Possible confession released in Idaho Falls shooting

IDAHO FALLS (KIFI) - A public records request made by Local News 8 has brought new evidence to light in the killing of Eric Leask - including what prosecutors said could be the suspect’s confession.

Lance Broncho, 23, is facing five felony charges in connection to the March 9th killing, including first-degree murder. He appeared in court Tuesday, a month after his previous appearance, for his preliminary hearing.

Local News 8 filed the records request through the Bonneville County Prosecutor’s Office. After consulting with the county court and state officials, prosecuting attorney Randy Neal turned over two pieces of evidence presented at Tuesday’s hearing.

The first piece of evidence was a recorded phone call between Broncho and his mother shortly after being booked into the Bonneville County Jail. The full transcript is below:

BRONCHO: “I was trying to come see you that night.”

MOTHER: “Well…”

B: “I got shot.”

M: “I know. How bad?”

B: “Not that bad. They put the [unintelligible] in the back of my head and I turned and pushed the gun out of the way, and then I ran.”

M: “So who shot your hand?”

B: “I don’t know.”

M: ”Do you know that you shot an innocent man? And killed him?"

B: ”I didn't shoot nobody, mom. There's people dead? They won't tell me nothing, mom."

M: ”Okay. The old man's dead."

B: ”The old man?"

M: ”The old man. I heard your sister used to work with him."

Broncho also made a video call from the Bonneville County Jail on March 13th, two days before his initial appearance in court. Like all calls from jail, it was recorded. 

The following full transcript has been referred to as some of the strongest evidence against Broncho. The call’s recipient was identified as Rachel Samples, though two people can be seen in the video:

BRONCHO: ”You know what? Guess who I killed? A family friend of mine."

SAMPLES: ”Yo - I called your sister and your mom and I talked to both of them-"

B: ”They're my family friend. They're my sister's friend. It just gets weirder and weirder."

S: “What the [expletive]? Yeah, no, that took a second to register.”

B: “A friend of my family.”

S: “I was like, ‘You don’t even know him.’ But okay, allegedly, he was [unintelligible]. Well, what the [expletive]?”

B: “They know my sister. They know my sister. I don’t know the person, but they know my sister.”

S: “I know.”

B: “My sister…I need to talk on a secure line so I can go into depth of what, like, really happened, but it’s [expletive] tripping me out.”

Broncho will appear in district court for the first time on May 13th. If he pleads not guilty during the arraignment, prosecutors will have two months to decide if they will pursue the death penalty.

The medical examiner has begun an autopsy, Neal said, but it is yet to be completed.

Local News 8 has learned there is a three-hour audio recording of Tuesday’s preliminary hearing which includes witness testimony. The station is filing another public records request, this time with the Bonneville County Courthouse, in hopes of sharing it with viewers.