A former Miami school police officer is set to spend up to 30 years in prison for shooting her cop ex-boyfriend in the head outside of his home in November 2022.
Yessenia Sanchez, 35, who had a history of domestic violence with her ex-boyfriend, Damian Colon, pleaded guilty to stalking and first-degree attempted murder in the November 2022 shooting of the since-retired Miami-Dade Police officer.
As part of the plea deal, Sanchez was sentenced to 30 years in prison with a maximum of 25 years.
In addition, Sanchez must undergo 30 years of probation following her release and must stay away from Colon.
Sanchez admittedly used an app to stalk her estranged boyfriend, who was off-duty at the time, to his family’s home in the 1200 block of West 79th Street in Hialeah on November 1, 2022.
The pair, who had been in a seven-year relationship at the time, had been arguing before home surveillance footage shows the then 32-year-old unholster a gun and shoot her ex-boyfriend in the head before taking off.
While attempting to escape, Sanchez crashed her car, abandoned it and fled on foot before being apprehended, the Miami Herald reported.
Sanchez was charged with attempted first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, aggravated stalking and leaving the scene of an accident.
Yessenia Sanchez, 35, who had a history of domestic violence with her ex-boyfriend, pleaded guilty to stalking and first-degree attempted murder in the November 2022 shooting of the since-retired Miami-Dade Police officer
Sanchez and her ex, Damain Colon (pictured), who had been in a seven-year relationship at the time, had been arguing before home surveillance footage shows the then 32-year-old unholster a gun and shoot him in the head before taking off
Police identified her through the video surveillance and she later confessed to the shooting, admitting she had used GPS to track her ex-lover.
The former school officer had been arrested the year before, in September 2021, on domestic violence charges related to an altercation with Colon.
During the heated altercation Sanchez reportedly threatened herself with a gun and a knife, threw a ceramic object at Colon, before punching and scratching him and slashing his car tires.
Sanchez reportedly resigned from her school officer position later that month, in lieu of termination, according to the Miami-Dade School District.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle issued a statement after Friday’s sentencing, claiming no one is immune to the ‘horror’ of domestic violence, not even law enforcement officers.
‘No one is immune to the terror and horror of domestic violence,’ Rundle said in a statement after the sentencing. ‘Former police officer Yessenia Sanchez’s shooting of her ex-boyfriend, another police officer, sadly proves this point.’
Sanchez was charged with attempted first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, aggravated stalking and leaving the scene of an accident. Pictured: Yessenia Sanchez in court on Friday
Home surveillance footage shows the then 32-year-old unholster a gun and shoot her ex-boyfriend in the head before taking off
While attempting to escape, Sanchez crashed her car, abandoned it and fled on foot before being apprehended, the Miami Herald reported
‘Her violent act displayed the sheer explosion of aggression inherent in every incident of domestic violence,’ she continued.
‘Sanchez’s 30-year sentence cannot restore the physical damage she did while trying to kill the man she once claimed to have loved. Sadly, those scars will last forever.’
Colon, who retired from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office last week, was in the courtroom when Sanchez accepted the plea deal, along with his family members and friends.
‘They ended my career. I wouldn’t have ended my career, but she ended my career and she knows that very well. My career wasn’t going to be ending,’ he said through tears.
Colon added that while justice may have been served, Sanchez destroyed his life and that of his family.
‘I think justice is served,’ he said. ‘She got what she deserved and she should’ve gotten more, but I’ll take what she got.
The former school officer had been arrested the year before, in September 2021, on domestic violence charges related to an altercation with Colon.
Colon (in blue), who retired from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office last week, was in the courtroom when Sanchez accepted the plea deal, along with his family members and friends
‘Thank God for my family, for everyone who has been there for me. It’s been tough. But without them I probably wouldn’t have gotten through this,’ he added.
Colon’s brother, David Colon, also spoke out in court, addressing the woman who nearly took his brother’s life.
‘I want to tell you that you have destroyed our family. You have destroyed someone full of life, [and] full of plans with a bright future. You did that,’ he said.
‘I hope you don’t have one day of peace,’ the furious brother continued. ‘I hope you suffer every single day for the rest of your life and may God make you live a very long life so you could suffer for what you’ve done.’
