Attorney for Alleged Shooter in Strip Murder Case Say He’s Not the ‘Bad Guy’

A defense attorney for the Maryland man accused of fatally shooting a Birmingham woman on the Tuscaloosa Strip Sunday morning said he isn't the "bad guy" in this case and intends to defend himself vigorously.

For background, 20-year-old Michael Davis was one of two men arrested and charged with capital murder after the Sunday morning shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris.

Davis and his co-defendant, Alabama basketball player Darius Miles, both remain jailed without bond in Tuscaloosa County.

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Court documents filed this week said the two suspects were involved in a "minor argument" with Harris and two men who were with her on the Strip Saturday night and Sunday morning. According to depositions filed after his arrest, Miles admitted that he provided a handgun to Davis, who fired the shot that killed Harris while she was in a car on Grace Street.

One of the men who was with Harris drove their vehicle to the nearby Walk of Champions, where University of Alabama Police officers were waiting, but Harris did not survive her injuries.

John Robbins, the Birmingham attorney representing Davis, released a statement on his behalf Thursday afternoon asking people to refrain from judging him until the full details of what happened that night are made public.

“My client and his parents are heartbroken at death of the young lady. They send their deepest sympathies and sincere prayers to her family and friends," Robbins said. "But my client is not the 'bad guy' here. Once all the evidence comes out, the public will see and understand who really is the 'bad guy' in this tragic situation and who put the events in motion that resulted in the death of Ms. Harris."

"We ask that everyone would please withhold judgment until all the facts come out and for the media to refrain from portraying Michael as the 'bad guy,'" he continued. "Michael is a good person from a good family, and he intends to vigorously defend himself against these charges.”

Miles is now represented by Mary Turner of Tuscaloosa's Turner Law Group, who released a similar statement Wednesday asking people to withhold judgment about the tragedy until more evidence is released by law enforcement.