Florida authorities have finally made an arrest for the shooting that killed Bryan Pata that occurred in November 2006. According to the state attorney’s office and Miami-Dade police, former Miami Hurricane teammate Rashaun Travon Jones (#38 in the picture below) was arrested for first-degree murder.
Pata, a Miami native, was 22 years old and a standout defensive lineman with the Miami Hurricanes. He most certainly would have been a high draft pick in the 2007 NFL draft.
After a practice, Pata was fatally shot in the back of the head outside of his apartment, and although Jones was a suspect no arrest was ever made. Investigators had learned that in the months before the shooting Pata’s then-girlfriend Jada Brody was “involved” with Jones. An altercation took place between Pata and Jones, Pata getting the best of Jones because of his size (Jones was a defensive back). Pata expressed to his brother, Edwin Pata, that Jones threatened to shoot him. Edwin told Bryan to talk to coach Larry Coker about their incident, but Bryan did not.
Detectives questioned Jones on two separate occasions. Jones was adamant that he was at his home during the shooting, but cell phone records showed that his phone was picked up on cellphone towers near the shooting area. Not only that but an eyewitness helped produce a police sketch of a man that was leaving the scene of the crime. The same eye witness picked Jones out of a lineup last September.
Edwin Pata told the Miami Herald that he had “mixed emotions” after hearing of the arrest of Jones. The Pata family has been rightfully frustrated for years of no answers to the murder of Byran. On Thursday Edwin changed his Twitter picture to Bryan holding his diploma and explained that he would be spending the evening at the cemetery where Bryan is buried along with his mother and siblings.