We have an active shooter. We have an after squar listen mass casualty.
Welcome to Active Shooter, a podcast that covers the wise, the hows,
and the aftermath of active shooter and mass casualty events. They have an active
shooter in the building. Attacking calls says they are vague impacts. What six
nine amies? We got shots Quier at four fifteen eighty at a route to
ninety one. So I'm like automatic Quier on active shooter, courts of an
active shooter, active shooter, active shooter in mass casualty incidents. Thank you
for listening. You are listening to Active Shooter, a podcast that may contain
adult themes, explicit language, and graphic depictions of violence. Portions of the
show may be traumatic for those under eighteen. Listener discretion is advised. It
was a dramatic, bloody day of workplace violence, car chases, and a
suspected cold blooded killer now in handcuffs. A man so callous after his alleged
rampage. Sources tell us he was spotted by police casually walking down the street
smoking a cigar. Overnight, police capturing after chasing him on foot following an
eleven hour multi state manhunt for the suspected killer accused of gunning down three people
and critically wounding two others at his office just outside of Baltimore, then shooting
another man in Delaware. Advanced Granite Solutions and twenty eighth Street Auto Sales are
two businesses offering vastly different services. There wouldn't appear to be any nexus between
the two they sit fifty miles apart in two different states, Yet on October
eighteenth, twenty seventeen, the two were inextricably linked by hate. They hate
one man, harbored deep in his heart, was carried out in the most
horrific way possible, by brutally stealing the lives of several people and permanently altering
so many more lives, perhaps beyond repair. Today's case is dedicated to the
lives and memories of the three injured survivors and the three shooting victims, Jose
Hidalgo, Romero, Enes Meravaljak and by our Sakhan Too dev Active Shooter.
The podcast is a High five Holly production and I'm your host j T.
If you've listened to our prior episodes, you know that the Active Shooter podcast
team has taken the no notoriety pledge. We will not be sharing the real
name to the shooters that we cover. We will be giving the shooters a
pseudon them and refer to them by that name throughout the episode. This will
help in clearing up any confusion in the story. While remaining true to our
pledge and not naming the shooter by their actual name, we will refer to
today's shooter as Lance. Advanced Granite Solutions, a manufacturer and installer of granite
countertops, was a company owned by Buach Cabba and operated in Edgewood, Maryland
since two thousand and four. The business was located at twenty one eleven Emerton
Park Road and sat approximately twenty miles northeast of Baltimore. Employees of this business
began arriving for their regularly scheduled shifts, including thirty seven year old Lance,
who arrived shortly before eight a m. Which is when the business opened.
Lance was employed as a machine operator with Advanced for about four months, and
while things appeared normal on the surface, on Wednesday, October eighteenth, twenty
seventeen, it turned out to be anything but routine. Lance wasn't at work
long before heading back out to the parking lot, walking to his suv,
where he pulled out and put on a black jacket. He re entered the
facility and returned to his workstation. Shortly before nine am, Lance was seen
on video surveillance standing close to one of the machines while speaking to five co
workers. He told the men to quote, come with me. I want
to say something to everybody. Without another word, Lance raised his weapon and
shot each of the men, severely, injuring two and instantly killing the other.
Three included thirty four year old Jose Hidalgo Romero, who went by Oscar.
Oscar, described as a light in the Latino community, was a diligent
worker who didn't hoard his money or by fancy clothes or cars. He donated
a portion of the salary to help pay the rent at the church he attended,
a place that he visited several days a week to worship. Oscar had
lived in El Salvador, but came to Maryland to live about thirteen years earlier
to help care for family. The selfless gesture further illustrates the compassionate and generous
nature of this man, for he left his wife, child and siblings in
El Salvador to work and care for others, and the family he left behind
will never be the same without him. Lance's short, deadly blasts also stole
the life of fifty three year old by A Psikon tu dev a father of
one dog and two sons and grandfather to many. Born on March thirty first,
nineteen sixty four in Mongolia, he immigrated to the States to pursue the
proverbial American dream. Before visiting in the US, he owned a furniture business
in his home country, where he'd also been a gymnast in his youth.
By Our Psycon was a music aficionado, especially for a rock and roll and
his favorite bands or the Beejis, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones.
He had plenty of time to jam out to his favorites every day, as
the commute to work was two hours. He enjoyed the work at Advanced Granite
Solutions so much he didn't mind the extra long commute from northern Virginia, not
when it meant doing what he was passionate about. Indeed, his greater ambition
was to one day have his own granite company. By Our Psycon was a
regular fixture at his church and was learning to play gospel music on his guitar.
