Family of slain Hollywood officer, Yandy Chirino, speaks out as jury decides confessed killer's fate
The family of slain Hollywood Police Officer Yandy Chirino told a Broward jury Thursday that they are devastated by his death four years ago.
A court advocate read an impact statement written by his sister.
"Our family is shattered in ways that cannot be expressed," the letter reads. "Moments once joyful now carry an emptiness that overshadows everything. The silence where his laughter used to be, the empty chair, are constant reminders of the permanent wound inflicted on us."
Jury to decide between life sentence or death penalty
The jury is hearing testimony to decide whether the confessed killer, Jason Banegas should be given a life sentence or the death penalty.
Since the Parkland massacre, 8 out of 12 votes are required by juries in Florida to give a death sentence.
Chirino, who came from Cuba with his family when he was only 10 years old, graduated from FIU and then went to the police academy. He joined the Hollywood Police Department afterwards
What happened to Officer Chirino?
In October of 2021, while looking into a report of someone possibly trying to break into cars, prosecutors say he crossed paths with Banegas. There was a struggle and Chirino was shot twice in the face.
Fellow officers rushed him to Hollywood Memorial Regional Hospital, but he did not survive
Chirino's girlfriend said she was with him before his fatal shift.
"This is not a pain I will move on from," said Chelsea Howell.
The defense will start its case Monday and is expected to concentrate on Banegas' troubled background and age. He was 18 when the shooting happened.