Nothing you've said is factually inconsistent with what Miller and Miles have claimed.
And yet...maybe it's all self-serving lies, which deserve to be scrutinized and tested with further questioning and investigation.
1. "The player in question was always going to pick up the others from the club". Yeah, that's not what happened. Miller was actually WITH THEM at the club, or at least outside the club before the others got into the club. Miller chose not to wait in line, and instead went to a nearby restaurant. Now, since Miller's car was ONE (of two, because Jaden Bradley also drove his gun-free car) used to get to the club, it is entirely possible that this consideration of "you can't bring the gun into the club" was discussed and/or known to Miller prior to the incident happening. So, yeah, not as much of an open-and-shut "Miller knew nothing" assertion as you seem to think it is.
2. "The player in question was already on his way to pick up the others (again that was always the plan), and that is when the text was sent, while he was already driving." Again, this is a statement that you seem to want to believe because of the false storyline that has been circulated. You can say "the player in question" all you'd like, but it's Miller. And Miller was not "already on his way to pick up the others", and it was not "always the plan" and there is no proof that the text was sent "while he was already driving". HOW BIG DO YOU THINK TUSCALOOSA IS? HOW BIG DO YOU THINK THE STRIP IS (it's maybe 5 blocks long)? Miller drove. Jaden Bradley ALSO drove his own gun-free car. And Miller was IN LINE at the club before walking to a nearby restaurant because he didn't want to wait in line. Miller didn't go to freaking Birmingham. There was no plan for Miller to drive back and pick up anyone, because he was nearby, PLUS Jaden Bradley had a (gun-free) car. Yes, there was a plan for some to drive home with Miller BECAUSE IT WAS HIS CAR and he should have been at the club with the rest of the party, if not for his impatience with waiting in line. The murder happened a block or two from the club. This wasn't a case of Miller having to drive a great distance or for a long period of time to pick them up, and there was at least one other driver (Jaden Bradley) with a car.
3. Miller parked his car around 11:30 PM in an alley behind "The Houndstooth", a bar on the north side of University Boulevard, across from the "Twelve25" sports bar on the south side of University Boulevard. Everything that happened (from the parking to the club to the shooting) from 11:30 PM until the murder at 1:45 AM happened within an approximate two block radius. There was no "long drive" that Miller took. Nothing about "he can't read a text in his car while driving". While Miller is going to say he never saw the text, HE WAS NEARBY. It is beyond dispute whether Miles sent a text asking him to bring the gun. What IS disputed (no matter what you choose to believe) is whether Miller actually read the text AND responded to the text accordingly.
4. Once again, Miller didn't drive all the way to Birmingham and back between 11:30 PM and 1:45 AM. Miller didn't want to wait in line at the club. He went to a nearby restaurant for food and/or beverages which didn't involve him waiting in line. Miller wasn't "at home". Miller wasn't "hours away". Now, we can all debate what I'm about to say, but here's the thing. I've gone out to restaurants/bars/clubs with college friends thousands of times. Often in a group where one person drives. And if the INTENT is just to leave a place and go home, you meet at a spot OR AT THE CAR, get in, and drive home. BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT HAPPENED.
5. Miller got a text to "bring the bone" (gun) while he was sitting at a nearby restaurant. And rather than say "no" or "WTF" or "I'll meet you at the car, let's not do something really stupid", he got in his car and drove ONE BLOCK to the murder scene. ONE BLOCK. That's not a "pick me up at the club" situation. That's a "bring the bone when the bone is in the BACK SEAT" situation. Miles sent the "when can you pick me up" text at 1:02 am. Miles sent the "how long you goin be" text at 1:10 am. Miles and his group didn't even leave the club until 1:36 am. And then at 1:38 am, Miles sent the "bring the bone" text, because guys were "faking". And Miller's car made its one-block-journey arrival at 1:43 am.
6. Now, you can choose to cite the whole "legal owner of the gun" thing all you'd like. But if this really WAS a "pick me up" text, and not a "bring me my gun" text, then Miller expects Miles to get in the car and leave. He doesn't sit around waiting for Miles to rummage around in the back seat "looking for God knows what hint-hint". The reality is that Miller sat there as things were said such as "the heat is in the hat" and "is there one in the head" (references to the gun and whether it was loaded) and Miles moved his girlfriend out of the way of what was about to happen. Now, nobody disputes that Miller stayed in the car. Nobody disputes that Miller didn't touch the gun. But Miller delivered the gun and allowed it to be taken out of the car after having been sent a text to bring the gun (all of ONE BLOCK). So, yeah, this is an area for inquiry that doesn't require an investigating officer to accept everyone's accounts at face value.
So, yeah, if you are truly curious about "the steps that Miller could have taken to prevent this" or "how is Miller responsible in any way", you can use the real facts to ask some good follow-up questions. Who knows, maybe it is absolutely true that Miller had NO IDEA of what was happening. But based on what? Because he said so? His statements are the definition of motivated self-interest. But it certainly warrants an investigation.
The real problem here, AT THIS TIME, is not whether Miller committed any crimes are not. The REAL PROBLEM is that it is not being investigated with any sort of vigor. The police have accepted AT FACE VALUE Miller's denials without bothering to consider whether he has every motivation to lie and minimize his involvement. There are many additional questions that could/should be asked, and verification of every aspect of the story with things such as video surveillance, receipts, and eyewitness accounts.
Unfortunately, those things take some time. But that's not my fault or anyone's fault. Someone died, and that death should be investigated with more effort and a certain amount of intellectual skepticism, particularly when one or more of the involved parties has already lied multiple times since the murder.
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