In an exclusive exchange with The Hurricane, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office explained why prosecutors mistakenly believed that a key witness in the 2006 shooting of Miami Hurricanes’ Bryan Pata was dead.
Pata, who was projected as a possible third-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, was just 22 years old when he died. He was shot and killed outside his Kendall apartment complex on Nov. 7, 2006.
The key witness, former English professor at UM, Paul Conner, told police he heard a “pop” and saw a man “jogging away” from the parking lot entrance in a 2022 testimony. Conner identified Pata’s former teammate, Rashaun Jones, as the alleged shooter in a photo lineup, according to ESPN.
In the summer of 2025, prosecutors mistakenly reported that Conner had died
SAO Public Information Officer Ed Griffith said investigators relied on the public records database CLEAR, which indicated Conner had died.
Officers in Louisville then conducted a welfare check by knocking on Conner’s door to confirm his death on July 8, 2025.
“Upon hearing no sounds from inside, [Homicide Detective Russell Lassiter and Officer Joseph Gonzales] visited the management office who informed them they did not have an individual by [the name Paul Conner] living there,” Griffith said.
Later this summer, reporters from ESPN knocked on Conner’s apartment door expecting no response, but instead found him alive. ESPN then contacted the SAO for a comment on Sept. 18, alerting prosecutors that Conner was alive.
“Louisville Homicide was again contacted and Detectives Budzinski and Burns went to Conner’s residence on Sept. 18 and made contact with him,” Griffith said.
The State received body camera footage from Louisville Metro Police documenting officers’ visits on July 8, July 22, and Sept. 18.
“The State informed the court on Friday, Sept. 19, that Conner was alive,” Griffith said. “[We] told the court we would need to re-address the prior unavailability ruling in light of the new information.”
Conner’s 2022 testimony has been preserved and may still be used at trial if he does not testify in person. Testimony is often preserved in cases where a witness may die, become incapacitated, be overseas or face other serious limitations.
“Conner’s availability (or unavailability) determines whether Conner testifies live at trial or the video of his perpetuated testimony is played,” Griffith said.
The trial, originally set for Oct. 6, 2025, has been postponed to Feb. 9, 2026, through a court continuance.