a court order<\/a> directing a qualified mental health professional to determine if Morales was mentally capable of standing trial after a public defender\u2019s motion.<\/p>\nOn Wednesday, as a 19-year-old inmate, he faced new accusations of repeated violence \u2014 some involving makeshift weapons and gang-related conflicts \u2014 at the Pre-Trial Detention Center.<\/p>\n
Violence at PTDC<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Morales waited for his cellmate to be in handcuffs to use a \u201cmakeshift shank\u201d to cause his cellmate \u201ca superficial cut to the back of his neck,\u201d according to a M-DSO deputy\u2019s report. <\/p>\n
A Miami-Dade corrections officer reported using a self-defense spray to subdue Morales during the attack shortly before 12:15 a.m. Tuesday at PTDC\u2019s 10th floor, according to the deputy\u2019s report.<\/p>\n
Miami-Dade prosecutors filed the case on Wednesday, and he faced a new charge of aggravated battery by a prisoner. His bond was $15,000. <\/p>\n
Gang-related violence at PTDC <\/p>\n
On March 20, Morales and four other inmates attacked a victim after corrections placed him in their cell, and there was an argument about \u201cThe Blood gang,\u201d according to a deputy\u2019s report. <\/p>\n
\u201cSurveillance cameras depict the victim standing in the dayroom when suddenly all of the cameras within the cell were covered by unknown inmates,\u201d a deputy wrote, according to the report. <\/p>\n
The victim suffered \u201cseveral puncture wounds to the back, neck, and hand\u201d and was treated at Jackson Memorial Hospital\u2019s Ryder Trauma Center, according to the deputy\u2019s report. <\/p>\n
Corrections searched the cell and found two more \u201cshanks,\u201d according to the deputy\u2019s incident report. Morales faced a charge of aggravated battery by a prisoner. His arraignment is on April 24. <\/p>\n
More violence at PTDC<\/p>\n
On Feb. 19, Morales got into a fight with an inmate in a cell while \u201cother inmates in the cell covered all cameras,\u201d according to a deputy\u2019s report. <\/p>\n
Prosecutors filed the battery by detainee on detainee case on Feb. 20, and the case was dropped on March 23, according to court records. <\/p>\n
On Nov. 10, Morales and another inmate used paper to cover a surveillance camera in a cell before two other inmates got into a fight, according to a deputy\u2019s report. <\/p>\n
Prosecutors filed the case on Nov. 11, and the case was closed on Dec. 19, according to court records. <\/p>\n
School bus stop shooting<\/p>\n
Shortly after 7:55 a.m., on Sept. 8, 2022, Morales, then 16 years old, used a black firearm with an extended magazine to shoot and wound two students while trying to rob them of their phones, according to a deputy\u2019s report.<\/p>\n
Miami-Dade deputies responded to the shooting at the boys\u2019 school bus stop at Northwest 10 Avenue and 109 Street in the Pinewood neighborhood, according to the deputy\u2019s report. <\/p>\n
The two wounded boys survived, Morales ran away, and when Miami Shores police officers arrested him, they found him in possession of three stolen firearms, according to the deputy\u2019s arrest report. <\/p>\n
Morales had a Glock 26 that had been reported stolen in Miami in his waistband; an Olympic Arms K23B that had been reported stolen in Miami-Dade in his backpack; and a Glock 23, 40 Smith & Wesson caliber, that he had been accused of stealing in Miami, also in his backpack, according to the police report. <\/p>\n
Prosecutors filed the case on Sept. 30, 2022. He faced 19 charges: Three counts of attempted murder with a firearm, three counts of possession of a firearm by a minor, three counts of using a weapon to commit a felony, three counts of carrying a concealed firearm, two counts of armed robbery, armed burglary, aggravated assault with a firearm, possession of a short-barrel gun, third-degree grand theft of a vehicle, and resisting arrest without violence. <\/p>\n
The case remained pending on Wednesday afternoon, according to court records. <\/p>\n
Stealing a gun <\/p>\n
On July 19, 2022, Morales stole the G23 40 S&W caliber from a black GMC SUV that a driver he knew had parked by a gas pump at the Marathon station at Northwest 12th Avenue and 54 Street, according to police. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe victim stated that he has known the defendant for many years, as he went to high school with the defendant\u2019s mother,\u201d a police officer wrote, according to the arrest report. <\/p>\n
The victim heard his car alarm, saw Morales, then 16 years old, running away with the G23, and he drove to Morales\u2019s house to talk to his mother and call the police for help, according to the report. <\/p>\n
Prosecutors filed the case on Oct. 30 on charges of burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, third-degree grand theft of a firearm, carrying a concealed firearm, and possession of a firearm by a minor. His arraignment was on Oct. 6, 2022. The case remains pending. <\/p>\n
Park robbery<\/p>\n
On Feb. 27, 2022, Morales, then 15 years old, took a man\u2019s sports bag and stole AirPods at the Charles Hadley Park in Miami\u2019s Liberty City neighborhood, according to a police report. <\/p>\n
Morales faced a charge of third-degree grand theft. Prosecutors filed the case on Oct. 3, 2022, and it remained pending on Wednesday afternoon, according to court records. His next hearing is June 15. <\/p>\n
Restaurant burglary <\/p>\n
On Jan. 16, 2022, surveillance video showed Morales, then 15, stealing $450 in cash and three cash registers from a Church\u2019s Chicken in Miami\u2019s Liberty City neighborhood, according to police. <\/p>\n
Morales faced charges of burglary of an unoccupied structure, petit theft, and criminal mischief. Records show he was at JAC when prosecutors filed the case on Sept. 30, 2022. It remained pending on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
Local 10 News Assignment Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report. <\/p>\n
Related stories<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. \u2014 Emmanuel Morales has been stuck in a nightmarish limbo for years in Miami-Dade County.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-242435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}