Former teammate Rashaun Travon Jones, 35, was arrested for first-degree murder on the death of defensive line member Bryan Pata in Miami, according to the state’s attorney’s office. Miami-Dade police.
According to the arrest warrant, Pata entered the parking lot of his apartment complex on November 7, 2006, when a stranger approached him and shot him in the head. The 22-year-old died at the scene as a result of the injuries, according to police.
In the course of the investigation, police learned that Pata allegedly had ongoing problems with Jones and that he had allegedly hit Jones during a physical altercation, according to the order.
About two months before the homicide, Pata also told his brother that Jones had allegedly threatened to shoot him in the head. Pata did not report this to the team’s head coach despite his brother’s pleas to do so, according to the warrant. Investigators also found that Jones had made threats to other people, often with a small-caliber firearm.
After Pata’s death, the University of Miami convened a mandatory emergency meeting for all players, coaches, and staff members that Jones did not attend. After the meeting, he called a fellow student who was at the meeting asking to lend money, but did not say why he needed the money or why he was not at the meeting, according to the order.
Jones was interviewed twice, but told investigators he was at home the night of Pata’s death and had never left, according to the order. However, investigators discovered from his cell phone that the phone was using cell towers located near the crime scene at the time of the murder. In addition, an eyewitness who was in the area at the time of the shooting later identified Jones in a photographic lineup, according to the order.
In two brief conversations with ESPN in 2019, Jones also denied killing Pata.
“The Pata family has waited a long time to see the individual they believed was involved in (Bryan’s) death arrested and charged,” state’s attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. He added that while it takes time to build sufficient evidence in such cases, “the passion and determination of the police and prosecutors to resolve unresolved cases does not diminish.”
According to the state attorney’s office, Jones, who was arrested in Ocala, Marion County, is awaiting extradition to Miami-Dade County to be prosecuted.
On Thursday evening, it was unclear if he had obtained a lawyer.
Diaz said he had spoken Thursday with the Pata family. “It’s important to respect your privacy right now,” he said. “It’s been a very emotional 15 years. They appreciate the people in charge of securing the arrest,” the head coach said.
“Our thoughts are with the Pata family,” Diaz added. “We met their family and we feel a lot of love for them.”