Former Miami Hurricanes defensive back Rashaun Jones has a new trial date.
Prosecutors will re-try Jones on second-degree murder charges on May 18, a judge decided on Wednesday, via ESPN. The decision came just days after a mistrial was declared due to a hung jury.
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Judge Cristina Miranda reduced Jones’ bail in the case from $850,000 to $500,000 on Wednesday, too. Jones’ attorney had requested that it be lowered to $50,000, and said that he would still not be able to come up with the money needed for the reduced bond.
Jones is potentially facing life in prison if he is convicted. Miranda asked Jones if he was interested in a plea deal on Wednesday, though he again refused. He had already declined an offer of 15 years with time served.
Jones was arrested in 2021 over the death of his former Miami teammate Bryan Pata back in 2006. The two overlapped on the football team briefly, and Pata was killed months before the 2007 NFL Draft, where he was expected to be selected. Prosecutors said that Jones shot and killed Pata outside of his apartment on Nov. 7, 2006, after he returned home from practice. They tried to paint a picture of a feud between the two over a girlfriend during the original trial. A former Miami instructor, Paul Conner, identified Jones as the man he saw leaving the apartment complex after the killing, too.
But the defense poked holes in the instructor’s testimony during the original trial, both as it was dark out at the time and Conner wasn’t sure if he was wearing his glasses at the time. He also identified Jones seven months after the interaction.
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The jury remained deadlocked after hours of deliberation, which led to the mistrial earlier this week. Only one juror, according to ESPN, actually wanted to convict Jones. The rest of the jury believed that the state failed to “meet the burden beyond reasonable doubt.”
Jones, who has maintained his innocence repeatedly, has been incarcerated since his arrest in 2021. As Jones is unable to come up with bond, he will likely remain there until the start of his new trial.