MIAMI (WSVN) – The trial for a former Miami Hurricanes player accused of the 2006 murder of his teammate has been put on pause.
Opening statements were set to start Tuesday morning for the trial of now 40-year-old former Canes defensive back Rashaun Jones, accused of killing his teammate Bryan Pata.
However, those statements were put on hold after the defense presented new information received on Friday, suggesting that another hit man may be a suspect in this case. They also say the evidence may link the case to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation and Haitian gang members.
“It’s a confidential informant [who] said he was playing dominoes with an individual a few weeks after Bryan Pata was murdered and that individual confessed to killing somebody, so that’s information that according to Dominguez came from ICE, that this statement that was being relayed in 2009, actually occurred a few weeks after the homicide in 2006,” said defense attorney Christian Maroni.
Maroni went on to describe the confession from the individual.
“The confession was, ‘I just killed that kid from the University of Miami. I get paid to perform hits,’” he said.
Following that claim, the judge decided to delay the trial further, as they have many questions that need to be answered before the case is presented to a jury and opening statements begin.
Defense attorneys say this new information about the Homeland Security confidential informant could sway this case. But prosecutors say the timeline doesn’t add up.
“That statement was made. The CI contacted his handler, his special agent, in July of 2009 about a recent homicide,” said a prosecutor. “I don’t want to have openings until we have answers.”
The case stems from the death of then-22-year-old Pata, a defensive lineman and a projected top NFL draft pick at the time. Jones is accused of shooting him in the back of the head outside his Kendall apartment after a team practice in November 2006.
Since then, Pata’s family has been on a decades-long quest for justice. On Tuesday, the family walked into the courtroom to witness the opening statements, only for them to be halted.
Pata’s mother, Jeanette, now wheelchair-bound, wouldn’t let this delay stop her from facing her son’s accused killer.
“Before he sleeps, he makes sure to call Mommy,” said Jeanette in an older interview.
Investigators said the case went cold for several years, until 2021, when new evidence surfaced, and a key witness who was believed to be dead turned up alive.
That discovery led to Jones’ arrest, but the defense has since accused the state of misrepresenting evidence, claiming that documents are missing and that the case has a string of holes.
Prosecutors said Jones rejected a plea deal and has spent the last five years behind bars maintaining his innocence.
After raising concerns about the new evidence, the judge on Tuesday gave both sides an extra day to flesh out the facts before starting opening statements.
As of late Tuesday afternoon, the court was still in session. Jurors were asked to return on Wednesday morning, but it’s unclear if opening statements will begin then.
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