MIAMI – The former University of Miami football player who faces a first-degree murder charge in the 2006 fatal shooting of his 22-year-old teammate Bryan Pata, arrived on Thursday at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Rashaun Jones, 35, of Lake City, who played three seasons with the Miami Hurricanes, was arrested on Aug. 19 in Marion County.
The Hurricanes expected Pata, a Miami Central High School grad, to be an early pick in the 2007 NFL Draft after his fourth season when he was murdered.
The defensive lineman was shot in the head about 7 p.m. on Nov. 7, 2006, while in the parking lot of the Colony Apartments at 9315 SW 77 Ave. The killer didn’t steal his black Infiniti or his cash.
Jones had told detectives he was home. Detectives found cell tower records associated with Jones’ cell phone data showing that at about 6:41 p.m. his phone was using a tower at 7200 SW 87 Ave., and at about 7:40 p.m., a tower at 6781 SW 72 St.
The distance from the location of the cell site to the homicide is 2.2 miles or 7 minutes away, according to the Miami-Dade Police Department. An eyewitness also identified Jones in a photo lineup, Pata and Jones had gotten into a fight, and Jones had threatened to shoot Pata before, police said.
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Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Emily Hales contributed to this report.