After fifteen years, Rashaun Jones, former Miami Hurricanes football player, is once again notoriety. He was arrested in connection to the November 2006 shooting death of teammate Bryan Pata on a first-degree murder charge in the killing.
Jones played as a defensive back for the University of Miami in 2004. He had a promising career in the sport. During his freshman year, he was expected to redshirt but was called on special teams for the final four games of the regular season. In his sophomore in 2005, Jones appeared in eight games, making one tackle on defense and returning two punts for minus two yards.
Jones enrolled at Columbia High School, where he intercepted three passes in his first season on the varsity team. During his junior season, he made 96 tackles and six interceptions and caught 12 passes for 346 yards (28.8 avg.) and four touchdowns. During his senior, he recorded 60 tackles and a school record of 8 interceptions, with 19 passes broken up in 2003.
Considered one of the top cornerback recruits, Jones was rated the No. 46 prospect in Florida. He signed Miami for a collegiate career over North Carolina State, South Florida, Clemson, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, and Syracuse.
Jones was arrested in 2006 in Marion County, Florida, over the death of his teammate Bryan Pata, who was shot dead after being hit in the back of the head. As reported, Pata was killed in the parking lot of his apartment complex a couple of hours after football practice.
Bryan Pata was buried in the suit that he was preparing to dress for the NFL draft. As per the police report, authorities regarded Jones as a suspect in the death of Pata. Hours after Pata’s death, Jones skipped a mandatory team meeting at the campus athletic center. On the day of the shooting, Jones changed his phone number and borrowed money and another student-athlete to go out of town.
Miami Hurricane players paying tribute to Bryan Pata. SOURCE: Twitter @Kudge5 Pata and Jones were known to be had conflicts. Also, Jones dated Pata’s girlfriend. Pata's brother told Jones had threatened to shoot Pata two months earlier the incident happened. In an ESPN investigative story published in 2020, Jones was first revealed as a possible suspect in Pata's death. However, Jones has insisted he didn't kill Pata.
On September 17, Jones pleaded not guilty. According to ESPN, he was granted a bond and allowed release from custody pending his trial on charges on March 2022.
Rashaun Jones is a married man. He tied the knot with Ishenda Jones. Further information regarding their married life remains unknown. But we can say that Ishenda has supported her husband for a long time.
When Rashaun was arrested, Ishenda talked in defense of her husband. She told Local 10 News that her husband is being wrongly accused. She said, "He’s not a murderer. He’s not.”
