A fourth Alabama men's basketball player has been identified as being one of the individuals on the scene of the deadly Jan. 15 shooting where 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris was murdered, according to the New York Times. Freshman walk-on Kai Spears was deemed to have been at the scene along with Brandon Miller, Jaden Bradley and Darius Miles, who had all been previously identified.
Spears and Miller were together in Miller's car when the windshield of the vehicle took two bullets, The Times reports. Neither were injured.
Alabama, the No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, disputed the Times' report in a statement Wednesday less than 24 hours before its first-round game against No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Spears declined comment when asked in a Wednesday media availability.
"Your story is inaccurate," Alabama said in a statement to the Times. "Based on the information we have, there were no current student-athletes present at the scene other than Brandon Miller and Jaden Bradley, who are both fully cooperating witnesses. From the outset, UA Athletics has fully cooperated with law enforcement and supported their investigation."
Miles was indicted this month on a capital murder charge for the killing of Harris. Michael Lynn Davis was indicted on the same charge.
Miles is accused of supplying the gun in the murder, though Davis is the one who allegedly committed the shooting. Miller is accused of driving the gun to the scene at the request of Miles, though his attorney denies he saw or handled the gun. He faces no charges in the case.
Miles was dismissed from the team after the incident came to light, but Miller's and Bradley's involvement was not known until weeks afterward. They have continued to play for the Tide, which boast the second-best betting odds of winning the NCAA Tournament.
Miller earned All-American first team honors earlier this week after shining for Alabama as a freshman and even garnering buzz as a possible top-two pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
