The Rashaun Jones murder case, in which the former University of Miami football player stands accused of killing his teammate Bryan Pata in 2006, ended its first trial in a hung jury on March 2, 2026 and is now scheduled for retrial on September 14, 2026. The retrial has been pushed back from May after a wave of pretrial disputes: misconduct allegations against the lead detective, the disciplinary history of a former prosecutor, a contested jailhouse informant, a new felony drug charge against Jones inside jail, and a pending defense motion to dismiss the case outright.1ESPN. Bryan Pata Rashaun Jones Retrial Postponed Misconduct Allegations
The Charge and the 15-Year Gap
Bryan Pata, a 22-year-old Hurricanes defensive lineman and projected 2007 NFL Draft prospect, was shot in the head in the parking lot of the Colony Apartments in southwest Miami-Dade on the evening of November 7, 2006, after returning home from practice. The murder weapon was never recovered.2CBS News Miami. Mistrial Declared in Case Against Former UM Player Rashaun Jones
Investigators focused early on Jones, a teammate with a history of conflict with Pata. Prosecutors say the two had fought in a dorm room in 2004 and that, roughly two months before the shooting, Pata told his brother Edwin that Jones had threatened to shoot him in the head.3Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. Arrest Made in 2006 Brian Pata Cold Case Homicide Jones told police he was home the entire evening, but cell tower records placed his phone 2.2 miles from the scene at 6:41 p.m. and near another tower at 7:40 p.m. Prosecutors nonetheless concluded they lacked enough evidence to charge, and the case sat dormant for years.
Detective Juan Segovia of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office reopened the cold case in 2020.4NBC Miami. Why Police Waited 15 Years to Accuse Someone in UM Football Players Murder On August 19, 2021, a U.S. Marshals-led task force arrested Jones, then 35, outside his workplace in Ocala.5U.S. Marshals Service. US Marshals Miami-Dade PD Arrest Suspect 2006 Murder of U of Miami Football He was charged with second-degree murder, pleaded not guilty, and has remained in custody since. Bond was initially set at $850,000; Jones could not post it. In February 2026 he rejected a 15-year plea offer, telling the court, “Dismissal would be the only thing I am willing to accept.”
What Happened at the First Trial
The trial opened in Miami-Dade County in February 2026 before Judge Cristina Miranda, with Assistant State Attorney Cristina Diamond leading the prosecution. The state’s theory was jealousy: Pata had “the girl,” “the talent,” and “the popularity,” while Jones had been suspended twice and was watching his football prospects shrink.6Miami Herald. Bryan Pata Murder Trial On the morning of the murder, head coach Larry Coker had told Jones he was suspended from the team for failing a second drug test. Jones changed his phone number that day and did not attend the mandatory emergency meeting the athletic department called after the shooting.7ESPN. Former Miami Player Rashaun Jones Trial Death Bryan Pata
The evidence was largely circumstantial. Prosecutors relied on the cell tower records, testimony from former teammates that Jones owned a gun, and an eyewitness identification by Paul Conner, a retired University of Miami writing instructor who lived in the complex and reported seeing a man walking toward the gate 15 to 20 seconds after a loud bang. Conner had picked Jones out of a photo lineup seven months after the shooting. By 2022 he was no longer mentally capable of testifying in person, so the jury saw a recorded video deposition in which he said a sketch resembling Jones at age 20 matched the man he saw that night.8CBS News Miami. Key State Witness in Bryan Pata Murder Trial Appears Through Recorded Testimony Prosecutors also told jurors the bullet recovered from Pata’s body was consistent with a type of gun Jones had been seen with.
The defense, led by Sara Alvarez, called no witnesses. Jones did not testify. Defense attorney Christian Maroni instead worked through cross-examination. Forensic pathologist Dr. Emma Lew conceded the bullet’s trajectory could not establish the shooter’s position. Phone records analyst Sergio Cremisini acknowledged that a phone connecting to a cell tower does not prove a person was standing at a particular location.9CBS News Miami. University of Miami Former Football Player Closing Statements The defense also attacked Conner’s identification: the encounter had lasted only seconds, it was dark, and Conner was unsure whether he had been wearing his glasses.10Yahoo Sports. Former Miami Football Player Rashaun Jones Gets Mistrial
The six-person jury deliberated about eight hours over two days and reported it was hopelessly deadlocked. Judge Miranda declared a mistrial on March 2, 2026. A juror later said that at one point five of the six had been prepared to acquit, believing the state had not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt; jurors described the evidence as “very weak” and “mostly circumstantial.”11NBC Miami. Re-Trial Date Set for Teammate Charged in 2006 Murder of UM Star Bryan Pata
Edwin Pata spoke for the family afterward. “It’s frustrating, really, for all of us, especially for our mom and for every single sibling and every single person that came out and supported us,” he said. “I think the big thing for us is closure, just some kind of closure for us.”12New Haven Register. Judge Declares a Mistrial in Rashaun Jones Trial
Why the Retrial Was Delayed
Two days after the mistrial, prosecutors said they would retry Jones. Judge Miranda cut bond from $850,000 to $500,000, still more than Jones could post. The retrial was first set for May 18, 2026, then pushed to September 14 after a series of pretrial fights.
