John Jefferson
Background: New video allegedly shows Yessenia Sanchez shooting her ex-boyfriend (WTVJ/YouTube). Left inset: Yessenia Sanchez (Miami-Dade County Jail). Right inset: Yessenia Sanchez being arrested in 2022 (WTVJ/YouTube).
A Florida woman who confessed on camera to shooting her estranged boyfriend — a Miami-Dade police officer — was also caught on video gunning him down from point blank range, with newly released footage showing her shooting the off-duty cop in the face while the two were arguing, authorities say.
Yessenia Sanchez, a 32-year-old former school police officer, can allegedly be seen inside Damian Colon’s home in Hialeah fighting with him before she opens fire and critically wounds him. The video, which was obtained by local NBC affiliate WTVJ, was captured from inside the residence during the November 2022 incident and was released this week by the state attorney’s office.
Bodycam footage was also provided that shows Sanchez being taken into custody by police after she went on the run and caused a car crash near 45th Street and Palm Avenue following the shooting, cops say. She was arrested at her home without incident.
Colon, a 17-year vet from Hialeah who used to be a member of the Miami-Dade’s Crime Suppression Team — tasked with responding to domestic violence cases — survived the attack but had to go through multiple surgeries and “comprehensive rehabilitation services” after losing his ability to walk, according to government officials.
“He underwent recovery for several months after being shot in the head by a stalker,” the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said in a press release after Colon was discharged from the hospital in April 2023. “He was headed to work when the stalker, an ex-girlfriend who used a tracking device to locate him, shot him, leaving him in critical condition. She fled the scene but was arrested the same night and is being held in jail pending trial on a charge of attempted murder.”
Sanchez confessed to shooting Colon after being arrested and admitted that the two of them were arguing when she got angry and opened fire on him, police say. They were in a prior relationship for seven years, according to family and friends.
“The defendant waived her rights and provided a post-Miranda video recorded statement confessing to shooting the victim,” police said in the incident report, which was obtained by Law&Crime. “Moreover, the defendant advised she actively tracked the victim via electronic means in an attempt to locate the victim.”
Sanchez is no stranger to law enforcement, as previously reported.
In 2021, Sanchez resigned her job as a school police officer after a domestic violence incident with Colon. During that incident, she allegedly attacked him and pointed a gun at her own head in the process. She also allegedly flattened the tires of his personal and department-issued vehicles.
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“Domestic violence affects everyone, you could be a police officer, you could be a doctor, a government official, it knows no boundaries, and this is what happens,” said Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III in the 2023 press release after Colon’s discharge from the hospital. “That’s why if you’re going through that, if you know someone who is going through that, you need to report it,” Ramirez said.
Sanchez is charged with first-degree attempted murder with a deadly weapon and aggravated stalking for the shooting and one count of leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage for the crash that she allegedly caused while fleeing. She is being held without bond as she awaits her trial.
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