Texas Grand Jury Charges ICE Officer Who Drove SUV Into Fleeing Migrant

Texas Grand Jury Charges ICE Officer Who Drove SUV Into Fleeing Migrant

A rare state prosecution of a federal agent

A Harris County grand jury voted on the morning of October 30 to indict Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Mario Alberto Morales on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony, District Attorney Sean Teare announced. State prosecutions of federal agents who injure people in the line of duty are rare.

Chase unfolded in a Houston strip-mall lot

The incident happened around 7:30 a.m. on October 10 in a strip mall parking lot near state Highway 6 and Clay Road in Houston. Morales was driving an unmarked black Jeep Cherokee SUV during what federal officials described as an enforcement operation.

Video shows the SUV swerving into the runner

Surveillance video played at the news conference shows the SUV crossing a median and pursuing the fleeing man across a restaurant parking lot. Although another vehicle briefly blocks the moment of impact, the man is seen on the ground moments later. Teare said Morales aggressively steered into the victim and ran over both of his legs.

Victim is a 48-year-old construction worker

The injured man is Miguel Parra Hernandez, a 48-year-old Mexican construction worker. He suffered a broken leg and other serious injuries and remains hospitalized in a rehabilitation facility under ICE watch. Authorities say he had no criminal record and no active deportation order.

The actual target had reportedly been dead for years

According to Teare, ICE officers were pursuing a 2011 Chevrolet Silverado carrying two men who jumped out and ran. ICE said it was targeting a passenger named Jose Mendoza Cervantes, a man who had apparently been dead for nine years. Parra Hernandez was simply in the same vehicle.

Officer told 911 the migrant hit his car

In a 911 call played at the press conference, Morales told the dispatcher he had tried to get around Parra Hernandez and that the man hit his vehicle. Teare rejected that account, saying he had reviewed hundreds of similar cases and the evidence here was as clear as any he had ever prosecuted.

Defense calls the case political

Morales's attorney, David Lindenmuth, said his client committed no crime, did not intentionally strike anyone, and accused the Democratic district attorney of pursuing the indictment for political reasons. He said Morales had served as an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officer for a little more than a year. Morales was not in custody on October 30, and a warrant will be issued for his arrest.

Prosecutor accuses Homeland Security of stonewalling

Teare said the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has not cooperated with investigators and accused ICE of destroying evidence either intentionally or through gross negligence. He said Morales left the scene before the vehicle could be impounded. An ICE badge, Teare said, does not give officers free rein to injure people or violate their constitutional rights.