MIAMI — Two drug traffickers who murdered a Miami man because they believed he stole $90,000 worth of methamphetamine that had actually been seized by law enforcement were sentenced to a combined 46 years and six months in federal prison, Homeland Security Investigations announced.
Jimmy Sanchez, of Spring Valley, California, received 27 years and six months, while Tsvia Kol, of Hallandale, was sentenced to over 19 years. Both were sentenced April 10 after pleading guilty to using a firearm to cause death and conspiring to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine.
“This pair of criminals valued their drug haul more than they valued a human life,” said ICE Director Todd M. Lyons. “They accused the victim of stealing about 11 pounds of meth and murdered him in cold blood, and now they’re going to spend the next few decades in prison.”
According to court documents, Kol and Sanchez confronted the victim in a hotel room they had rented. Kol gave Sanchez a firearm, and while inside the room, the victim called 911. The recorded call captured the sounds of a physical altercation and gunshots. Hotel security footage showed Kol and Sanchez fleeing the property. The victim’s body was not discovered until the following day. Sanchez admitted he shot and murdered the victim, and Kol admitted she was an accomplice. The drugs at the center of the dispute had been seized by law enforcement in 2022.
Lyons credited the multi-agency investigation that produced the convictions. “Getting dangerous drug dealers — and the poisons they peddle — off American streets is truly a whole-of-government approach, and I’m proud of the HSI special agents who worked closely with the DEA, the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Miami Dade Sheriff’s Office, the Hialeah Police Department and the San Diego Sheriff’s Office to put these two behind bars,” Lyons said.
Both Kol and Sanchez are U.S. citizens. The case was prosecuted in the Southern District of Florida.