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paula lavigne
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Prosecutors will retry pre-miami storm Football player Rashaun Jones was sentenced to May 18 by a judge on Wednesday. after being declared a mistrial Due to a hung jury in a second-degree murder case earlier this week.
Florida 11th Circuit Court Judge Christina Miranda also reduced Jones’ bond from $850,000 to $500,000 after his attorney requested it be reduced to $50,000.
Jones’ attorney Sara Alvarez said her client still would not be able to raise the money needed for release under the reduced bond – about $50,000 or 10% of the bond.
Miranda also asked Jones if he was interested in a plea deal, which Jones declined. This repeated the conversation between the two at the pre-trial hearing, in which Jones also said he would not accept a plea deal even with a 15-year sentence, which is less than the guidelines for a second-degree murder sentence. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Jones has been in custody since his arrest in August 2021 in connection with the murder of teammate Brian Pata nearly 15 years ago. Pata was shot in the head outside his apartment complex after coming home from practice on November 7, 2006.
Prosecutors relied heavily on testimony to show that jealousy toward a woman and a history of physical altercations led Jones to murder Pata, as Jones was distraught after being informed of 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 spoke to ESPN Said that the state did not have evidence to prove that Jones was the killer and said that there were problems with the credibility of eyewitness testimony.
Under Florida law, prosecutors have 90 days to retry a case after a mistrial.
