Grand Jury Indicts ICE Officer Mario Alberto Morales for Aggravated Assault in Houston Parking Lot Incident
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after prosecutors said he intentionally drove his vehicle into a fleeing Mexican construction worker in Houston. The October 10 incident left 48-year-old Miguel Parra Hernandez with a broken leg while he was running away through a parking lot during an immigration enforcement operation, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Mario Alberto Morales, a 33-year-old officer from Brownsville, Texas, is one of a few federal officers who have faced criminal charges over their actions on the job during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced the second-degree felony indictment during a Friday news conference, stating that video evidence plainly refutes federal claims that Parra Hernandez jumped in front of the vehicle.
“The evidence we have in this case is as clear as any that I’ve ever prosecuted or investigated,” Teare told reporters.
Surveillance Footage and Body Camera Recordings Contradict Agency Statements
Disputes over the physical evidence anchor the criminal case. While Immigration and Customs Enforcement asserted that Parra Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle, local prosecutors maintain that surveillance and body camera footage show otherwise. Surveillance video shows a Jeep Cherokee speed over a median and drive toward Parra Hernandez as he runs away.
During Friday’s briefing, District Attorney Sean Teare played body camera footage recorded by Morales. The video shows the officer making sharp turns with the steering wheel before the vehicle shakes. Morales is then seen exiting the SUV, turning toward Parra Hernandez as he yells in pain on the ground, and stating on the recording, “I was coming in and I hit him with the car, bro.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement defended the operation in a public statement, calling allegations that the officer struck Parra Hernandez intentionally “reckless and false.” The agency also asserted that local officials do not have the authority to investigate federal officers acting in the course of their duties.
Defense Claims Accusations Invented for Political Gain
Defense attorney David Lindenmuth defended his client, arguing that Morales committed no crime and asserting that local prosecutors brought the indictment for political gain. Lindenmuth noted that Morales had worked as an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officer for a little more than a year prior to the incident.
“Mr. Morales is truly a good man, a former member of our military, that has given his entire life to public service either for his country or in or adjacent to law enforcement,” Lindenmuth told The Associated Press. “To have him charged for what was so clearly just an accident — the DA’s office, the DA himself, has invented a crime out of thin air.”
District Attorney Sean Teare declined to disclose specific background details regarding Morales, though he hinted at existing concerns. Morales was not in custody at the time of the grand jury announcement, and a warrant will be issued for his arrest, according to Teare.
Discrepancies Emerge Over Operation Targets and Prior Records
Investigators and immigrant advocacy groups have raised questions regarding the administrative justification for the October 10 operation. Prosecutors stated that Parra Hernandez has lived in Harris County for more than 30 years and possesses no criminal history or active deportation orders.
Following the encounter, Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a photograph of another individual, Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, identifying him as the target of the operation that day and claiming he was seen entering a vehicle with Parra Hernandez. However, relatives of Parra Hernandez stated they had never heard of the man. Furthermore, representatives from FIEL, a Houston-based immigrant rights organization assisting the family, reported that Mendoza-Cervantes’ daughter stated her father has been dead since 2017. Prosecutors confirmed that their investigation found no evidence that Parra Hernandez and the targeted individual were inside a vehicle together.
The case runs parallel to an ongoing investigation into a separate fatal shooting in Houston this July, in which an ICE officer shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo inside a van. District Attorney Sean Teare accused the Department of Homeland Security of failing to cooperate with local investigators and alleged that federal officials destroyed evidence in the Morales case either intentionally or through gross negligence.
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