By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-31 03:51:26 | Updated at 2025-01-03 02:14:09
2 days ago
A Connecticut man accused of killing a young mother and her four-month-old baby is said to have given her a chilling warning before he opened fire.
Lance 'Macho' Morales, 23, is facing murder, assault and gun charges relating to the November 19 drive-by shooting of Jessiah Mercado, 20, and her son, Messiah Diaz.
Police claim he drove up next to the Mazda SUV Mercado and Diaz were in and opened fire with a fully automatic weapon in broad daylight in Hartford, after he allegedly had a brief exchange with Mercado, in which she told him her baby was in the vehicle.
'I don't care,' he replied, a witness inside the SUV told police, according to a newly-released affidavit obtained by The Register Citizen.
It claims Morales specifically targeted Mercado because she was renting the Mazda SUV from him for $100 a day, and fell behind on the payments.
By the day of the shooting, Mercado allegedly owed Morales $400.
Authorities also said they received a tip that Morales and Mercado 'previously had some sort of relationship' and that he had been trying to contact her, but she was ignoring him.
Mercado and Diaz were both pronounced dead at Hartford Hospital, while a male passenger survived his injuries. A fourth person in the car was uninjured in the shooting.
Lance 'Macho' Morales, 23, is facing murder, assault and gun charges in the November 19 drive-by shooting of Jessiah Mercado, and her son, Messiah Diaz
Police claim Morales pulled up next to the Mazda SUV Mercado and her infant son (pictured) were in and opened fire with a fully automatic weapon
Meanwhile, police said Morales fled the scene of the shooting and abandoned his vehicle in his hometown of Waterbury, where it was later located.
He was found days later in Puerto Rico, and was taken into custody by US Marshals at a home in the eastern town of Fajardo.
Morales was finally extradited back to Connecticut on Saturday, and appeared in state court in Hartford on Monday, when Judge Michael Wu set his bail at $5million.
The judge also required that 40 percent of the bail, amounting to $2million, be posted in cash under a state law that allows such requirements in serious gun cases after State's Attorney Sharmese Walcott argued he is 'considered to be a threat to the safety of the public.'
Morales' attorney did not respond to the claims against his client, saying only that Morales could not afford to pay the bail and noting that he is a lifelong Connecticut resident.
The 23-year-old was previously convicted of an unrelated attempted assault, and was released from jail earlier in the year.
He also has several other pending criminal cases in the state.
Mercado, meanwhile, previously resided in Hartford and was enrolled in an antiviolence program that provides services to young women, CT Insider reported.
Morales was located days later in Puerto Rico, and was taken into custody. He has since been extradited back to Connecticut to face charges
Mercado previously resided in Hartford and was enrolled in an antiviolence program that provides services to young women, as her son was in foster care
She moved to Springfield, Massachusetts in 2023 to escape a culture of violence, the program's director, Sunindiya Bhalla told the outlet.
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families later revealed that Diaz was a foster child.
It remains unclear what the infant was doing with his biological mother on the day of the shooting.
In the meantime, Morales is due back in court on January 8.
If convicted, he could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
