Houston DA Indicts ICE Officer in Car Strike Case

A grand jury indicted a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Friday for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The charge stems from an incident on Oct. 10 in which the officer struck a Mexican construction worker in a Houston parking lot.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced the indictment at a news conference. He said the evidence is as clear as any he has prosecuted. Teare played body camera footage and a 911 recording to support the charge against Mario Alberto Morales, 33. Morales was driving an unmarked Jeep Cherokee SUV at the time of the incident.

The video shows Morales steering sharply before the vehicle shakes and stops. He exits the car and turns toward Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, who is lying on the ground holding his leg. Morales is heard saying he hit the man with the car. Parra Hernandez suffered a broken leg and remains in federal custody at a rehabilitation facility.

ICE has asserted that Parra Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle. Teare stated that the video contradicts that account. The agency called the allegations of an intentional strike reckless and false in a statement. Teare said local officials do not have authority to investigate federal officers acting in their duties, though the office is proceeding with the case.

Morales is not currently in custody. Teare said a warrant will be issued for his arrest. The officer faces a second-degree felony. His attorney, David Lindenmuth, said his client did not commit a crime. Lindenmuth accused Teare of seeking political gain and described Morales as a former military member who gave his life to public service.

Lindenmuth told the Associated Press that the incident was an accident. He said the district attorney invented a crime out of thin air. Teare hinted at concerns about Morales' background but did not provide specific details. Morales had served as an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officer for just over a year.

Teare said Parra Hernandez lived in Harris County for more than 30 years. The worker did not have a deportation order or criminal record. ICE identified the target of the day's operation as Jose Mendoza-Cervantes. The agency released a photo of Mendoza-Cervantes and said he was seen entering a vehicle with Parra Hernandez.

Family members of Parra Hernandez said they had never heard of Mendoza-Cervantes. FIEL, an immigrant rights group, said Mendoza-Cervantes' daughter told them her father died in 2017. Teare's office has not found evidence that the two men were in a vehicle together. ICE has not responded to the claim that the suspect has been dead for years.

Teare said the Department of Homeland Security has not cooperated with his investigators. He accused ICE of destroying evidence either intentionally or through gross negligence. He also noted that Morales left the scene before the vehicle could be impounded. This indictment is one of a few criminal charges against federal officers during the current administration's immigration crackdown.