Victim identified in Idaho Falls fatal apartment shooting
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IDAHO FALLS — The victim of a fatal shooting on 4th Street over the weekend has been identified.
Eric Charles Leask, 51, of Idaho Falls, was pronounced deceased at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center on Saturday, according to Bonneville County Coroner Rick Taylor.
According to a news release from the Idaho Falls Police Department, dispatch received a 911 call around 9 p.m. Saturday reporting a burglary at a home on the 100 block of 4th Street.
The reporting party said a person had entered the home and shot two people.
When officers arrived, they found Leask and another man had both suffered gunshot wounds. Both Leask and the other victim were transported to EIRMC by ambulance. Leask was later pronounced deceased. The condition of the other man is unknown.
According to the release, officers identified the suspect as Lance Broncho, 23. They found him in an apartment in the Teton Mesa Apartments in the 800 block of Lomax Street shortly after 11 p.m.
Broncho reportedly barricaded himself inside the apartment and refused to come out when commanded by officers.
The IFPD SWAT Team responded and introduced CS gas to the residence. Broncho surrendered and was taken into custody shortly after 1 a.m.
A second person, later identified as Blanca Lopez, was seen exiting the apartment and going into another to try and hide from police. Lopez was located and taken into custody on pre-existing Bonneville County warrants shortly after 3 a.m.
Broncho is currently in custody at the Bonneville County Jail on federal warrants. He is expected to face local charges consistent with homicide after further investigation is complete.
IFPD says additional information is expected to be released in the coming days as the investigation progresses.
Broncho sustained a non-life threatening gunshot wound during the incident, before officers arrived. It’s unclear how he was injured.
Broncho was indicted in 2020, for federal felony assault causing serious injury after he stabbed a man on the Fort Hall reservation. He was sentenced to 40 months in jail.
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He was arrested again in November and charged with one count of felony aggravated battery for allegedly attacking a man with a baseball bat. According to Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal, the case was dismissed in January due to a lack of evidence from witnesses.
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Further court hearings for Broncho have not yet been scheduled. EastIdahoNews.com will update when we learn more.