He was chosen to be baptized at the Washington Mongolian Church in April,
a decision he was genuinely honored by a role model for the younger generation at
the church. By our Pichon would be fiercely missed by all whose lives he
touched. Initial nine one one calls began rolling into Central Dispatch at eight fifty
eight am, meaning the first call was nearly instantaneous. Deputies from the Harford
County Sheriff's Office responded and were on scene within four minutes. The police immediately
alerted the public to the armed gunman situation and that he was already mobile or
on the run by the time they arrived. Lance shot his co workers and
fled, driving a black two thousand and eight Acadia headed towards Delaware. Lance's
picture was placed on FBI billboards all along I ninety five from Philadelphia to Washington,
DC and even in Atlantic City. While the man hunt was on back
it advanced. Granted police encountered the third deceased shooting victim, Ennis Marvalgik,
a forty eight year old man born on February fifteenth, nineteen sixty nine in
Bosnia, Herzegovina. In two thousand and two, Ennis and his wife moved
to Maryland and he eventually began working for Advanced Granite. An enthusiastic man who
never got angry, Ennis loved his family and helping when he could. The
weekend before he was murdered, he helped his daughter lay a stone driveway,
not minding the work on his day off when it meant helping his child.
Ennis's wife moved back to Bosnia after several years of living in the States.
She was terribly homesick, and though she returned to her beloved homeland, she
and Ennis traveled back and forth quite frequently. He was planning a trip there
for the holidays, a trip that would never come to fruition, all because
of the ghastly acts of a lone madman. Ennis's body was transported to Bosnia
so he may be laid to rest with close family who will visit and mourn
their loss every day. The two injured employees were rushed to the University of
Maryland Medical Center Shock Trauma Center, where they were treated and ultimately released,
though perhaps never fully recovered. Several nearby businesses and schools, including Deerfield Elementary,
William Paca Old Post Road Elementary, and Edgewood Elementary, Middle and high
schools were placed on some form of lockdown, modified or otherwise. The school
lockdowns were lifted a short time later. Police continued searching for Lance while another
team worked on securing the scene at Advanced Granite's facility. Because police didn't realize
that this was a very targeted attack, he didn't anticipate that he had another
mark in mind, a former co worker that worked with Lance at twenty eighth
Street Auto Sales, a used card dealership located at twenty eight o one Northeast
Boulevard, Wilmington, Delaware, about fifty miles from Advanced. Along the way,
Lance stopped at a Walmart where he purchased more AMMO. He arrived at
the dealership at ten forty five am and immediately approached former friend and co worker
Jason Ball in an aggressive manner. One of the former dealership employees later reported
that she'd known Lance ever since childhood she could easily identify him. She briefly
spoke with Lance in the parking lot, and he asked her where Jason was,
to which she responded that she wasn't sure. She watched Lance walk into
the dealership and pull out a firearm. He walked towards and into Jason's office,
where Jason was meeting with employee Court Hughes. Lance raised the gun and
shot Chase and twice, with the first bullet hitting him in the face before
lodging firmly into his spine. The employee in the parking lot ran away when
she heard a gun shot. Lance wasn't able to keep shooting, so he
stepped out of the office to clear jam in the gun. Though he was
severely injured, Jason managed to push his desk against the door and give himself
a temporary reprieve from danger. Lance cleared the jam and pushed through the barricaded
door and shot into the office again. He left the building and immediately walked
right back in, pushed the office door open, and shot into the office
one final time. He shot at Jason three times, but hit him twice.
It's not clear whether the second or third shot struck Jason in the pelvic
area. Jason survived his injuries, and it's nothing short of a miracle.
The employee that was meeting with Jason, Court Hughes was able to escape the
shooting unharmed, or rather physically unharmed, aside from the trauma of witnessing his
superior be shot before his very eyes. Court heard Lance after shooting Jason,
saying in a menacing tone, bleed out bitch, before turning and running from
the building. Jason crawled to the front entrance of the building and called for
help until other employees raced to his side, providing temporary triage. Jason named
the shooter, saying he knew the man for several years. The police were
called and the Wilmington Police Department arrived at the dealership. Jason was still conscious
enough to tell both the police were called and when the Wilmington Police Department arrived
at the dealership, Jason was still conscious enough to tell both the shooter's identity
as well as the description of the vehicle. Lance drove. Officers spotted a
gmc Acadia turning out of the dealership, and as such managed to slip through
the police's fingers. As he was on the run from law enforcement. In
Delaware, officers witnessed Lance throw something out the window. That's something proved to
be the murder weapon. Now they could connect Lance to the gun and to
the shooting, especially since he used the same gun for both shooting sites.
