Trial beginning for ex-teammate accused of killing UM football star Bryan Pata

The trial of a former University of Miami football player accused of killing his teammate outside a South Florida apartment complex nearly two decades ago was beginning Tuesday.

Opening statements were expected in the trial of Rashaun Jones, who faces a murder charge in the killing of Bryan Pata.

Pata, a rising defensive lineman for the Hurricanes, was 22 years old when he was shot in the back of the head on Nov. 7, 2006, outside an apartment complex in southwest Miami-Dade.

The case went unsolved for years before the arrest of Jones in 2021.

Investigators said they learned through numerous interviews that Pata and Jones, who played three seasons with the Hurricanes, had experienced confrontations before the shooting.

Pata previously beat his teammate during a fight, officials said. And Pata’s brother told investigators that Jones had threatened to shoot Pata two months before his death. Despite the urging of his brother, Pata never reported the threat.

During two interviews with detectives, Jones told investigators that he was at his own home and never left on the night of Pata’s death. But records show that Jones’ cellphone was using different cell towers around the time of the shooting, authorities said. And an eyewitness in the area at the time of the shooting identified Jones in a photo lineup, police said.

Jones, now 40, has pleaded not guilty, and earlier this month rejected a 15-year prison plea deal offered by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.

Jones’ attorneys have argued that the lengthy delay in filing charges has made it impossible for him to receive a fair trial.

According to court records, seven potential witnesses have died, one responding officer now suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, and the key witness who allegedly placed Jones at the scene has experienced cognitive decline.