Judge rejects Hollywood cop-killer’s bid to ditch his guilty plea

Judge rejects Hollywood cop-killer’s bid to ditch his guilty plea

A man facing a life sentence after confessing to the murder of a Hollywood police officer will not be allowed to change his plea now that a jury rejected the death penalty, a Broward judge ruled Friday. Jason Banegas, 23, pleaded guilty last year in a decision that even surprised Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra, who presided over the case. But after a penalty-phase trial ended with a jury recommending a life sentence instead of the death pen…