Jason Banegas, the Florida man who fatally shot Hollywood Police Officer Yandy Chirino in October 2021, was sentenced on April 8, 2026, to life in prison without the possibility of parole plus more than 160 consecutive years. The sentencing by Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra followed Banegas’s October 2025 guilty plea to ten charges, including first-degree murder, and a December 2025 jury recommendation of life over the death penalty.1CBS News Miami. Jason Banegas Sentence Hollywood Police Officer Yandy Chirino
What Banegas Was Sentenced For
On the night of October 17, 2021, Officer Chirino, 28, responded to reports of someone breaking into cars in the 4000 block of North Hills Drive in Hollywood, Florida.2Local 10 News. Prosecutors Play Emotional Video in Death Penalty Phase for Hollywood Police Officers Killer Chirino spotted Banegas, then 18, armed with a gun. The two ended up wrestling on the ground, and during the struggle Banegas shot Chirino twice in the face.3CBS News Miami. Jason Banegas Closing Arguments Jury Deliberations Sentencing Yandy Chirino Chirino was rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital and died on October 18, 2021. He was the first Hollywood police officer killed in the line of duty since 1982.4NBC Miami. Emotional Testimony in Death Penalty Trial of Man Who Killed Hollywood Officer
A Broward County grand jury indicted Banegas on November 4, 2021, on charges including first-degree murder with a firearm, armed burglary of a dwelling, two counts of attempted burglary of a conveyance, possession of a firearm, resisting an officer with violence, and battery on a law enforcement officer.5Broward County State Attorney’s Office. Hollywood Officer Death By the time the case reached trial, the total count had grown to ten charges.4NBC Miami. Emotional Testimony in Death Penalty Trial of Man Who Killed Hollywood Officer
The Guilty Plea
In October 2025, as jury selection was getting underway, Banegas changed his plea to guilty on all charges.6Miami Herald. Jason Banegas Pleads Guilty The plea removed any chance of acquittal and, according to later court filings, foreclosed defense arguments of accidental death or self-defense.7Sun-Sentinel. Judge Rejects Hollywood Cop Killers Bid to Ditch His Guilty Plea What remained was for a jury to decide whether he would be sentenced to death or to life in prison.
Why Banegas Did Not Get the Death Penalty
The penalty phase opened on December 2, 2025, before Judge Kollra. Prosecutors put on four days of testimony and evidence, including surveillance video of the struggle and Instagram content showing Banegas with a firearm before the killing.8NBC Miami. Man Charged in Murder of Hollywood Police Officer Appears in Court Ahead of Trial The defense centered on Banegas’s troubled childhood. His mother testified she had been trafficked and physically abused by his father in front of the children; his sister testified their mother sometimes left the children home alone for days without food.9CBS News Miami. Jason Banegas Death Penalty Hollywood Officer Killing Family Pleas vs. Prosecutors Dr. Micah Johnson, a UCLA professor, testified that Banegas suffered from depression and anxiety throughout childhood.10NBC Miami. Supporters of Man Who Killed Hollywood Cop in 2021 Testify in Death Penalty Hearing
On December 15, 2025, the jury recommended life without parole.11Local 10 News. Jurors Decide Life in Prison Suitable for Confessed Hollywood Cop Killer Under a 2023 Florida law, a death recommendation requires only eight of twelve jurors, the lowest threshold in the country.12Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Section 921.141 Even so, the jury did not reach eight votes for death, which made the life recommendation binding on the court. Hollywood Police Chief Jeffrey Devlin called the result a rebuke to accountability, and the Hollywood Fraternal Order of Police called it “deeply disappointing.”3CBS News Miami. Jason Banegas Closing Arguments Jury Deliberations Sentencing Yandy Chirino
Failed Bid to Withdraw the Plea
Before sentencing could take place, Banegas tried to undo his guilty plea. He claimed his attorneys, Mitchell Polay and H. Dohn Williams, had coerced him by warning that his family would face deportation if he did not plead, and that he would likely be executed within five years under Governor Ron DeSantis.13Miami Herald. Judge Rejects Hollywood Cop Killers Bid to Change Plea
Judge Kollra denied the motion on March 6, 2026, after more than two hours of testimony. He cited recorded jail calls between Banegas and his sister that suggested the withdrawal was a ploy to manufacture appeal grounds, and he noted that during the October 2025 plea colloquy he had repeatedly confirmed Banegas understood the consequences and was satisfied with his lawyers. Prosecutors called the effort a “scheme.”13Miami Herald. Judge Rejects Hollywood Cop Killers Bid to Change Plea14CBS News Miami. Broward County FL Jason Banegas Plea Denied Yandy Chirino Killing
The Sentence Imposed
At the April 8, 2026, hearing, Judge Kollra imposed the mandatory life-without-parole term on the first-degree murder count. He then added roughly 30 years of consecutive prison time across six burglary counts, and roughly 16 more consecutive years across the remaining counts, including resisting arrest. The total came to life plus over 160 years.15Sun-Sentinel. Confessed Hollywood Cop Killer Sentenced to Life in Prison
Banegas, then 23, did not testify or address the court. Outside the hearing, Hollywood Police Chief Jeff Delvin told reporters, “We can all take a little comfort in knowing that he’s never gonna take a breath of free air again.”16Local 10 News. Hollywood Cop Killer Sentenced to Life
Appeal
Banegas had a 30-day window from the sentencing date to file a notice of appeal.1CBS News Miami. Jason Banegas Sentence Hollywood Police Officer Yandy Chirino The life sentence, however, is not subject to the jury’s revisiting: because the panel declined to recommend death, life without parole was the only lawful outcome on the murder count.