During his escape, Lance shot at another witness, though mercifully he missed,
although we managed to lose a boot in the process. At five thirty five
PM, a tip was received that Lance was witnessed walking away from his car
near Glasgow High School in Newark, Delaware. He was puffing on a cigar,
appearing like he hadnt a care in the world. Lance was about fifteen
miles from the dealership before the witness reported the sighting near the high school.
At six forty eight pm, Lance was seen walking behind the school, and
by seven o five pm he was taken into custody after a short foot chase
with AFT agents. Lance was born on November fifth, nineteen seventy nine.
He was described as having significant anger issues, erupting into violence and exhibiting combative
behaviors. An advanced granted employee later said that Lance had approached them a month
before the shooting, accusing the employee of talking about him to others. Lance
was known for violence towards co workers, well most people, really. It
just seemed that at work in particular, Lance lost his cool and got hostile,
especially if he believed someone was gossiping or talking behind his back. They
usually weren't, but Lance wasn't convinced. Several employees filed complaints with human resources,
but nothing ever seemed to come from it. In Delaware alone, Lance
was arrested forty three times. He rarely made rent on time, and as
such was frequently named in landlord tenants suits. He also had a plethora of
traffic violations. In twenty fourteen, he believed a co worker was talking against
him, so he put the employee in a chokehold, which is clearly an
overexaggerated reaction, although not as over the tops when the incident was reported to
police. When Lance learned about the police report, he forced the co worker
into the parking lot, where he proceeded to slam the employee to the ground
hard enough for them to lose consciousness. Lance was charged with offensive touching,
which feels like a gross minimization of what actually transpired. The case was dismissed,
though the reason why remains unknown. During March of twenty fifteen, Lance
was pulled over on US forty and Cecil County, Maryland for a broken headlight.
Deputy first Class Joseph M. Kenley stopped Lance in the Big Elks Shopping
Center parking lot. As he approached the vehicle and began speaking, Lance started
to get extremely loud and aggressive. The deputy tried to calm Lance down,
which only served to enrage him further. Another officer from the Elkton Police Department
arrived on scene and ran Lance his license information. He had a suspended license
and was wanted on a bench warrant for unpaid traffic citations. The police,
along with a canine unit, began to search the vehicle and located a firearm
under the center console of the Fort Explorer that Lance drove. Because he already
had fifteen felony convictions, which prevented him the right to possess a firearm,
Lance was arrested and handcuffed, and because of the weapon and his record,
Lance faced up to nine years in prison. A mere three months later,
the charges were dropped and Lance was free without consequence. Though the police,
specifically the Sheriff's department, expected a criminal trial, the state's Attorney's office dismissed
the case, citing the reason as the sheriff's deputy who made the traffic stop
ask them to. The sheriff's office denied these allegations, claiming the deputy appeared
on the date of the trial, but the prosecutor elected to dismiss During an
interview later in October of twenty seventeen, the state's attorney claimed that there was
insufficient evidence to proceed with the case, which really sounds like they just didn't
want to deal with it. Perhaps if he was convicted during this incident,
he wouldn't have had access to weapons and thus the ability to carry out such
a horrendous crime. In twenty sixteen, Lance was accused of punching and trying
to rob Jason Ball, who was the shooting survivor from twenty eighth Street Auto
discussed earlier. In this episode, Lance was charged with offensive touching and robbery,
but again the case was dismissed with no information as to why. In
early two thousand seventeen, Lance was terminated from JPS Marble and granted after it
was alleged that he punched a co worker and threatened other employees. The former
boss indicated that he was so worried for his own safety when it came to
Lance, he had even attempted to obtain a personal protection order. However,
the request was denied. The State of Maryland refused to release any records about
any former cases, so no additional information could be obtained. Shooting survivor Jason
Ball and his best friend, who will call stand for the purpose of clarity,
were thick as thieves. Stan was Lance's brother, He and Jason were
best buddies. They were out at a nightclub one evening when Lance claimed that
his brother called him a rat and that Stan and Jason hired some thugs to
beat Lance up outside of the club. The assault was brutal, leaving Lance
with a broken back and a deep laceration to his forehead. As a result
of the head injury, Lance was placed into a medically induced coma. In
January twenty sixteen, Stan was newly released from prison and the brothers were together
at their father's house when the siblings got into a physical altercation, although the
reason why is unknown. At one point during this same incident, Jason and
Stan left the residence and Lance alleged that Jason quote drove the truck right into
him. Jason was going to testify in this manner, but the case was
dismissed and never reauthorized. People in Lance's family described a time when Lance and
Jason were leaving Lance's father's funeral when Jason allegedly took a gun out of the
center console and aimed it at Lance, which is a claim that Jason has
staunchly denied. Lance was formally arraigned on October nineteenth, twenty seventeen, in
Delaware. He was charged with one count of attempted murder and three gun violations.
