Former Miami Hurricanes football Rashaun Jones entered a plea earlier this month to charges of killing a teammate outside a South Florida apartment in 2006, according to ESPN. An attorney for Jones entered a not guilty plea during a remote court hearing after prosecutors filed second-degree murder charges for him. Jones was arrested last month as has been long suspected in the death of Bryan Pata.
The incident happened on Nov. 7, 2006, as Pata, a defensive lineman, was shot and killed outside his Kendall apartment. Witnesses said that they heard arguing and then gunshots. Jones was originally arrested on a first-degree murder charge, but according to prosecutors, Jones could still face that charge if the case is presented to a grand jury.
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“The Pata family has waited a long time to see the individual they had believed involved in Brian’s death arrested and charged,” State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a press release in August. “While the time needed to build sufficient evidence to ethically charge in a homicide can sometimes feel endless, families should know that the passion and determination of police and prosecutors to resolve unsolved cases does not diminish. The commitment of the Miami-Dade Police Department and of my prosecutors and staff to bring the alleged perpetrators to justice never diminishes.”
Investigators learned that Jones and Pata have had their share of arguments prior to the shooting. Pata beat Jones in a fight, and Pata’s brother told investigators that Jones threatened to shoot his teammate two months before his death. Pata never reported the threat and when interviewed by investigators, Jones said he never left his home when Pata died. However, Jones’ cell phone records indicate that he was using different cell towers at the time. Jones was also identified by an eyewitness in a photo lineup.
ESPN published a story last year about the death of Pata and how Jones was a potential suspect. At the time of Pata’s death, Jones was suspended from the stream after failing a drug test. It was also reported that Pata was dating Jones’ ex-girlfriend. Pata, 22 was in his fourth year with the Hurricanes at the time of his death and was expected to be drafted by the NFL in 2007.
