Police Search for Fugitive Who Stabbed Miami-Dade Officer
Police search for Alberto Morales, who is accused of stabbing Miami-Dade Police Officer Jaime Pardinas in Texas. Miami-Dade Police Director J.D. Patterson discusses the case.
Miami-Dade Officer Stabbed While Transporting Prisoner in Texas
Authorities are searching for escaped prisoner Alberto Morales, 42, who they said stabbed a Miami-Dade officer, Jaime Pardinas. Miami-Dade Police Director J.D. Patterson and Grapevine Police spokesman Lt. Barry Bowling discussed the case.
More Photos and VideosThe days-long manhunt for Miami-Dade fugitive Alberto Morales ended in the Texas woods early Saturday, when he was shot and killed by police, authorities said.
A Friday night burglary at an unoccupied home, in which men?s clothing and jewelry were stolen, prompted police to search nearby woods and find the 42-year-old fugitive there, according to Sgt. Robert Eberling, spokesman for the Grapevine, Texas, Police Department.
Holding wooden sticks in his hands, Morales ignored commands and lunged toward officers, Eberling said. Fearing for their safety, the officers -- a Grapevine officer and two members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force -- used deadly force, Eberling said.
?We successfully stopped a violent fugitive and ended the fears that he brought to so many people,? Eberling said Saturday afternoon at a press conference.
Morales had been deemed by police as a threat to the public, given his criminal history of sexual battery, kidnapping and other offenses, authorities said.
Morales was apparently unfamiliar with the Texas region, and may have turned to the woods in recent days to hide, Eberling said. Officers in recent days searched boathouses and other locations, but didn?t find him.?
?There?s a lot of woods and a lot of open area back there,? Eberling said. ?So we don?t know if he just slept in the woods or if he was able to find somewhat of a shelter to stay in.?
Past News Article:?Manhunt Continues for "Dangerous" Miami Fugitive
Although police suspect that Morales didn?t receive help from anyone while free, he still somehow slipped out of the handcuffs and belly band to which he was shackled, Eberling said.
Saturday, Morales still had on his hooded prison sweatshirt. He also wore long pants that he didn?t have before. Eberling said he didn?t know whether those pants were from the home burglarized Friday.??
?We are somewhat surprised that someone was able ? you know, especially with the weather and terrain up there -- to remain hidden that long,? Eberling said. ?I?m sure it was a challenge to be in the weather and the inclement conditions that we?ve had in the past few days.?
Multiple agencies intend to keep investigating the events that led to the escape, which Morales had likely planned for ?a long time,? Eberling said.??
Days ago, Morales was being taken by Officers Jaime Pardinas and David Carrero from Miami to Las Vegas for a court appearance. They planned to travel by plane but were forced to rent an SUV after Morales acted up on the first flight to Houston, police said. They were told they wouldn't be allowed to make the connecting flight, police said.
When they stopped at a Texas Walmart to use the restroom, Morales used a broken piece of his eyeglasses to stab Pardinas in the chest while Carrero was inside the store, police said. Morales then disappeared.
911 Call Released in Miami-Dade Officer's Texas Stabbing
About 10:30 p.m. Friday, officers responded to the burglarized home a few miles from the Walmart, Eberling said. The items that were stolen drew investigators? attention.
?Officers thought that was rather suspicious,? Eberling said. ?They contacted the members of the fugitive task force, who responded to that area and began searching and saturating that neighborhood.?
As the officers approached a wooded area, they could hear somebody moving. Officers asked for help from Fort Worth police, who sent a helicopter equipped with an infrared camera that helped find Morales in the dark woods, Eberling said.
Officers saw that Morales was running from them.
?At that point, they were able to surround Mr. Morales,? Eberling said. ?They commanded him to surrender. He failed to do so and lunged toward the officers.?
Eberling said he didn?t know whether Morales was holding the wooden sticks to use them as weapons.
But officers? knew Morales was skilled at using objects as weapons and probably didn?t forget that during the confrontation, Eberling said. ?
?I think that was certainly in the forethoughts of those officers who encountered him today,? Eberling said. ?He was able to almost kill and officer with some eyeglasses, so he was certainly skilled with using pointed objects or edged weapons.?
During the manhunt, Morales was deemed by police as a threat to the public, given his criminal past of sexual battery, burglary and kidnapping, authorities said.
?Although we do not relish the fact that a life was taken,? Eberling said, ?we are thankful no one else was harmed and that the citizens of this community and the surrounding communities no longer have to live with the fear of Alberto Morales.?
Dade Officer Stabbed While Transporting Prisoner in Texas
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