FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Former Miami Hurricanes defensive back Rashaun Jones has been arrested and charged with the murder of his former UM teammate, defensive Bryan Pata, who was shot to death nearly 15 years ago outside his Kendall apartment.
Jones, 35, was arrested on Thursday in Lake City by Miami-Dade police, with the help of U.S. Marshals and will be extradited to Miami-Dade County for trial.
Jones and Pata were teammates at Miami for two seasons (2004-05).
Pata, a graduate of Miami Central Senior High, was a 22-year-old senior at UM when he was killed outside of his home at the Colony Apartments on Nov. 7, 2006.
ESPN published a story in 2020 saying Jones was likely a suspect of Pata’s murder, but no charges were filed until Thursday.
“As a result of 15 years of investigation, countless hours, numerous interviews and work done by countless detectives with the assistance of the state attorney’s office, we were able to obtain an arrest warrant charging Rashaun Jones with first-degree murder,” Juan Segovia, a Miami-Dade homicide detective, said in a video released by the Miami-Dade police department. “As a result of that warrant being signed, the U.S. Marshal service were able to locate Rashaun Jones, take him into custody and he was subsequently arrested for first-degree murder. He’s now awaiting extradition back to Miami-Dade county for prosecution.
“I can only hope this brings the Pata family a little bit of closure and satisfaction knowing that at least the person who took Bryan’s life is now in custody and will be facing charges.”
