Harris County Grand Jury Indicts ICE Officer Who Struck a Man With His Vehicle on Clay Road
Officer Mario Alberto Morales faces second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The DA says video shows him steering into Miguel Parra-Hernandez; ICE calls the indictment a political stunt and the allegation false.
HOUSTON - A Harris County grand jury has indicted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who struck a man with his vehicle in northwest Harris County earlier this month, District Attorney Sean Teare announced at a news conference Friday. Officer Mario Alberto Morales was indicted on one count of second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, Teare said - a charge that carries between two and 20 years in prison if he is convicted. An indictment is an accusation, not a finding of guilt.
Teare's account of the October 10 incident: Morales, driving a 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee at about 7:30 a.m., initiated a stop on a vehicle driven by Miguel Parra-Hernandez, a Mexican national who has lived in the United States for 30 years. Parra-Hernandez and another occupant fled on foot, and video footage showed Morales striking Parra-Hernandez with the vehicle, Teare said. 'As you can clearly see Morales aggressively steered his vehicle into Parra-Hernandez. Not only did he hit Mr. Hernandez, he ran over both of his legs, leaving him seriously injured and hospitalized to this day,' Teare said. The sheriff's office's October 10 account placed the crash on Clay Road near Highway 6, where agents had been pursuing a white truck; ICE identified its initial target in the operation as Jose Mendoza-Cervantes.
ICE answered the indictment the same day. In a statement to USA TODAY, a spokesperson for the agency called the indictment a 'political stunt' and said local government does not have the authority to investigate the case. 'Allegations that ICE struck Miguel Parra-Hernandez intentionally are RECKLESS and FALSE. The men and women of ICE are entrusted with upholding the rule of law and are held to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and ethical conduct,' the spokesperson said. The case now moves into Harris County's criminal courts, where the charge - and the competing accounts of the video - will be tested.
