A former Miami-Dade Schools Police officer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison and 20 years of probation for the attempted murder of her ex-boyfriend, an off-duty Miami-Dade Police officer, outside his family’s Hialeah home.
Yessenia Sanchez was convicted of shooting Officer Damian Colon in the head on Nov. 5, 2022.
In court Friday, she pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree attempted murder with a deadly weapon and stalking.
Damian’s brother, David Colon, did not mince words when addressing the defendant.
“May you suffer the same every day of your life. We despise you,” he said. “You are a horrible human being. I hope every day of your life, you suffer from the things that you have caused.”
David did not hold back his emotions, at one point struggling to hold back tears.
“I want to tell you: You have destroyed a family. You have destroyed someone full of life, full of plans, with a bright future. You did that,” he said.
Damian, a 17-year veteran of the department, was off-duty at the time and survived the attack after undergoing surgery.
After court adjourned, he was greeted with applause outside the courtroom.
“Justice is served, and I think she got what she deserved. She should have gotten more, but I’ll take what she got,” he said.
According to investigators, Sanchez used a tracking app to locate Colon at his family’s residence near West 79th Street and 13th Avenue.
She confronted him in the driveway and shot him before fleeing the scene.
Surveillance footage captured her vehicle striking another car as she sped away.
“Where did the car go?” a witness is heard saying in the security footage.
“I have no idea,” said a second witness.
“I don’t wish this upon anybody,” said Damian.
Sanchez will spend at least 30 years in state prison, followed by 30 years of probation following her guilty plea.
“We have justice today. Today we close a chapter, one chapter in a book that you opened,” said David in court. “You gave us justice by pleading guilty to the crimes that you committed.”
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle issued the following statement after Friday’s sentencing:
No one is immune to the terror and horror of domestic violence. Former police officer Yessenia Sanchez’ shooting of her ex-boyfriend, another police officer, sadly proves this point. Her violent act displayed the sheer explosion of aggression inherent in every incident of domestic violence. Sanchez’ 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. I applaud the work of all the Assistant State Attorneys who have vigorously labored to bring this case to a conclusion and helped our victims close the book on this painful and terrible incident.
State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle
It has been a tough and long recovery for Damian, but he said the support from his brothers and sisters in blue and his family helped him tremendously.
“I feel blessed. Thank God for them, I’ve gotten through this tough situation,” he said. “Thank God for my family, for everybody that’s been here for me. It’s been tough, but without them, I probably would have never gotten through this.”
Earlier this month, Damian retired from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office. He said Sanchez ended his career, something he would have loved to have still been doing.
