A Texas grand jury has charged an ICE officer with aggravated assault, accusing him of using his SUV as a “deadly weapon” to run down a man who was fleeing on foot.
Story Snapshot
- A Harris County grand jury indicted ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales, 33, on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors say the weapon was his vehicle.
- Prosecutors say video shows his SUV speeding over a median toward Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, as he ran. His leg was broken.
- ICE says Parra Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle and calls the case “a political stunt.”
- The charge is a second-degree felony that could bring up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted.
- Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, a Democrat, announced the indictment; Morales’s lawyer calls it “a political prosecution.”
Grand Jury Indictment And The Charge
On Friday, October 30, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced that a grand jury had indicted Morales, an officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The charge is aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which under Texas law means a serious attack carried out with something that can kill or badly hurt a person. Prosecutors say Morales deliberately drove his vehicle into Parra Hernandez on Saturday, October 10, during an attempted immigration stop in a Houston parking lot. “The evidence we have in this case is as clear as any that I’ve ever prosecuted or investigated,” Teare said.
Morales is accused, not convicted. He was not in custody on Friday, October 30, and Teare said a warrant would be issued for his arrest. His lawyer, David Lindenmuth, denies any crime. “He’s innocent. This is a political prosecution,” Lindenmuth said. He also said Teare, a Democrat, “has invented a crime out of thin air.” ICE says Morales did not mean to hit anyone.
VIDEO: Houston ICE agent indicted after driving over man's legs during pursuit
…HOUSTON – Immigrant advocacy groups in Houston are celebrating what they call a significant step toward accountability after a Harris County grand jury indicted a federal immigration officer… pic.twitter.com/ZMUDKWY3QW
— David Sentendrey (@DavidSFOX4) October 31, 2026
What The Video Shows, According To Prosecutors
ICE agents tried to stop the vehicle Parra Hernandez was in. He jumped out and ran. Surveillance video shows Morales’s unmarked Jeep speeding over a median toward him as he ran, according to reports on the footage. Body camera video shows sharp steering before the SUV shakes. Morales then gets out and walks toward Parra Hernandez, who is on the ground holding his leg. “He got hit with a car, bro,” Morales says on the video. Later he says, “I was coming in and I hit him with the car.”
In a 911 call afterward, Morales told the dispatcher the man was “fine” and was complaining of pain. Parra Hernandez’s leg was broken. His lawyer, Kim Bruno, says he also has nerve damage and chronic pain. He remains in federal custody at a rehabilitation facility. Parra Hernandez told deputies that Morales “threw the car at me.” He said he thought a police officer was pulling him over and got scared and ran when the man began putting on a mask.
Competing Accounts From ICE And The DA
ICE tells a very different story. The agency says Parra Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle and was struck. “Allegations that ICE struck Miguel Parra-Hernandez intentionally are RECKLESS and FALSE,” an ICE spokesperson said. ICE also said local officials do not have the authority to investigate a federal officer in this case. Morales told deputies he did not hit Parra Hernandez on purpose. He said he did not brake and was trying to steer around another truck in the lot.
The two sides also differ on who ICE was after. ICE says its target was Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, a man it says has a criminal record and a final order of removal, which is a judge’s order that he leave the country. ICE released a photo and says he was seen getting into a vehicle with Parra Hernandez. Teare says his office found no evidence the two men were in a vehicle together. FIEL Houston, an immigrant rights group working with the family, says Mendoza-Cervantes’s daughter told them her father has been dead since 2017. ICE has not responded to that claim.
What Comes Next In The Case
Parra Hernandez is a construction worker from Mexico who has lived in Harris County for more than 30 years. Teare says he had no deportation order and no criminal record. Morales has worked as an ICE deportation officer for a little more than a year, according to his lawyer.
With the indictment filed, the case moves into a Harris County court, where prosecutors must prove the charge to a jury. Morales is one of only a few federal officers to face criminal charges during the immigration crackdown. ICE has said local officials lack the authority to investigate him, and the Harris County prosecutors have moved ahead with the case anyway.
Sources:
ctvnews.ca, nbcdfw.com, nbcwashington.com, san.com, fox26houston.com, miamiherald.com