Miami-Dade police announced on Thursday that a former University of Miami football player has been arrested in the 2006 shooting death of his teammate, Bryan Pata.
Police say Rashaun Jones, 35, was arrested in Ocala and is awaiting extradition to Miami-Dade, where he is charged with first degree murder. He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
According to the arrest warrant, Pata, 22, was shot in the head after he pulled into his apartment complex following practice in November 2006. Police say they learned at the time that Pata had ongoing issues with Jones, and Jones was questioned twice. The warrant says the two had reportedly been in a physical altercation.
The warrant also says Pata’s brother, Edwin, told police that Jones had threatened to shoot Pata in the head two months before the killing. When questioned, Jones reportedly said he was at home the night of the shooting. Investigators now say cellphone data placed him near the scene, and that an eyewitness identified him in a lineup.
“I can only hope that this brings the Pata family a little bit of closure and a little bit of satisfaction,” Detective Juan Segovia said.
The arrest comes about nine months after an ESPN investigation looked at errors in the cold case and the frustrations of Pata’s family with how it was handled.
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