Nearly 20 years after former Miami defensive lineman Bryan Pata was shot and killed outside his apartment, the first trial tied to his death ended without a verdict Monday, leaving his family still waiting for the closure they hoped they'd finally get in a courtroom.
A Miami-Dade judge declared a mistrial in the case against former Hurricanes player Rashaun Jones after jurors said they were deadlocked and could not unanimously reach a decision. Circuit Court Judge Cristina Miranda said hearings would resume Tuesday, and prosecutors now have to decide whether to try the case again.
The jury that spent roughly six hours deliberating Thursday before returning Monday and telling the court it was still split.
Under Florida law, prosecutors can try the case again with a new jury, and a retrial would have to come within 90 days.
Jones was charged with second-degree murder in 2021. Jones was arrested in August 2021, nearly 15 years after Pata's death, on a first-degree murder warrant.
Pata was 22 when he was killed on Nov. 7, 2006, a couple hours after Miami finished practice. He was shot several times outside his Kendall apartment after returning from campus in his black Infiniti. Witnesses reported hearing arguing and then gunshots, and investigators noted that neither the car nor cash in his wallet appeared to be taken.
Pata was widely viewed as a rising NFL prospect at the time, and his death became one of the most painful and unresolved chapters in modern Miami football history.
ESPN recently released a seven-part 30 for 30 Podcast series "Murder at The U," hosted by investigative reporter Paula Lavigne. The series reexamines Pata's 2006 killing and the years of stalled investigation that followed. ESPN's reporting team tracked down overlooked leads and witnesses, including locating someone authorities had previously believed was deceased, as the case moved toward trial.