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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Marshals Released From Hospital After Shootout With Fugitive in Smoke Shop

 Patrick Lin and Ryan Westfield were released from Bellevue Hospital Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Marshals released from hospital the day after the shooting
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BELLEVUE HOSPITAL — The two U.S. Marshals wounded in a West Village shootout that left an NYPD detective in the hospital and an accused child molester dead were released from the hospital Tuesday, a spokesman said.

Police continue to investigate the shooting as marshals Patrick Lin and Ryan Westfield left Bellevue Hospital in the afternoon after an overnight stay, according to Marshals Service spokesman James Elcik. One officer was wounded in the elbow, the other was hit in the buttocks, police said.

Detective Mario Muniz, a 21-year veteran of the department, remains in stable condition in the hospital after being shot three times while serving a warrant on accused California pedophile Charles Mozdir, 32, in a West Village smoke shop early Monday afternoon.

The federal fugitive task force, responding to a tip and cellphone information, tracked the suspect to Smoking Culture on 177 West 4th St., near Jones Street, sources said. Muniz went into the shop about 1:10 p.m. to verify that Mozdir was the man they were looking for, then left to get the rest of his team for the arrest.

As soon as the three officers entered the shop, the shooting began, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said during a Monday press conference.

Muniz suffered a bullet wound to the stomach, Bratton said.  The detective's bulletproof vest stopped two of the bullets, police said.

Tuesday, the reality of how close he came to being killed was slowing sinking in for the detective, sources said. He told family and friends how lucky he was to be alive, according to sources.

Mozdir, 32, who was accused of fondling a high school friend's 7-year-old son, had been on the lam since skipping a court appearance in San Diego county in June 2012, local authorities said. Police said that he was also being investigated for fondling another boy at the time of his disappearance.

Child pornography and photos of bestiality were found on his cellphone and computers, a spokeswoman for Coronado Police said.

Authorities tracked the 6-foot, 280-pound man to Darien, Georgia where they found his car hidden in a field. Mozdir, who had at least one registered .32-caliber handgun, was well-versed in outdoor survival, authorities said.

He was believed to be traveling with his black Labrador, Lucky, police said.

For the next two years, the trail went cold.

After Mozdir was featured on CNN's "The Hunt with John Walsh," earlier in the month, marshals in California received a tip from an ex-girlfriend living in Florida that the fugitive was living in New York, but that lead went nowhere.

Authorities got another tip that he was working in the West Village after the show was rebroadcast over the weekend.

The officers waited outside the shop Monday afternoon and watch Mozdir go into the shop before attempting the arrest.

Tuesday afternoon, West Village neighbors were stunned at the violence that unfolded near their doorsteps.

"It was crazy," Greg Niazov, 35, who owns Village Cuts next door. "It was crazy here. People were running with guns."

The stylist recalled seeing Mozdir come and go with his dog. He said the suspect was always by himself.

"He was just this weird person," Niazov said.