Former UM player arrested, charged with teammate's murder

An arrest has been made in the 2006 murder case of former University of Miami football player Bryan Pata.

Rashaun Jones, a former UM defensive back and Pata's teammate, was arrested on Thursday, the Miami Herald reported. Jones, 35, had long been a suspect in the case.

Details surrounding Pata's death and the ongoing investigation remained relatively private until November 2020 when an ESPN investigative piece pointed to Jones as a likely suspect. ESPN's report revealed Jones, who had a previous altercation with Pata, had changed his phone number the day of the murder and had asked another student to "borrow money to go out of town." 

Jones also later dated Pata's girlfriend, Jada Brody, who was interviewed as part of the investigation into Pata's murder. She was out of town that day.

Pata, a senior and football star with a projected future in the NFL, was shot in the back of the head outside of his apartment complex on November 7 upon returning home from practice. There were reportedly no direct eyewitnesses to the shooting. 

Pata was 22 years old.