A man accused of shooting and killing a mother and her 4-month-old child in Hartford in November allegedly opened fire over a $400 debt and did so moments after acknowledging that the baby was in the vehicle, according to the warrant affidavit supporting his arrest.
Lance Morales, 23, of Waterbury was extradited to Connecticut over the weekend and arraigned Monday in Hartford Superior Court during a tense hearing that concluded with an outburst from a family member of the victims.
Following the proceedings, the warrant affidavit supporting Morales’ arrest was released, shedding new light on what led to the 23-year-old allegedly opening fire with a fully automatic weapon on 20-year-old Jessiah Mercado of Springfield, Massachusetts, and her 4-month-old son, Messiah Diaz, while the pair were in a vehicle with two others on Nov. 19 just before 3 p.m. in the area of 380 New Britain Ave. in Hartford.
The two individuals who survived the shooting, the driver of the vehicle and a man in his 20s who suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, spoke to investigators after the incident and separately identified Morales as the shooter in a photo lineup, the warrant affidavit said. The driver, who was not injured, told police Mercado was in the front passenger seat of a Mazda CX-50 with her son in a car seat directly behind her in the backseat. The other man in the Mazda was behind the driver.
After leaving a store in the area of Hillside Avenue, the driver said they noticed someone in a white Infiniti who passed them and tried to block them in at the intersection of Broad and Clifford streets, according to the warrant affidavit. The driver was unable to get away from the Infiniti, which had dark tinted windows that prevented the occupants of the Mazda from figuring out who was driving.
Police wrote in the warrant that emergency dispatchers at 2:47 p.m. received the report from a caller who said the driver of an Infiniti could be seen chasing a white SUV in the area of Ansonia Street and Hillside Avenue.
As the Mazda driver stopped at a traffic light on New Britain Avenue, the Infiniti driver pulled alongside and rolled his window down, according to the warrant affidavit. Both survivors of the shooting said they recognized the individual as “Macho” or “Mach,” a man known to them to rent vehicles to people in the Waterbury area, the warrant affidavit said.
Mercado then rolled down her window and allegedly told the man, who was later identified as Morales, “I got my baby in the car, Mach,” according to the warrant affidavit. One of the Mazda occupants told investigators Morales allegedly responded by saying “I don’t care,” the warrant affidavit said.
The driver told police Mercado told them to drive off, at which point Morales allegedly began shooting with a gun that appeared to be equipped with an extended magazine, the warrant affidavit said. Hartford detectives were able to review video surveillance of the shooting, which included audio that led police to believe the firearm that was used was fully automatic, according to the warrant affidavit.
Police wrote in the warrant that Mercado suffered gunshot wounds to her upper torso, while the child suffered a gunshot wound to his arm. They were both pronounced dead at Hartford Hospital where the driver of the Mazda rushed after shots were fired.
Staff at the hospital informed police of the shooting, which initially did not trigger a ShotSpotter activation. Investigators said they were later able to locate an alert “within the system portal” that picked up 15 rounds of gunfire going off, the warrant affidavit said.
The third gunshot victim was also treated at the hospital, where doctors had at the time listed him in stable condition with a gunshot wound to his forearm, the warrant affidavit said.
Family members of the victims told police at the hospital that Mercado had rented a Mazda from a man named “Mach” or “Macho” for $100 a day, according to the warrant affidavit. They said the two previously had some sort of a relationship and that she had been ignoring him when he repeatedly tried contacting her, as she fell behind in her payments and owed him $400, the warrant affidavit said.
At a press conference a day after the shooting, Hartford investigators said they believed the motive for the killings involved a dispute over a vehicle.
According to police, Morales fled the area after the shooting and was apprehended on Nov. 23 in Puerto Rico by the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force. Hartford police obtained a warrant for Morales’ arrest a day after the shooting charging him with two counts of murder and a single count each of murder with special circumstances, first-degree assault, attempt to commit first-degree assault and criminal possession of a firearm.
Morales on Saturday was extradited to Connecticut and charged by Hartford police. He was held in custody and arraigned on Monday.
During the hearing, where about a dozen judicial marshals surrounded the inside of the courtroom, Judge Michael Wu warned those in attendance not to speak out during the proceedings, acknowledging that he understands “emotions may be high.”
Hartford State’s Attorney Sharmese Walcott asked Wu to hold Morales without bond, citing the capital felony he faces which could expose him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Walcott noted that a judge set bail at $3 million when the warrant for Morales was signed, before it was known that he fled to Puerto Rico.
Court officials said Morales has several cases pending, including those on charges of sale of cocaine, disobeying the signal of an officer, reckless driving, tampering with evidence, violation of probation and others.
The violation stems from a first-degree assault conviction in 2021. Morales could be exposed to as many as seven years in prison on the violation, court officials said. His other convictions include those of violation of a protective order and first-degree escape, according to officials.
Officials also said Morales is a lifelong resident of Connecticut who lives with his father and has other family ties in the area. A public defender who represented him during the arraignment said he has no ability to post bail.
Wu set Morales’ bond at $5 million and ordered that he must put up 40% of it at the courthouse in order to be released. Should he post bond, Wu said Morales will be on intensive pretrial supervision that will include GPS monitoring with an ankle bracelet and 24/7 house arrest.
Wu continued the case until next Wednesday.
Wearing a red jacket, dark pants and handcuffs, Morales did not speak during the proceeding. As he was being escorted back to the lockup area following the arraignment, a man in the gallery stood up and shouted out an expletive toward him.
“I’m gonna see you real soon,” the man said, who identified himself after the hearing as a family member of the victims. “I’m gonna see you real soon.”
“We don’t got nothing to say,” the man told reporters outside the courthouse where other family members also declined to comment.
