Jail informant claims he was paid to stay away from UM football player murder trial

A jailhouse informant who claims that the man charged in the murder of University of Miami star football player Bryan Pata confessed to him is now alleging that an attorney paid him to stay away from testifying during the upcoming trial.

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George French Jones gave federal agents a statement where he alleges that he was paid thousands to not take the witness stand in the upcoming trial of Rashaun Jones, 40, according to a court document filed by prosecutors on Thursday afternoon.

Rashaun Jones is accused in the killing of Pata, a 22-year-old Hurricanes star defensive lineman who was expected to be a top NFL draft pick. Pata was shot and killed on Nov. 7, 2006, outside his home at the Colony Apartments in Kendall. He had just returned from football practice. Jones was arrested on a second-degree murder charge in 2021, 15 years after Pata’s death.

In a statement, Rashaun Jones’ defense team said the jailhouse informant’s claims were “shifting, unsubstantiated allegations” that undermine the judicial process, which should be determined by evidence.

“The State’s latest filing offers no independent evidence to support those allegations, and we are confident the facts will bear that out,” the defense said in the statement. “Our focus remains on protecting Rashaun’s constitutional rights and preparing for trial.”

Days before being interviewed by federal agents, George Jones, 57, told a detective that an attorney, only mentioned in the document as “Jeremey,” deposited $9,000 in one of his accounts, according to the filing.

But on Wednesday, George Jones told federal agents that the attorney is paying him $15,000 to not testify in the Rashaun Jones case — and to say prosecutors told him to lie in an unrelated murder case, according to the document. George Jones also said the attorney told him he is the “smoking gun” in the Rashaun Jones case.

George Jones is serving a federal prison sentence linked to using phony passports to take out $1.7 million in loans against two luxury homes in Fort Lauderdale, according to the Herald’s archives. He is expected to be released in 2027, records indicate, and has also been convicted of more than 20 criminal offenses, primarily stemming from a host of cons jobs that scammed celebrities, athletes and other wealthy people.

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Prosecutors didn’t call George Jones to the stand in Rashaun Jones’ original trial, which ended in a mistrial in March after a six-person jury said it was deadlocked. George Jones, however, recently testified in a deposition that Rashaun Jones confessed to killing Pata when they were in jail together.

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During the deposition, George Jones said Rashaun Jones told him he blacked out and “the next thing he knew [Pata] was on the ground,” according to an unofficial transcript filed in court. According to George Jones’ testimony, Rashaun Jones didn’t tell him he pulled the trigger but said Pata had been shot.

The official transcript of George Jones’ deposition was sealed, barring it from being accessed by the public.

George Jones has been at the center of ongoing back-and-forth between the prosecution and defense.

At a hearing on Wednesday, prosecutors expressed concerns over George Jones’ safety when he testifies in the trial. In an email sent last July, George Jones said he was in “physical danger” and warned prosecutors no to transport him to Miami because it “will really hurt your case.”

During that hearing, Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Cristina Miranda said she is weighing limiting media access to the courtroom, citing George Jones’ safety concerns among several other reasons.

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Rashaun Jones’ legal team have argued that George Jones’ testimony is not reliable because George Jones had provided information about other inmates prosecuted by former prosecutor Michael Von Zamft “in exchange for promises made by Von Zamft … of leniency and/or other benefits.”

In another criminal case, the inmate testified about the cooperation agreement, saying Von Zamft “personally offered him sentencing benefits in exchange for testimony.”

Von Zamft has a formal complaint filed against him by the Florida Bar after allegations of misconduct involving witnesses in the case of Corey Smith, a Miami gang boss who had been sentenced to death for killing four people in Liberty City in the 1990s.

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