Judge sets May retrial date in Miami football murder case

Prosecutors will retry former Miami Hurricanes football player Rashaun Jones on May 18, a judge decided Wednesday after declaring a mistrial earlier this week due to a hung jury in the second-degree murder case.

Florida’s 11th Circuit Court Judge Christina Miranda also lowered Jones’ bond from $850,000 to $500,000 after denying his attorney’s request.

Jones’ attorney Sara Alvarez said her client still won’t be able to come up with the money needed to be released under a reduced bond — about $50,000, or 10% of the bond.

Miranda asked Jones if he was interested in a plea deal, which Jones declined. It was a repeat of an exchange between the two at a previous hearing in which Jones also said he would not take a plea, even with an offer of 15 years – less than the guidelines for a second-degree murder conviction. If convicted, he could get life in prison.

Jones has been in custody since his arrest in August 2021 on charges of murdering teammate Brian Pata nearly 15 years ago. Pata was shot in the head outside his apartment complex on November 7, 2006, after returning home from practice.

Prosecutors relied heavily on testimony to show that jealousy over a woman and a history of physical altercations drove Jones to kill Pata because Jones was upset about receiving a two-game suspension for failing a drug test.

A former writing instructor at the University of Miami identified Jones as the man he saw leaving the apartment complex shortly after the murder.

Jurors who spoke to ESPN said the state lacked evidence to prove Jones was the killer and had issues with the credibility of eyewitness testimony.

Under Florida law, prosecutors have 90 days to retry a case after a mistrial.