HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - The man accused of fatally shooting Hollywood Police Officer Yandy Chirino in 2021 pleaded guilty to all charges Monday morning as jury selection was set to begin, according to the Broward County State Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said Jason Banegas, now 22, changed his plea to guilty without a negotiated deal.
The case will now move forward to the death penalty phase. Jury selection for this phase began on Monday.
SAO officials said Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra is expected to begin the penalty phase on Nov. 17.
Banegas was 18 when, police said, he shot Officer Chirino in the face during a struggle on Oct. 17, 2021, after officers responded to reports of a suspicious person near North Hills Drive in Hollywood.
Chirino, 28, was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital, where he later died. He had been with the Hollywood Police Department since 2017.
Banegas was charged with first-degree murder, armed burglary, battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence, grand theft of a firearm, and carrying a concealed firearm.
He was on juvenile probation at the time of the shooting.
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