Former Miami players speak out after arrest in Bryan Pata murder case

After a 15-year investigation, former Miami player Rashaun Jones was arrested on Thursday in connection to the 2006 murder of his teammate, Bryan Pata. Pata was shot in the back of the head while walking from his car to his apartment on Nov. 7.

As the news spread across the country, Pata’s former teammates spoke to The Athletic about the incident that rocked the Hurricanes’ 2006 team. 

“This… this is crazy,” said former Hurricanes defensive end Eric Moncur. “Finally, Bryan’s family can get some closure. But my own teammate? Like… damn.”

Jones and Pata reportedly did not get along, and Moncur once broke up a fight between the two players in his apartment. 

“I’m the one who broke up that fight in my room,” Moncur said. “To be honest, I didn’t think he would actually kill Bryan.”

Pata and Moncur were together the entire day leading up to the murder.

“We spent that whole day together,” Moncur said. “We didn’t go to class. We registered for our new class and had worked out already. We went to eat and were just talking and stuff. We got into practice and were killing the offense. I’d get a sack. He’d get a sack.

“It was (defensive line coach Clint) Hurtt’s birthday. It was Bryan’s idea to dump the water cooler on him and spray him with water bottles and stuff. I was just exhausted after practice, sitting in my locker. He took a quick shower, and as he was leaving the locker room, he dabbed me up. That was the last time I touched him. A couple of freshmen asked him to drop them off at their dorms. He dropped them off, went home and got killed.”

Moncur told The Athletic that he continued to associate with Jones following the shooting, a fact that does not sit well with him. 

“I chilled with him,” Moncur said. “That’s the thing bothering me. We actually hung out, actually once or twice (the year after the shooting). He and my roommate, (former Hurricanes defensive back Bruce Johnson) were good friends. I talked to a few of my teammates today. Kenny (Phillips) called me. Steven (Wesley) called. Everybody is just kind of stunned.”

Former Miami safety Kenny Phillips told The Athletic he did not think Jones had anything to do with the crime, nor did he show signs of being a bad person. Thursday’s news dredged up memories from the night of the shooting. 

“Just hearing today’s news kind of took my emotions back to that night of us being at Bryan’s apartment, the police, the lights. It’s just a lot,” Phillips said. “That was my friend. That was my teammate. This sucks. To think it could possibly be someone else I considered a friend, a teammate, it’s just confusing for me right now. I don’t know what to think or how to feel right now.”

Bryan’s brother, Edwin, who played football at Florida State and now works in recruiting at Miami, is understandably shaken up following the news becoming public.

“My head is spinning. It’s been a whirlwind,” Pata said. “We knew this was coming. Police told us. But now it’s real. I’m driving to go be with my mom and my family. I just want to be with her.”

Edwin Pata said his brother told him that Jones had threatened to shoot him, but Bryan Pata never reported the conversation to Larry Coker, Miami’s head coach at the time. 

Jones reportedly did not attend a team meeting following Pata’s death. Many members of the team, including punter Brian Monroe, only realized he failed to show up after police asked them about Jones’ location the night of the killing. 

“It’s bittersweet,” Monroe told The Athletic. “You feel for Pata’s family. You’re happy that they can get some closure. But it’s really tough to think about 15 years later, one of the guys brought up in the initial investigation, was also the same guy that took a picture next to the painting of Bryan after the game. It’s gut-wrenching, man. It’s disgusting.”

Jones’ arrest was carried out on Thursday as part of a joint operation between the Miami-Dade Police and U.S. Marshals. The police department said that the 35-year-old was arrested with first-degree murder and is awaiting extradition back to Miami-Dade County for prosecution.