TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Jaden Bradley, a former Alabama and current Arizona senior point guard, testified Wednesday in the capital murder trial of Michael “Buzz” Davis in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Bradley said he heard gunshots on the night of Jan. 14, 2023, while at the scene on The Strip near the University of Alabama campus but did not see who fired the gun.
Davis is accused of shooting and killing Jamea Harris while she was sitting in the passenger seat of a black Jeep. Darius Miles, another former Crimson Tide basketball player, is also charged with capital murder for allegedly “aiding and abetting” Davis.
Bradley is one of four former members of the Alabama men’s basketball team on the witness list, and the first to testify in the trial, which began Monday. The others — former players Brandon Miller and Nick Pringle along with former team manager Cooper Lee — could also be called to take the stand.
Neither Bradley, Miller, Pringle nor Lee has been accused of any wrongdoing in the case.
Bradley, dressed in a gray suit and black button-down shirt, took the stand for nearly 45 minutes Wednesday, often giving short answers to questions asked by Tuscaloosa County Chief Assistant District Attorney Paula Whitley or defense counsel John Robbins.
Bradley testified that on the night of the shooting, he and Davis rode together in Bradley’s two-seat Dodge Challenger to The Strip. Bradley, Davis and Miles went into the Twelve25 Sports Bar on University Boulevard and Grace Street, while Miller went elsewhere.
After the three left the sports bar, Bradley testified that Davis was dancing and laughing near a black Jeep that was idling on Grace Street. He said that Davis and a man in the Jeep, Cedric Johnson, began speaking to each other. According to Bradley, neither Johnson nor Davis directed threats at each other, but their conversation reached a point where Bradley and Miles tried to pull Davis away from it.
The conversation between Davis and Johnson is one of the focal points of the trial.
After the conversation, Bradley said he, Davis and Miles walked back to Bradley’s car, but that Davis went back toward Grace Street because there was “no room in the back seat.” Bradley testified that Davis said he was “worried about the Jeep.”
According to Bradley, he and Miles eventually found Davis on Grace Street. He said Miles left Bradley’s car to talk to his girlfriend and then to Davis. Bradley said Davis and Miles passed his car and then stopped by Miller’s.
The next thing Bradley said he heard were gunshots. He said he did not see the shots being fired, but when he heard them he drove off by himself, eventually getting home. Miller and Bradley were roommates at the time.
During his testimony Wednesday, Bradley also said he was not aware Miles had texted Miller to bring Miles’ gun to the scene of the eventual shooting.
The state has called six witnesses in the first two days of testimony, which continues Thursday morning. Before the start of the trial, the state took the death penalty off the table for Davis as a sentencing option if he is found guilty.
