HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) – Loved ones of a slain Hollywood Police officer took the stand to share their tearful testimony befire jurors who must decide whether his killer is sentenced to death or life in prison.
In court Thursday, 22-year-old Jason Banegas, who faces the death penalty for killing officer Yandy Chirino back in 2021, sat in court stone-faced as the officer’s girlfriend of two years, Chelsea Howell, and family members expressed what their loved one meant to them.
“Yandy wasn’t just my boyfriend, he was my safe place, my best friend and my future,” said Howell. “His laughter, his joy, his energy, they were woven into every part of my everyday life. The emotional trauma of the night of October 17th is something that will play in my mind for the rest of my life.”…