Overview
- Jurors began deliberations Monday afternoon and will be sequestered during their discussions over a life or death recommendation.
- Banegas pleaded guilty during jury selection in October without a negotiated deal, moving the case directly to the penalty phase.
- Prosecutors argued the on-duty murder of Officer Yandy Chirino meets statutory aggravators and stressed that mitigation does not excuse the crime.
- The defense urged life without parole, citing expert and family testimony about Banegas’ traumatic upbringing and deprived childhood.
- Investigators said Chirino confronted an armed Banegas in 2021, a struggle followed, and the officer was shot twice in the face before dying at a hospital.