A Massachusetts mom and her 4-month-old son were killed in what authorities are calling a “senseless and heinous” drive-by shooting in Connecticut earlier this month — leading to a manhunt by cops and U.S. Marshals, who arrested the suspect in Puerto Rico on Saturday.
Lance Benuet Morales, 23, is accused of murdering 20-year-old Jessiah Mercado and her son, Messiah Diaz, while they were driving in Hartford, Connecticut, on Nov. 19, according to the U.S. Marshals Service . Morales also allegedly shot another person, who survived, prompting charges of murder, first-degree assault, criminal possession of a firearm, criminal attempt to commit first-degree assault, and murder with special circumstances. He fled to Puerto Rico sometime between Nov. 19 and Saturday, with cops calling on him to surrender at a press conference on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
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“Lance, you have no other option but to hand yourself in to the Hartford Police Department for the horrific crimes that you have done,” Hartford Interim Police Chief Kenny Howell said at the presser, according to local Fox affiliate WFXT . “You see, this hit the heart of Hartford. You’ve taken the lives of an infant and his mother. We do not tolerate this in this city.”