Michael “Buzz” Davis, who is on trial for capital murder for allegedly shooting 23-year-old Jamea Harris on the Strip in January 2023, testified as the defense’s final witness Friday.
Davis said he was close friends with former Crimson Tide basketball player Darius Miles, who is being tried for capital murder in a separate case for allegedly providing Davis with the handgun used to kill Harris. He said on the night of Jan. 14, 2023, he made plans with Miles and other members of the team to go to Twelve25, a bar on the Strip.
Witnesses have said the shooting occurred minutes after Davis got into a verbal altercation with Harris’ boyfriend and the father of her child, Cedric Johnson, along the Strip during the early morning hours of Jan. 15. In video footage shown during the trial, Davis was seen dancing in front of a black Jeep that witnesses said Johnson and Harris were seated in before an argument broke out.
After the argument, Johnson got in the driver’s seat and drove the Jeep behind The Houndstooth, another bar on the Strip, before driving onto Grace Street, which runs between CVS and Houndstooth. The Jeep went down Grace Street before turning around and stopping behind two cars that had pulled up, at which point Davis is alleged to have run from behind the Jeep and shot into it, killing Harris.
When asked by John Robbins, one of his defense attorneys, about his actions after leaving the bar, Davis said he crossed the street and danced near CVS on the Strip for a few seconds before the back window of the Jeep in front of him rolled down. He said a man in the backseat was speaking, and he approached the window because he couldn’t hear him.
The person in the Jeep was Johnson. Davis said Johnson told him “they’re good bro” referring to Harris and her cousin, who were also in the vehicle. Davis said he replied, “I don’t want your girl.”
During his testimony Wednesday, Johnson claimed Davis told him he “whacked” people. In his testimony, Davis denied saying this to Johnson, but he said that he had wanted to get into a fist fight with Johnson. Davis said he realized Johnson had a gun, before Miles and Jaden Bradley, another former Alabama basketball player who had gone out with Miles and Davis that night, pulled him away.
Johnson previously testified to being handed a gun during the argument, but denied having threatened Davis with it.
Davis was cross-examined by Paula Whitley, Tuscaloosa County chief assistant district attorney, regarding his multiple statements to police that he was unaware of how or where he was shot. The statements were played in audio and video clips at trial Thursday. He claimed he said this because he didn’t want to talk to the police.
Davis said that when returning to Bradley’s two-door car, Miles sat in the passenger seat, and basketball equipment left no room for him to sit in the back. He said he got a text from Skylar Essex, Miles’ girlfriend who testified Wednesday, about a fight between two girls she had witnessed on Grace Street, and went to “see if everything was okay.”
Whitley asked about the fact that Davis’ testimony seemingly contradicted that of Bradley, who testified Wednesday both that Davis did not get into the car because he wanted to find the Jeep and also that Bradley’s car did not have enough room for Davis to get into. Davis said he did not remember Bradley testifying to Davis not entering the car so he could find the Jeep.
Davis said he asked Essex if she had seen a black Jeep because he was worried, as Johnson had a weapon. He said Brandon Miller then arrived to pick up Miles and deliver the gun after receiving a text from Miles that he needed his “joint.”
Davis said he saw Johnson’s Jeep approach behind Miller’s car with its headlights off, which he thought signaled Johnson was about to shoot him or his friends in a drive-by shooting. Davis admitted to then retrieving the handgun from Miller’s car before hiding behind a nearby apartment complex. He then said he “ran up” to the side of the Jeep and reached for his gun after seeing Johnson was holding one. Davis claims he was shot first, but said he shot back at Johnson.
Branden Culpepper, who at the time was an investigator with the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit, testified Thursday that the gun used to kill Harris was found in former Crimson Tide basketball player Jaden Quinerly’s apartment, wrapped in a towel in a closet. Davis denied hiding it and said that he handed the gun to Miles after the shooting and wasn’t sure what Miles did with it.
The defense rested its case following Davis’ testimony, with closing statements from both sides to follow Friday afternoon.
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