He pled not guilty and was held on two point one million dollars bail.
The state of Maryland placed a detainer on Land for three counts of murder
and two counts of attempted murder. During the trial in Delaware for shooting Jason
Ball, Lance testified at his own trial, never denying that he shot Jason,
but tried to claim self defense. Lance would later say that he believed
Jason hired someone to murder him, so he shot Jason first. While being
questioned, the state asked Lance, quote the exact morning at your place in
Edgewood, Maryland, on October eighteenth, twenty seventeen, when a group of
people were gathering in a room. You shot them, right, You shot
five people. Three of them are dead, and isn't it true that that
was a little bit more to do with your state of mind on October eighteenth,
two thousand seventeen, that morning than whatever this stuff was from two thousand
fourteen, two thousand fifteen, and two thousand sixteen. Right, Lance didn't
answer, so the state replied with, quote, that's a non answer,
to which Lance replied, you've seen the pictures, You've seen the evidence.
A superior court jury found Lance guilty of attempted manslaughter under extreme emotional distress,
which was a lesser charged that the jury could consider. Lance was also found
guilty of first degree reckless endangerment, carrying a concealed weapon, and two counts
of possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was sentenced to
forty years in prison. Immediately after the trial, Lance filed for post conviction
relief, which the court denied. He then appealed for a Supreme Court's decision
to the Supreme Court of Delaware. In the appeal, Lance claims ineffective assistance
of counsel for reasons including not objecting to the court allowing the video of the
Maryland shooting to be shown trial. The video wasn't properly authenticated, and the
court didn't afford Lance the ability to present evidence or witnesses that supported his defense,
which forced him to take the stand. The Supreme Court affirmed the decision
of the Superior Court. The Maryland trial took a bit longer to commence,
but it finally did on October thirteenth, twenty twenty, and one hundred and
twenty perspective jurors were summoned to jury selection. As such, jury selection was
held at the Havre de Grace Community Center, which allowed jurors to socially distance
themselves. A food truck was brought in to keep everyone fed. It was
the first trial to take place in Hartford County since the pandemic. On October
twenty eighth, twenty twenty, Lance was found guilty on all counts. He
testified on his own behalf, saying that he fired the weapon five times because
a man made a quote threatening gesture. He continued by saying that he'd never
used the gun before and that had jammed during the shooting. During his own
testimony, Lance confessed to the crime said he was sorry for what he'd done.
Lance continuously used profanities while testifying, and it took the jury under twenty
four hours to find Lance guilty of all counts. After a guilty verdict,
the criminal responsibility phase begins. The jury must decide if the defendant was criminally
responsible and in his right mind at the time of the shooting, which they
did. Lance was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole,
two consecutive life sentences for murdering three people and attempting two more. Finally,
he was also sentenced to twenty years for use of a handgun during the
commission of a crime of violence and fifteen years for being a felon in possession
of a handgun concurrent to the last life sentence. All of the sentences are
consecutive to the forty years that the shooter is already serving in Delaware. He
will never see the light of day outside of prison walls, and that may
be the only justice out of this terrifying ordeal. We all have the unique
ability to help prevent such a catastrophic event from happening if we keep our eyes
and ears open and never hesitate to report when something or someone just doesn't seem
right. With a delicate balance of mental health, reform, education, active
shooter training, and common sense gun laws. We may one day realize the
dream, the dream that there will be no more active shootings. We pray
that love will prevail over hate. Too many have died, we should say
to ourselves, not one more. In the meantime, we urge our listeners
to stay aware of your surroundings and keep in touch with your loved ones.
If you see something, say something, you never know how many lives you'll
be saving. Thank you for listening to today's episode of Active Shooter the Podcast.
Remember, if you see something, say something, there's no telling how
many lives you may be saving. A big thank you to Darren Curtis,
who composed some of the songs on our show. You can find him online
at www dot Darren Curtis music dot com. Make sure to check us out
on social media. You can find us on Facebook at Active Shooter the Podcast
and on Twitter at podcast Active. Thank you and be safe.