Ex-girlfriend sentenced in shooting of retired Miami-Dade Sheriff's officer Damian Colon
A former Miami-Dade Schools Police officer accused of shooting her ex-boyfriend, who was a Miami-Dade police officer at the time, has accepted a plea deal.
On Friday, Yessenia Sanchez pleaded guilty to stalking and first-degree attempted murder in the November 2022 shooting of Damian Colon.
As part of the plea deal, Sanchez was sentenced to 30 years in prison with a maximum of 25 years. She must undergo 30 years of probation after her release and must stay away from Colon.
According to prosecutors, Sanchez used an app to stalk Colon. In early November, she reportedly went to his Hialeah home when he was off duty. The two argued and that's when she shot him in the head, according to court documents. Colon suffered serious brain injuries.
Sanchez had been arrested the year before for domestic violence. At the time, she was a Miami-Dade Schools Police officer and resigned in September 2021 in lieu of termination, according to the school district.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle issued a statement after Friday's sentencing. In it, she said that no one is immune to the "horror" of domestic violence, not even law enforcement officers.
"Her violent act displayed the sheer explosion of aggression inherent in every incident of domestic violence. 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," she said in the statement.
Words from the courtroom
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. He said that while justice may have been served, she 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."
Before a packed courtroom filled with family, friends and fellow officers, Colon's brother, MDSO Sgt. David Colon, spoke out in court and full of anger, to address 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," David Colon 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."
Strong and firm words from a brother to the woman who caused unimaginable pain to their close-knit family.
"You will never expect, you will never truly know, the pain you have caused us the future that you're giving your daughter. You didn't care about your parents, you didn't care about your daughter, you didn't care about my parents, you didn't care about Damien about his children," David Colon. "You are so, so selfish."
