‘I don’t care.’ Man knew mom had baby in car and fatally shot both, Connecticut cops say
A man charged with killing a 20-year-old mother and her baby in Connecticut had his bond set at $5 million, court records show.
Lance Benuet Morales, 23, fatally shot the woman and her child in Hartford on Nov. 19 before fleeing to Puerto Rico, where U.S. Marshals arrested him days later, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
While inside a car, Morales fired at Jessiah Mercado, of Springfield, Massachusetts, her baby, Messiah Diaz, and two others inside a vehicle during what was a daytime drive-by shooting, The Associated Press reported. Of the two others in the car with Mercado, one survived being shot while the other was unharmed, according to the outlet.
Before Morales used what police suspect was a fully automatic weapon in the shooting, Mercado told him her baby was in the vehicle with her, according to a recently released arrest warrant obtained by The Associated Press.
“I don’t care,” Morales replied, according to a witness statement to police.
Morales, of Waterbury, is charged with two counts of murder, first-degree assault causing serious physical injury, criminal possession of a pistol/revolver, first-degree attempt to commit assault causing serious physical injury, and murder involving multiple victims, court records show.
He’s being represented by a public defender’s office in Hartford. Contact information for his legal counsel wasn’t immediately available.
Morales appeared in court for an arraignment Dec. 30, when his lawyer said he couldn’t afford to pay his $5 million bail, according to The Associated Press.
Hartford police detectives wrote in an affidavit that Mercado’s family members said she was killed in a white Mazda CX-50 that she was renting from Morales for $100 a day, CT Insider reported.
She had missed a few payments and owed him $400 when she was shot, according to the affidavit cited by the outlet.
The detectives learned Morales, also known as “Macho,” and Mercado “previously had some sort of relationship,” according to CT Insider.
Morales was brought to Connecticut from Puerto Rico on Dec. 28, NBC Connecticut reported.
He was arrested Nov. 23 at a home in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, about a 35-mile drive southeast from San Juan, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
“Morales is considered to be a threat to the safety of the public,” State’s Attorney Sharmese Walcott wrote in a motion filed in court, according to CT Insider.
His next court appearance is set for Jan. 8, records show.
This story was originally published December 31, 2024 at 3:42 PM with the headline "‘I don’t care.’ Man knew mom had baby in car and fatally shot both, Connecticut cops say."
.jpg)