Houston: ICE Officer Indicted for Ramming Construction Worker

Miguel Parra Hernandez suffered a broken leg after a federal agent intentionally rammed his unmarked SUV into the man last month. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office indicted the officer, Mario Alberto Morales, on Friday for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. This charge is a second-degree felony. Morales was not in custody at the time of the announcement, and a warrant for his arrest will be issued.

The incident occurred on Oct. 10 in a Houston parking lot. Parra Hernandez, a 48-year-old construction worker, was running away from a vehicle during a pursuit. According to District Attorney Sean Teare, Morales drove a Jeep Cherokee over a median and struck Parra Hernandez. The victim remains in federal custody at a rehabilitation facility. Teare stated that the evidence in the case is as clear as any he has prosecuted or investigated.

Teare presented body camera video at a Friday news conference to contradict the agency’s initial account. The footage shows Morales making sharp steering movements before the vehicle shakes and stops. Morales is heard saying, "He got hit with a car, bro." He then states, "I was coming in and I hit him with the car." ICE previously claimed Parra Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle, a narrative Teare said the video disproves.

Morales’ attorney, David Lindenmuth, argued that his client did not commit a crime. Lindenmuth accused Teare of seeking political gain by inventing a crime out of thin air. "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. He added that the collision was clearly just an accident.

ICE asserted that local officials lack the authority to investigate federal officers acting in their duties. The agency called allegations of an intentional strike reckless and false in a written statement. Teare also noted that the Department of Homeland Security has not cooperated with his investigation. He accused ICE of destroying evidence either intentionally or through gross negligence, noting that Morales left the scene before the vehicle could be impounded.

Questions have also arisen regarding the target of the operation. After taking Parra Hernandez into custody, ICE identified another man, Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, as the suspect. Family members of Parra Hernandez said they had never heard of Mendoza-Cervantes. FIEL, an immigrant rights group in Houston, reported that Mendoza-Cervantes’ daughter told them her father has been dead since 2017. ICE has not responded to the claim that the suspect was deceased for years.

Parra Hernandez has lived in Harris County for more than 30 years. Teare said the man had no deportation order or criminal background. Morales, 33, worked as an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officer for a little more than a year. He is one of a few federal officers facing criminal charges during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. A separate investigation is underway regarding a fatal shooting by an ICE officer in Houston this summer.