A former Miami (Fla. football player was arrested Thursday by police in connection with the shooting death of Bryan Pata in November 2006. This happened nearly 15 years ago and nine months after an ESPN investigation revealed that there were missteps in the lengthy-stalled investigation.
According to Miami-Dade Police Department, Rashaun Jones (35), was arrested by U.S. marshals on a murder charge. Juan Segovia, detective, thanked the Pata family as well as the community for their support in solving the case.
Segovia stated that "the community never stopped contacting me." "Even though we received a thousand tips, only one of them actually put the pieces together, it was what it took. And that's exactly what happened here.
"I only hope this brings some closure to the Pata family and some satisfaction."
According to the Miami Herald, Jones was taken into custody in Marion County in central Florida. Segovia stated that Jones was in Miami awaiting extradition. Additional details about what led to the arrest of Jones were not immediately available.
While ESPN was investigating the case in April 2019, Jones claimed he knew that Pata had been killed by police officers and some of his former teammates. However, he denied any involvement.
He said that "what happened twelve years ago, happened twelve years ago." It has nothing to do me. It's not my fault. I didn't do it."
Jones' wife, Ishenda Jones, wrote last year in a text to ESPN, "[Rashaun’s] comment was that he was innocent." Bryan was not killed. Miami-Dade did not find any evidence against my husband."
One week later, Pata was celebrating his 37th birthday. Pata was shot in the head by someone as he got out his SUV near his apartment complex, four miles from Miami campus. Pata was returning from afternoon practice at 7 p.m., and he was still months away from being selected for the NFL draft.
Jones was long suspected in the 15-year old homicide. This fact was revealed in an ESPN report last November. It outlined several theories and also questioned Pata's family about whether police had the skill and commitment to solve the case.
Although police have maintained publicly that they do not have one suspect for many years, an officer who was supervising the investigation stated last summer that police had a "strong belief" in Bryan Pata's death and had been close to arresting him at least a decade before.
According to ESPN documents and interviews, Jones and Pata had a history full of fights and arguments. Jones also had dated Jada Brody's girlfriend before Jones was shot. According to police records, Brody was cooperative with police at the time of the shooting but expressed frustration when they returned to ask more questions several months later. Records do not indicate that she ever spoke out about Jones' involvement. ESPN reached Brody more than two years ago via text, phone, and social media. She has never agreed to an interview.
According to ESPN, the police believe that the shooter was waiting for Pata in the bushes or behind the dumpster. The shooting was not captured on security cameras, so police have yet to find anyone who witnessed it. According to police, some people who were interviewed said they heard loud voices and others heard gunshots.
Lt. Rudy Gonzalez, a police officer, stated that he interviewed a resident about the murder and said that he saw him running away from the scene as he was walking through the lot. They were able to create a sketch from the description provided by the resident. Records indicate that a lineup was presented to an unidentified individual. Police have refused to release the sketch, or say if it matches any suspects.
ESPN sued Miami-Dade in March 2020 for withholding and redacting records related to the case. The network claimed that the records should be made public since the case was closed. However, police said that the case was not inactive and promised to reopen it.
Later, Lt. Joseph Zanconato was transferred from the homicide unit and told the judge that the police were only "a puzzle piece" away closing the case. Zanconato replied "Yes" when asked if the department would make an arrest in the "foreseeable future".
Police interviewed many people and created more than 4,000 pages of case files. There were references to nightclub fights and stolen rims. However, Jones material and notes were prominently featured.
More than 100 people had been interviewed by police and/or background checked. Each file had a cover sheet that was attached before any information. In the case report, Jones' cover page only mentions Jones as a "suspect." According to court testimony, the sentences that were blacked out at the bottom of a page with other information about Jones were believed to have been dealing with "our primary individual of interest."
One former teammate told ESPN that Jones and Pata had fought in a past interview. According to this account, Jones warned Pata and Jones as they were separated.
Interviews and documents show that Jones was absent from the mandatory team meeting on the night of the murder. After testing positive for marijuana, Jones was suspended the next day. This was his third failed drug test.
Later, Jones would tell police that he was at home the night Pata died and that when he learned of Pata's death he went to the Hecht Athletic Center, possibly for the meeting. Other witnesses and ESPN's more than dozen former players told police that Jones was not there. Police also noted that Jones gave a false alibi in their report.
ESPN reviewed police records that indicated Jones borrowed money from a Miami-based athlete that night in order to travel out of town. The athlete was interviewed by police, who agreed to speak to ESPN under the condition that Jones not be identified. He confirmed that Jones asked for money but declined to comment further. Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak was a liaison with law enforcement for the Hurricanes at that time. He stated that Jones kept coming up as he spoke to players at the football facilities on Nov. 7.
Hudak stated that Jones had something to do it. "I made sure the detectives had this information when it was brought up by the players." I don't know what happened to those leads.
2017 saw Pata's family and police hold a news conference asking for tips and leads. As ESPN journalists worked on this story for three years, officers kept repeating that they believed that there was another person with first-hand knowledge, and that they needed that person to speak up. The records lawsuit brought by ESPN was filed in September 2020. Miami-Dade Police won a large part of the case. This was partly because officers promised they would renew their case and that they were likely to arrest someone in the "foreseeable future". The Pata investigation officers that had been involved in the case were either terminated or retired around this time. Jorge Aguiar, Miami-Dade police chief, said that he had given Juan Segovia, one the original Pata detectives, the task of taking over the Miami-Dade crime bureau. Segovia had been reinterviewing witnesses from the Pata case, but he did not give any further details. Aguiar did not respond to voicemails or emails requesting updates after the ESPN story was published.
Jones was convicted and charged with several drug-related and criminal traffic offenses over the years. This includes an arrest and release on the same day in May for a second-offense driving while suspended license citation in Columbia County.
CoachUp lists Jones as a private coach. He claims to have 10 years experience in training children and adults. According to the site, Jones was a volunteer for Columbia High School's football team. His page begins with a quote that reads: "(I have) seen what mistakes to avoid when you have all the world in your hands!"
This report was contributed by Scott Frankel, Elizabeth Merrill, and Dan Arruda from ESPN.
