FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) – A Broward jury decided to give a convicted police killer life in prison without parole after deliberating for just a few hours on Monday.<\/p>\n
Twenty-two-year-old Jason Banegas sat with a straight face and shook his head toward his defense attorney after the jury foreperson gave the decision. <\/p>\n
\u201cJason Banegas will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. So say we all this 15th day of December 2025, Fort Lauderdale, Florida,\u201d said the foreperson. <\/p>\n
The death penalty phase lasted a little over a week as jurors decided the fate of Banegas who pled guilty to shooting and killing an on-duty Hollywood Police officer four years ago.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Monday, both the prosecution and the defense presented their closing arguments at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said that Banegas shot the Officer Yandy Chirino twice. He knew that carrying a gun and committing crimes was wrong, prosecutors argued, and that he knew he was taking the life of another human being.<\/p>\n
The defense told jurors that life in prison without the opportunity or the possibility of parole should be the fair and just verdict here.<\/p>\n
7News cameras found the courtroom packed with family members and friends on both sides of the case.<\/p>\n