Former Miami Hurricanes football player Rashaun Jones had a gun, a motive and an opportunity to kill teammate Bryan Pata in 2006, according to prosecutors, who wrapped up their murder case against the 40-year-old defendant on Wednesday in South Florida.
Without any expected witnesses from Jones’ defense team, jurors are set to begin deliberating on Thursday — nearly 20 years after Pata was killed outside of his apartment complex in Kendall, Florida following a team practice.
A graduate of nearby Miami Central High, the 22-year-old defensive lineman was expected to be drafted by an NFL team before being shot in the back of his head on November 7, 2006.
Jurors heard testimony from 21 witnesses over the last five days.
The most significant testimony may have come from a 2022 recording of former University of Miami faculty member named Paul Conner. As he explained in the recording, Conner told police in 2006 he heard a gunshot and then witnessed a man emerge from the direction of the blast. He also picked Jones out of police lineups in 2006 and 2022.
Due to Conner’s health and memory issues, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Cristina Miranda ruled the 81-year-old was not fit to testify in person at trial, which is why she allowed the 2022 recording to be submitted.
Jones, who pled not guilty to the charges, was arrested in 2021 and remains in custody
The trial in the murder of Bryan Pata is set to being this week nearly 20 years after his death
‘[Conner] immediately came back to the second [photo] and said, “This is the guy who ran past me,”‘ testified Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Detective Juan Segovia, who has worked on the case since 2006.
Segovia was put in charge of the cold case in 2020, which appears to be what led to Jones’ 2021 arrest for second-degree murder.
As Segovia told jurors, Jones’ name repeatedly came up in the days following the crime. He further testified that there was a ‘lot of bad blood’ between the players as Pata’s girlfriend had allegedly been in a previous romantic relationship with Jones.
There are also questions about Jones’ whereabouts at the time of the murder. Segovia claimed phone records indicate the defendant was near the scene of the crime on November 7, 2006.
What’s more, a teammate told police he saw Jones with a .38-caliber revolver, which is believed to be the weapon used in the crime. Another teammate said they’d heard Jones discussing his handgun.
As Segovia told jurors, he believes the evidence in the case points to Jones.
‘It was all the historical previous threats he had made to the victim,’ Segovia said, as quoted by ESPN. ‘It was the threats accompanied with the display or talk of the same type of firearm that killed the victim. It was the phone records, it was the identification of Mr. Connor and all the lies … the lies about where he was that night. The lies about the phone.’
Pata was killed in 2006. His teammate, Rashaun Jones (38), is the prime suspect in his murder.
Teammates of Bryan Pata carry his image to mid-field during a 2006 home game
However, Jones denied owning a firearm when speaking to police.
He has been in police custody for nearly five years due to a series of court delays and turnover for both defense attorneys and prosecutors. Jones has maintained his innocence and declined a pretrial deal that would have given him 15 years in prison with credit for time served.
The former Miami defensive back faces up to life in prison if he’s convicted on the second-degree murder charge.
Defense attorney Christian Maroni rebutted much of the testimony and introduced several other leads pursued by police. However, as reported by ESPN, prosecutors objected each time and the judge typically ruled in the state’s favor.