Injured detective released from Texas hospital

DORAL, Fla. (WSVN) -- The hunt for a dangerous fugitive ended in a killer conclusion. Texas police gunned down the man accused of stabbing a South Florida detective. That detective is now on the road to recovery after being stabbed several states away from home.

Violent serial rapist and fugitive Alberto Morales is now dead but not before he committed one last crime. Friday night a family in Grapevine, Texas called police to report a burglary. Men's clothes and jewelry were missing from the home not far from the WalMart where Morales stabbed a Miami-Dade Police Detective, Monday night.

Fort Worth Police launched a helicopter over the woods near Lake Ridge Drive and U.S. Marshals helped swarm the area on the ground.

After four days of a massive manhunt, at 12:25 a.m. Saturday, infrared helped officers spot Morales from above. Still the criminal didn't give in. "He failed to display his hands," said Sergeant Robert Eberling. "He kept his hands concealed and when the officers told him to get on the ground he lunged at the officers."

That is when police shot and killed Morales instantly ending days of fear. "I honestly thought he was long gone," said Tim St. Orge. "I didn't think he'd still be in the area so it's a little crazy to find out that he was still out here."

Miami-Dade Police Director, J.D. Patterson said in a statement, "To the victims who suffered at the hands of this diabolical individual, may you now have peace knowing that he will not be able to hurt you or anyone else again."

His own officer, Detective Jaime Pardinas, has now been released from a hospital in Texas. "My dad is recovering well," said Christina Pardinas, "and expected to make a full recovery."

Monday night, Pardinas and his partner, David Correro stopped at a Grapevine WalMart while extraditing Morales in a rented car back to Nevada on rape charges. The police stopped to use the bathroom and Morales finagled himself free from the handcuffs and used his eyeglasses to stab the 28-year veteran three times in the back and once in the chest. "I've been stabbed in the neck," said Pardinas in a call he made after the incident.

Now with a multi-serial, violent criminal gone for good, his last victim is healing. "He's desperate to get his badge back on," said Chris Heisler, "and his gun back on and go back to work."

Now that Morales is dead, Pardinas hopes to be working on the streets sometime soon. An investigation will be done to figure out how Morales was able to get away and how he hid from police for four days. The investigation will include police officers in Texas, South Florida and the federal level.

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