Richmond, Virginia

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch of April 22, 2005

Ex-NFL player killed in city

Police say the former VUU standout was in dispute over a woman

Former Virginia Union University standout cornerback Michael Brim survived eight seasons in the violent world of the NFL before suffering a career-ending injury in 1995.

On Tuesday, his life ended in violence on a quiet, residential street in South Richmond after a shootout with another man.

Richmond police said yesterday that Brim, 39, had been involved in a dispute with Gary Miles, 42, over a woman.

Police found Brim about 10 p.m. with a fatal gunshot wound to the chest on the driveway of a home owned by Miles' brother. Miles was found behind the house with a gunshot wound to the leg. He was listed in serious condition yesterday at VCU Medical Center.

Investigators yesterday did not release details on the duration or specifics of the dispute over the woman. But police spokeswoman Cynthia Price said a preliminary investigation reveals that the fatal sequence of events began earlier in the evening at the American Karate Center on Huguenot Road in Chesterfield County.

She said Brim went to the center, where Miles works, and got into an argument. After the initial disagreement, Price said, Miles "got worried and decided to go see his brother," who lives on Pineway Drive near the Westover Hills neighborhood.

According to police, Brim followed Miles in his car to the house, and fired several times at him as he got out of his car. Miles, who police said was also armed, returned fire, police said, fatally wounding Brim with a shot to the torso.

When Miles' brother returned to his home, he saw both vehicles running and two wounded men on the ground, Price said.

Price said that as of yesterday, no charges have been filed in the case, which is under investigation and is being reviewed by the commonwealth's attorney's office.