The Lead Detective’s Instagram
On April 30, 2026, the defense filed an emergency motion alleging that Detective Segovia, the lead investigator, had run an anonymous Instagram account called @balanceof_justice and used it to comment on trial coverage while the February proceedings were underway. A private investigation firm hired by the defense linked the account to Segovia through his phone number, email, and IP address. The account had allegedly posted “GUILTY,” “I’ve watched a lot of the trial, he’s guilty as sin,” and “She’s lying” about a defense witness.1ESPN. Bryan Pata Rashaun Jones Retrial Postponed Misconduct Allegations The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office confirmed an active internal affairs investigation into Segovia but declined further comment, citing the pending trial.13Local 10. Miami-Dade Homicide Detective in Pata Case Faces Internal Affairs Investigation Judge Miranda granted the defense’s motion to preserve the account.
The Former Prosecutor
The defense has also raised the record of former lead prosecutor Michael Von Zamft, who handled the Jones case until 2024, when Diamond took over. In March 2024, a Miami-Dade judge removed Von Zamft from an unrelated resentencing case involving gang leader Corey Smith, citing what the judge called a “prosecutorial philosophy of winning at all costs.” Von Zamft resigned after that removal. In late March 2026 the Florida Bar filed a formal complaint against him with the Florida Supreme Court.14Miami Herald. Florida Bar Complaint Against Michael Von Zamft Jones’s defense has cited that disciplinary history as grounds for additional scrutiny of the state’s evidence and witness handling.
The Jailhouse Informant
Prosecutors have put jailhouse informant George Jones back on the witness list for the retrial. He claims Rashaun Jones confessed to killing Pata while the two were held at the Miami-Dade Metro West Detention Center in 2021.15The Miami Hurricane. Murder Retrial of Former UM Football Player Pushed to September Prosecutors had dropped him in July 2025 after he sent what Diamond called a “threatening email” to the state attorney’s office. The defense is now seeking discovery of the informant’s communications with Von Zamft.
The Motion to Dismiss
The defense has moved to dismiss the case entirely, arguing that the cumulative effect of the 15-year delay has caused the death or unavailability of eight material witnesses and the degradation of surviving witnesses’ memories. Judge Miranda has not ruled on the motion. On May 7, 2026, she admonished the defense for filing motions past an April 27 deadline, calling the late filings “ridiculous and absurd,” but granted a continuance after Jones personally requested one and reset the trial for September 14, 2026.16Court TV. Frustrated Judge Calls Move by Defense Ridiculous and Absurd
A New Drug Charge Inside Jail
On June 23, 2026, prosecutors filed a new third-degree felony charge against Jones for possessing a controlled substance inside a correctional facility. The charge traces to a March 2024 incident in which a corrections officer and a K-9 unit at Metro West found a half-sheet and 17 individually torn sheets of paper hidden in Jones’s shirt sleeve and waistband. Lab testing confirmed the paper contained ADB-BUTINACA, a synthetic cannabinoid known as K2.17Local 10. Ex-Canes Rashaun Jones Faces New Case Over K2 Papers in Jail Bond on the drug charge was set at $2,500.18CBS News Miami. Rashaun Jones New Drug Charges Jail 2024 Incident Jones’s attorney said the defense was only recently informed of the allegations despite the incident occurring more than two years earlier. Judge Miranda is set to preside over that case as well.
What’s Next
Jones, now 40, has been in custody for roughly five years. He has consistently maintained his innocence. During a 2021 interrogation he told investigators, “Rashaun Jones didn’t do it, and I will say that until the day I pass away from this earth.”4NBC Miami. Why Police Waited 15 Years to Accuse Someone in UM Football Players Murder The second-degree murder charge carries a potential life sentence. The retrial is scheduled for September 14, 2026, with the defense’s motion to dismiss, the internal affairs inquiry into Detective Segovia, and the dispute over the jailhouse informant all unresolved going in.