Rashaun Jones Now: Retrial, Contraband Charge, and Bond

Rashaun Jones is now 40 years old, has been held at Miami-Dade’s Metrowest Detention Center since August 2021 on a second-degree murder charge in the 2006 killing of University of Miami teammate Bryan Pata, and is awaiting a retrial set for September 14, 2026 after his first trial ended in a hung jury in March. He also faces a new third-degree felony charge for synthetic marijuana papers found in his jail clothing in 2024.¹²

Why the First Trial Ended Without a Verdict

The trial began in February 2026 and ran about two weeks. On March 2, 2026, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cristina Miranda declared a mistrial after the six-person jury reported it was hopelessly deadlocked. An anonymous juror later told reporters the jury split five to one for acquittal in early deliberations and ended at three to one for acquittal with two undecided, describing the state’s case as “very weak, mostly circumstantial.”³⁴

Prosecutors argued Jones shot Pata in the head in the parking lot of Pata’s apartment complex on November 7, 2006, as the culmination of a long-running feud. They pointed to cellphone records placing Jones’s phone near the scene at 6:41 p.m. and 7:40 p.m. around the roughly 7:00 p.m. shooting, testimony from a neighbor who identified Jones from a photo lineup seven months later, and behavioral evidence including Jones missing a mandatory team meeting that night and changing his phone number the day of the killing.⁵⁶

The defense attacked the identification as a brief nighttime glimpse recalled months later by a witness with imperfect vision, and got the state’s cell-tower analyst to concede he could not say where Jones’s phone was at the moment of the shooting.⁷ Jones did not testify, and the defense called no witnesses before resting. After the mistrial, Jones rejected the judge’s suggestion to consider a plea deal, as he had earlier rejected an offer of 15 years with time served.²

The New Jail Contraband Charge

On June 23, 2026, Jones was re-arrested inside Metrowest on a new third-degree felony charge of introduction or possession of a controlled substance in a correctional facility. The charge dates back to March 27, 2024, when a corrections officer and a K-9 unit found a half-sheet of paper in Jones’s shirt sleeve and 17 individually torn sheets in his waistband. Lab testing identified ADB-BUTINACA, a synthetic cannabinoid associated with K2.¹ Bond on the new case was set at $2,500. His defense team flagged the more than two-year gap between the alleged incident and the filing, saying, “Even though these allegations are from March 2024, over two years ago, we are just learning about this.”⁸

Allegations Against the Lead Detective

In late April 2026, defense attorney Sara Alvarez filed an emergency motion alleging that lead Detective Juan Segovia of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office had been running an anonymous Instagram account, @balanceof_justice, while the trial was underway. According to the defense, an outside firm tied the account to Segovia’s personal phone number, email, and IP address, and the account followed his spouse, his police partner, and members of the South Florida legal community.⁹

The defense says the account commented on Local 10 News clips about the trial, including “I’ve watched a lot of the trial, he’s guilty as sin” and an accusation that a witness was “lying.” The defense argued this violated the court’s sequestration order. On May 4, 2026, Judge Miranda granted a motion barring Segovia from deleting the account or its comments. The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office confirmed Segovia is the subject of an active internal affairs investigation but declined further comment while the criminal case remains pending.¹⁰

The Jailhouse Informant and the Former Prosecutor

Prosecutors plan to call George French Jones, a jailhouse informant, at the retrial. A former law student convicted in a $2 million mortgage fraud scheme, George Jones was housed with Rashaun Jones at Metrowest in 2021. He claims Rashaun told him he went to confront Pata the night of the murder, that the two argued, that Pata ended up “on the ground,” and that when asked if he had shot Pata, Rashaun said, “I didn’t mean to” and “I don’t remember.”¹¹

George Jones did not testify at the first trial. Prosecutors had dropped him from the witness list in summer 2025 after he sent threatening emails to the State Attorney’s office, then moved to bring him back for the retrial.¹² The defense is challenging his credibility and has pointed to filings indicating he provided information on multiple inmates in exchange for leniency from former prosecutor Michael Von Zamft.¹³

Von Zamft, who signed off on Jones’s arrest, has since resigned from the State Attorney’s office. A judge in an unrelated gang case disqualified him and referred him to the Florida Bar after finding evidence of witness manipulation, discovery violations, and what she called “reckless” conduct.¹⁴ Jones’s defense team has filed motions seeking records to determine whether similar problems touched Von Zamft’s handling of the informant in the Pata case.¹⁵

Bond and Why He’s Still in Jail

Jones has never been able to post bail. After the mistrial, Judge Miranda cut his bond from $850,000 to $500,000 but refused the defense’s request to drop it to $50,000. Alvarez told the court Jones could not even meet the 10 percent cash requirement on $50,000.² Family and supporters launched a “FreeRJ” fundraising campaign on the PayIt2 platform. As of mid-2026 it had raised $865 of its $50,000 goal.¹⁶ He remains held without bond on the murder charge at Metrowest.¹

What Still Has to Be Decided Before September

The retrial was originally set for May 18, 2026. Judge Miranda pushed it to September 14, 2026 so the court could work through the defense motions tied to Detective Segovia’s social media activity and the state’s attempt to reintroduce the jailhouse informant.¹⁷ The defense has also moved to dismiss the case outright, arguing that the “cumulative effect” of a 15-year delay has caused the death or unavailability of eight material witnesses.¹⁵

On the other side, the State Attorney’s office has filed a motion seeking to preserve electronic communications between defense attorney Jeremy McLymont and media outlets, alleging potential “violations of privileged communications.” A hearing on the pending motions was scheduled for July 6, 2026.¹ Jones continues to maintain his innocence. If convicted of second-degree murder, he faces a potential life sentence.²

1
Local 10 News. Ex-Canes Rashaun Jones Faces New Case Over K2 Papers in Jail
2
ESPN. Judge Sets Retrial Date in Miami Football Murder Case
3
Local 10 News. Verdict Watch Continues in Bryan Pata Murder Trial
4
Yahoo Sports. Former Miami Football Player Rashaun Jones Gets Mistrial
5
Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. Arrest Made in 2006 Bryan Pata Cold Case Homicide
6
ABC News. Bryan Pata Murder Case Ends in Mistrial After 20 Years
7
Local 10 News. Attorneys Make Closing Arguments in UM Football Player Murder Trial
8
CBS News Miami. Rashaun Jones New Drug Charges Jail 2024 Incident
9
Local 10 News. Defense in Pata Case Claims Detective Violated Order by Commenting on Local 10 Clips About Trial
10
Local 10 News. Miami-Dade Homicide Detective in Pata Case Faces Internal Affairs Investigation
11
30 for 30 Podcasts. Episode 6 – The Missing Piece
12
The Miami Hurricane. Murder Retrial of Former UM Football Player Pushed to September Amid Social Media Allegations
13
Post Guam. Miami Football Star Murder Trial Pushed Back Amid Allegations Against Detective
14
ABA Journal. Longtime Prosecutor Resigns After Judge Tosses Him From Case
15
ESPN. Bryan Pata Rashaun Jones Retrial Postponed Amid Misconduct Allegations
16
Community Newspapers. FreeRJ Campaign
17
Local 10 News. Retrial for UM Football Player’s Accused Killer Delayed After Claims Against Detective