Man wanted in fatal shooting of woman and infant in a car in Connecticut arrested in Puerto Rico

HARTFORD, Conn. — A suspect in the fatal shooting of a woman and her 4-month-old son inside a car in Hartford, Connecticut, was arrested Saturday in Puerto Rico, officials said.

The U.S. Marshals Service said they found Lance “Macho” Morales at a residence in the barrio of Fajardo. Police believe the 23-year-old Waterbury, Connecticut, resident pulled up alongside a car Tuesday and began firing because of a dispute over a vehicle with a woman in the car, Jessiah Mercado.

Mercado, 20, and her infant son were killed. A man in the car was shot and injured.

Morales was being held on a $3 million bond as he awaited 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.

It was not immediately clear if Morales had an attorney. Emails seeking attorney information were sent to the Marshals Service and to Hartford police.

Police have said detectives were able to identify Morales through video they found of the crime scene and information from the public. Acting Hartford Police Chief Kenny Howell on Wednesday urged Morales to turn himself in during a televised news conference.

Morales was released this year from prison after serving three years for attempted assault, police said.

“Since the commission of this senseless and heinous act of violence, investigators from the Hartford Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Task Forces in Connecticut and Puerto Rico have tirelessly worked 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.