Tsvia Kol, 37, of Hallandale, Florida, received a 230-month sentence while Jimmy Sanchez, 38, of Spring Valley, California, was sentenced to 330 months in prison for using a firearm to cause death and conspiring to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine. Both defendants had pleaded guilty in January 2026 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and using a firearm to cause death during a drug trafficking offense.
According to court documents, the defendants murdered the Miami victim in connection with a missing package containing approximately 11 pounds of methamphetamine with a street value of about $90,000. Kol and Sanchez believed the victim had stolen the drugs from their trafficking operation, but law enforcement had actually seized the package. The case highlights the deadly consequences of drug trafficking disputes based on false premises.
The murder took place in a hotel room that Kol and Sanchez had rented specifically to confront the victim. Kol provided Sanchez with the firearm used in the killing. During the confrontation, the victim called 911 and attempted to provide his location, with the recorded call capturing sounds of a physical altercation and gunshots. Hotel security footage showed both defendants fleeing the property after the shooting, and the victim's body was not discovered until the following day.
The case is part of the Criminal Division's Violent Crime Initiative to prosecute violent crimes in Miami, representing a partnership between the Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida along with multiple law enforcement agencies. The prosecution involved coordination between federal agencies including the DEA, FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and ICE Homeland Security Investigations, as well as local law enforcement.
"Suspecting that the victim had stolen drugs from them, these defendants committed a callous murder," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "The drug business is a dangerous game that results in death, ruined lives, and torn families. The Criminal Division prioritizes prosecuting drug crimes, especially those involving violence."
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida emphasized the premeditated nature of the crime: "This started as a drug deal gone wrong and ended in an execution. The defendants armed themselves, set up the victim, and carried out a killing over a missing drug package that had already been seized by law enforcement."
The sentences—over 19 years for Kol and over 27 years for Sanchez—reflect federal prosecutors' commitment to lengthy prison terms for violent drug crimes. The case demonstrates how drug trafficking operations frequently escalate to lethal violence, even when based on mistaken beliefs about theft or betrayal within criminal organizations.