Detective stabbed by inmate returns home

DORAL, Fla. (WSVN) -- Miami-Dade Detective Jaime Pardinas, who was stabbed by a prisoner in Texas, is back in his hometown of South Florida.

Pardinas arrived at Opa-Locka Executive Airport on a private jet, Tuesday morning. He was greeted by family, friends and more than two dozen co-workers, as he stepped off the plane. "I was shocked and these are things that happen to police officers. I was extremely shocked, especially coming from somebody so close that went to the academy with me," said Detective Jerry Llanes, who attended police academy with Pardinas. "Not only that, we trained at together many times and in our whole entire career, I've known him for 28 years now."

Last week, Monday night, Pardinas, 54, and his partner were extraditing Alberto Morales to Nevada for a court appearance to face a rape charge he allegedly committed there. During a pit stop at a local Walmart in Grapevine, Texas, police said, Morales, 42, stabbed Pardinas several times with a sharp piece from his own eyeglasses.

Pardinas, a 28-year veteran, was transported to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, where he underwent surgery.

Morales fled on foot from the Walmart parking lot at State Highway 114 in an unknown direction. The manhunt continued for several days until officers found him in a wooded area near Dallas on Saturday. Morales was shot and killed when he refused to surrender to authorities.

Morales faced nine charges for raping two Little Havana women, a 39-year-old and a 61-year-old, at knife-point in 2003. He was not apprehended until 2008 in Nevada after allegedly committing crimes in that state. Morales was brought back to South Florida and sentenced in December of 2012 to 10 years for that 2003 crime.

Friends and co-workers of Pardinas were happy to have him safe and back home. "It's just as if a family member had gone through this ordeal," said Llanes.

After a week of recovering, Pardinas was released from the hospital on Monday and landed in South Florida just a day later. "I was the first one to receive him, which made me feel really good," said Alina Schettino, "and I told him, 'I love you, brother. We're here for you.'"

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