of the fact that a family lost one of their loved ones that night. This whole situation is just really heartbreaking.”
After being selected second overall, Miller signed a four-year, $49 million million deal in July that will pay him upwards of $11 million as a rookie.
