Lynchburg man pleads guilty to 2021 Greenfield Drive killing

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — A Lynchburg man will spend nearly four decades behind bars after pleading guilty to murder at the James Crossing Apartments in 2021.

Ja’Quain Quintez Miller, 29, pleaded guilty to the following charges:

• Second degree murder
• Use of firearms during murder
• Possession of a firearm by a violent felon,
• Possession of cocaine for the purpose of distribution
• Possession of a firearm while possessing cocaine for the purpose of distribution

Miller also pleaded guilty to two counts of probation violation and was convicted of a separate charge of assault and battery on a corrections officer.

Miller was sentenced to a total of 38 years in prison, with 36 months of post-release probation, 80 years of good behavior and no contact with Humbles’ family.

Miller was indicted in November 2021.

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In a statement, Lynchburg State’s Attorney Bethany Harrison wrote that Miller was initially charged with first-degree murder “based on multiple eyewitness accounts.”

“The charge was reduced to second-degree murder due to lack of cooperation, refusal to appear in court and open hostility to the prosecution,” Harrison wrote. “Without eyewitness testimony, the Commonwealth’s ability to prove intent was greatly hampered.”

LPD responded to the 800 block of Greenfield Drive on April 20, 2021.

At the scene, they found 47-year-old Scotty Jerome Humbles with two gunshot wounds to the head.

Officers tried to save Humbles, but he died from his injuries,” Harrison wrote.

According to one of the police officers, Miller was found in the woods near the apartment complex “naked, covered in leaves and dirt, and with what appeared to be blood on him.”

Officer J. IN. Williams also said Miller said, “I’m good, but I did something bad.”

Harrison cited surveillance video showing Miller and Humbles confronting each other in the parking lot and Humbles falling to the ground. Miller was seen running past the dumpster and heading toward it.

“Inside the dumpster, officers found a fanny pack belonging to Miller containing his wallet and identification card, individually wrapped tear-off corners of a cocaine sandwich bag, a cell phone and a .380 Ruger handgun,” Harrison wrote.

The Virginia Department of Medical Examiners later determined that the bullets that killed Humbles were fired from a Ruger handgun found in a dumpster.