Two people suspected of being members of the Sinaloa Cartel were charged Thursday in connection to the 2022 execution-style murder of a man at an adults-only hotel near Miami International Airport, according to the feds.
Jimmy Sanchez and Tsvia Kol are accused of killing 46-year-old Julio Gonzalez, who was found with a gunshot wound to the head on Nov. 30, 2022 in room 304 of the Aladdin Hotel, 901 S. Royal Poinciana Blvd., in Miami Springs.
The pair, both 36, are charged with a slew of federal drug trafficking offenses. They face up to life in prison and $10 million in fines.
In April, Sanchez was put behind bars in Miami-Dade on a first-degree murder charge. Kol — allegedly a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel — was mentioned in Sanchez’s arrest warrant but wasn’t charged with the killing before Thursday. The cartel, formerly led by drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, is an international organized crime syndicate focused on drug trafficking and money laundering.
Kol, however, has been locked up due to an unrelated federal methamphetamine trafficking case, for which she was sentenced in May to nine years in prison. The killing wasn’t directly mentioned during her sentencing, though it was seemingly alluded to — and possibly discussed during a sidebar that attorneys agreed to have sealed.
Kol was indicted on the trafficking charges 21 days before — and detained two days after — Gonzalez’s killing, court records show.
Prior to her arrest, Kol admitted to her involvement in the cartel and agreed to stop trafficking drugs and cooperate with federal agents, according to court documents. She was detained after being dropped as an informant, with prosecutors arguing that the Israeli national would flee the country. Israel doesn’t extradite their citizens.
However, on the night of Nov. 29, 2022, Kol lured Gonzalez to the hotel, sealing his fate, investigators allege. Federal authorities believe she was attempting to uncover the whereabouts of a missing methamphetamine package that she suspected Gonzalez stole.
Unraveling a conspiracy?
Kol and Sanchez started communicating three days before the murder, with Kol coordinating Sanchez’s travel from San Diego, according to a digital extraction of her cellphone. When Sanchez arrived to Miami, he rented a red SUV from Hertz and drove to Hallandale Beach, where he linked up with Kol.
Federal prosecutors say she sought Sanchez’s assistance “with locating the missing package and the subsequent murder of the victim.”
Throughout the night of the killing, Kol exchanged a string of Instagram messages with Gonzalez, according to a warrant, which was penned by Miami-Dade police. Right before 10 p.m., the pair planned how Gonzalez would enter the hotel for them to meet.
“I don’t want them to see me,” Kol said in one of the messages, as per the warrant. “Ring the bell.”
Footage places Gonzalez arriving to the front of the hotel at about 10:30 p.m., according to the warrant. Kol then got in her vehicle and headed to pick him up. Gonzalez was in the front passenger seat, though the seat was leaned back to hide him from the hotel employee at the drive-through window.
The duo entered the lobby through the back door at about 10:45 p.m., the warrant says. Fifteen minutes later, Kol made a brief 30-second call to Sanchez. Cameras caught Sanchez entering the lobby and heading toward room 304 by 11:20 p.m.
Shortly after, Gonzalez dialed 911 and said “in Aladdin Hotel” and “Yes, urgent” when a dispatcher asked if he needed police assistance, according to the warrant. The dispatcher overheard a struggle — and Gonzalez shouting “No, no, no” before gunshots rang out.
The next morning, a hotel manager uncovered Gonzalez’s body in a pool of blood.
An instant lead?
When questioned by police after the murder, Gonzalez’s ex reported that Gonzalez posted a photo of a woman named “Sapir Kol” just five days before he was killed — asserting that “if something happens to me, it’s her,” according to the warrant.
Investigators say they linked Kol to the Facebook account. The ex-girlfriend told police that Gonzalez visited her shortly after and divulged that Kol was threatening to kill him.
During the probe, Miami-Dade officers received a call from a Hialeah police narcotics detective. The DEA, the warrant says, intercepted a UPS package two weeks before the murder with 11 pounds of crystal meth inside.
The parcel was associated with Gonzalez — and it was headed to a nearby home in his Hialeah Gardens neighborhood, per the warrant. During a stakeout, detectives witnessed Gonzalez searching for the package.
After being interrogated, Gonzalez detailed to authorities that he had been approached by an unknown man who told him four men were looking for him at a casino “because he had a package for them.”
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