Corcoran man stabs woman in head, holds another hostage before hours-long standoff with police

Corcoran Police rescued a woman being held hostage and arrested a man after a standoff that lasted several hours on Friday.

Another woman who was at the residence and who managed to escape through a back window said 42-year-old Joseph Morales stabbed her in the head and assaulted her when she attempted to open the door for law enforcement.

Both women, one of them 72 years old and the other 42 years old, are family members of Morales.

He has been taken into custody on the charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, elder abuse and resisting/delaying a police officer.

The standoff began at 11:40 a.m. when Corcoran officers and the Hanford Parole unit appeared at the house on Josephine Avenue and tried to contact Morales.

Morales refused to come to the door and officers heard a woman screaming inside the house. That woman escaped through the back window soon after.

Officers called for the Kings County Regional SWAT team, who arrived and spoke to Morales through the door while Corcoran Police officers managed to help the other woman escape through a back window.

Morales surrendered to officers after several hours.

He has been booked into the Kings County Jail where his bail was set at $675,000.