DUI Checkpoints & Crime on the Road, Sobriety Checkpoints

Oct 28, 2009

Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) special agents yesterday arrested Edward Morales, 55, a violent felony offender who was wanted for escaping from a southwest Florida road prison 21 years ago. Morales was serving time for attempted second degree murder and robbery with a firearm when he walked away from the Copeland Road Prison in Collier County on May 4, 1988.

Agents with FDLE’s Tampa Bay Regional Operations Center began searching for Morales in June 2008 as part of a joint initiative with the Florida Department of Corrections to locate some of the state’s most violent prison escapees.

At the time of his escape, Morales was serving a 17 year sentence for his role in a 1983 incident in Jackson County where he and an accomplice robbed and shot a man and then stole his vehicle. Morales was convicted of the crime and entered the prison system on April 11, 1984.

The FDLE investigation revealed that Morales had assumed multiple identities during his time on the run and had secured employment as a truck driver. FDLE obtained information indicating that Morales was in Florida and possibly living under the name Daniel Silva.

Morales was arrested yesterday at his Lakeland residence and charged with Escape. He was also charged with Resisting an Officer after he refused to provide any personal information or identification at the time of his arrest. He was booked into the Polk County Jail.

FDLE continues to investigate Morales’ activity.

For Further Information Contact:
Heather Smith, Kristen Chernosky or Mike Morrison
FDLE Office of Public Information
(850) 410-7001
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