Suspect in 2021 Lynchburg murder pleads guilty and is sentenced to prison

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WDBJ) – The suspect in a fatal shooting in Lynchburg pleaded guilty and was convicted.

On November 13, 2024, 29-year-old Ja’Quain Quintez Miller pleaded guilty to an amended charge of manslaughter, plus use of a firearm during a murder, possession of a firearm by a violent felon, possession of cocaine with the intent to commit to distribute, and possession of a firearm while in possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

Miller also pleaded guilty to two probation violations and was convicted on one count of assault and battery on a corrections officer. He was sentenced to a total of 38 years in prison.

All charges arose from the death of Scottie Humbles47, April 20, 2021 at the James Crossing Apartments. Lynchburg Police responded to the front of the 805 building on Greenfield Drive because a man had been shot. Officers found Humbles, the apartment complex’s maintenance worker, face down on the sidewalk of the parking lot. He suffered two gunshot wounds to the head and was pronounced dead.

Witness accounts led police to Miller in the woods and he was taken into custody.

An officer noticed that Miller was naked, covered in leaves and dirt, and had what appeared to be blood on him. Miller was sweating profusely, police say, and repeatedly said “don’t shoot me” and “let me live, I’ll do the right thing.” Miller told police, “I’m downstairs now. I will be a good person. I’m not gonna do no more bad man, just let me see my son.

On the way to a police car, Miller saw his family and started shouting, “Everyone, I’m sorry. I’m just sorry. Don’t shoot me,” police said. He told police: “I’m good, but I did something bad.”

Surveillance footage of the crime showed Humbles walking out the front of the building and across the parking lot to his golf cart containing his tools, Commonwealth’s Attorney Bethany Harrison said. Miller can be seen walking straight toward Humbles at the same time, and then surveillance shows a person falling to the ground as the two men crossed paths, and then Miller is seen running away, making a move toward a dumpster and undressing.

In the dumpster, police found Miller’s fanny pack containing his wallet and identification card, individually wrapped, torn-off sandwich bags containing cocaine, a cellphone and a .380 Ruger pistol, the prosecutor’s office said.

Shell casings from the parking lot where Humbles was found and projectiles recovered from his body were analyzed by the Virginia Department of Forensic Science and determined to have been fired from the gun found in the dumpster.

Miller was originally charged with first-degree murder, based on witness statements, but the charge was reduced to second-degree murder due to the witnesses’ lack of cooperation, refusal to go to court, and open hostility toward the prosecutor, according to CA Harrison.

Harrison said the Humbles family had been consulted about the settlement and were satisfied with the length of the active prison sentence, and wanted to see a resolution to the case.

Once the prison sentence is served, Miller must submit to 36 months of supervised probation, maintain good behavior for 80 years and have no contact with the Humbles family.