Deputies arrest woman after man who had slapped her at Miami-Dade nightclub ends up dead in Broward, police say

Detectives make 3rd arrest in murder of Jamaican-American father in Miramar

Deputies arrested Yesenia Collier, center, on Tuesday who was wanted for a murder last year in Miramar. A grand jury indicted her, Steven LaPenta, left, and Lindsey Grinage for the murder of a 36-year-old father of two. (BSO FILE)

MIRAMAR, Fla. – A 29-year-old woman was behind bars Wednesday to face charges for the murder of a man in Broward County hours after he had struck her in Miami-Dade County.

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Detectives believe Yesenia Collier conspired with a woman and a gunman who killed Alec Hugh-Sam, a Jamaican-American father of two who had lived in South Florida since 2014.

Before the tragedy in Miramar, Hugh-Sam and Collier were together at the Ghost Bar in Davie, and later at Klub 24 in Opa-locka, where he had slapped her in the face, police said.

“He shot the [racial slur],” Collier said during a 911 call related to the murder in Miramar, according to the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, records show.

During a recorded 911 call, Collier shouted, “He shot him! He shot him!”

Records show Miramar police officers later found Hugh-Sam “lying in the middle of the street” on Oct. 3 after Steven LaPenta shot him once at the Avalon Miramar Park Place, police said.

Fire rescue personnel responded to help Hugh-Sam, who was born in New Jersey and raised in Jamaica and he died at the Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood. He was 36.

Court records show a Florida grand jury indicted Collier, LaPenta, 34, and Lindsey Grinage on Oct. 31 for Hugh-Sam’s murder. LaPenta had already been arrested on Oct. 6.

According to the 69-page indictment, the shooting allegedly followed a dispute about $3,500.

Prosecutors filed a capital life case against Collier on Nov. 1 and a judge issued a warrant for her arrest. Deputies arrested Grinage, 28, on Nov. 14 and Collier on Tuesday.

On Wednesday evening, records show deputies held LaPenta at the main jail in Fort Lauderdale and Collier at the Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano Beach.

Grinage was no longer behind bars in Broward while both LaPenta and Collier each faced charges of first-degree murder with a firearm.


About the Author
Andrea Torres headshot

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

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