A Florida judge on Thursday set a date -- for the third time this year -- to retry a former University of Miami football player charged with killing his teammate.
The trial of Rashaun Jones had been scheduled for Sept. 14. Attorneys from both sides said Thursday that they were ready for trial, but prosecutors asked for a delay because of a pending investigation involving Jones' attorneys and allegations of inappropriate conduct and witness tampering.
Florida 11th Circuit Court Judge Cristina Miranda set the new trial date for Nov. 9, which would be two days after the 20th anniversary of the killing of Bryan Pata.
Miranda granted what's known as a "joint continuance," the term for a trial delay agreed upon by both sides, but she did not allow defense attorneys to speak on the record because, in light of the pending investigation, they were represented by another attorney and he was not present.
"We just want the record to reflect that we're ready for trial," attorney Sara Alvarez said, but Miranda said she could not allow comment without the attorney representing them. The judge engaged in a heated exchange with another defense attorney before ordering her out of the courtroom.
For the past few months, arguments over attorney conduct, the handling of witnesses, an investigation into the lead detective, a jailhouse informant who said he had been bribed, a gag order on attorneys, and proposed media restrictions have taken over the case.
Jones, 40, has been in custody for more than five years since he was arrested for allegedly murdering Pata, who was shot in the head in the parking lot of his apartment complex on Nov. 7, 2006, shortly after coming home from football practice.
An ESPN investigation, published in 2020, drew renewed attention to the case and revealed for the first time that Jones had been a suspect since shortly after the killing. A jury in March was unable to reach a verdict, and Miranda declared a mistrial, initially setting a new trial date in May that was then rescheduled until September.
One major delay involves a jailhouse informant named George Jones (no relation to Rashaun).
In 2022, George Jones gave a statement that Rashaun Jones, at the time a fellow jail inmate, confessed to him of having murdered Pata. Attorneys argued over whether George Jones had been promised anything in exchange for his testimony; he did not testify in the first trial.
In July, George Jones told investigators that a defense attorney -- who was not part of Rashaun Jones' legal team but knew one of his attorneys -- had offered him $15,000 in exchange for not testifying. More recently, one of George Jones' former cellmates has come forward with a conflicting account, saying George Jones told him that he had lied about hearing Rashaun Jones' alleged confession and about being offered money to stay silent.
Assistant State Attorney Cristina Diamond has said during prior hearings that there is a law enforcement investigation into those issues, but she could not provide further details. Attorneys did not have an opportunity to weigh in Thursday on whether the Nov. 9 date would work.
ESPN sent an email to representatives of both sides, as well as to the court, but did not immediately receive a response.