By Erika Hernandez
Nov 24, 2024, 1:28 PM EST
Authorities reported that The suspect in the fatal shooting of a woman and her 4-month-old child inside a car in Hartford, Connecticut, was arrested Saturday in Puerto Rico.
The U.S. Marshals Service said it found Lance “Macho” Morales at a residence in the Fajardo neighborhood.
Police believe the 23-year-old Waterbury, Connecticut, resident approached a car Tuesday and started shooting over a dispute over a vehicle in which a woman, Jessiah Mercado, was traveling.
Mercado, 20, and his young son were murdered. A man in the car was shot and wounded, according to The Associated Press.
Morales was being held on $3 million bail while awaiting extradition to Connecticut.. An arrest warrant issued in Connecticut this week charged Morales with two counts of murder and other charges, according to Hartford police and federal marshals.
Police said detectives were able to identify Morales through video they found from the crime scene and information from the public. Acting Hartford Police Chief Kenny Howell urged Morales to turn himself in during a televised news conference Wednesday.
Morales was released from prison this year after serving three years for attempted assaultthe police said.
“Since this egregious and senseless act of violence was committed, Hartford Police Department investigators and the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Task Forces in Connecticut and Puerto Rico have worked tirelessly around the clock. to bring the suspect to justice,” Acting U.S. Marshal for the District of Connecticut Lawrence Bobnick said in a news release.
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