HOUSTON (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer accused of intentionally ramming his car into a Mexican construction worker in Houston was indicted by a grand jury Friday on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, prosecutors said.
The officer, Mario Alberto Morales, was driving an unmarked SUV on Oct. 10 when he struck and ran over Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, who was running away during a pursuit through a parking lot, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Parra Hernandez broke his leg and remains in federal custody at a rehabilitation facility, said District Attorney Sean Teare, who announced the indictment at a news conference that included body camera video of the encounter and a recording of Morales calling 911.
ICE has asserted that Parra Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle, an account that Teare said is contradicted by video.
“The evidence we have in this case is as clear as any that I’ve ever prosecuted or investigated,” Teare said.
Morales, 33, is one of just a few federal officers who have faced criminal charges over their actions on the job during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, although other encounters have come under investigation, including a fatal shooting by an ICE officer this summer in Houston.
Morales’ attorney, David Lindenmuth, said his client didn’t commit a crime and he accused Teare of indicting Morales “for political gain.” Morales had worked as an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officer for a little more than a year, Lindenmuth said.
“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. “To have him charged for what was so clearly just an accident — the DA’s office, the DA himself, has invented a crime out of thin air.”
Teare hinted at concerns over Morales’ background but would not provide details.
Morales, who is charged with a second-degree felony, was not in custody Friday and a warrant will be issued for his arrest, according to Teare.
ICE asserted that local officials do not have the authority to investigate federal officers acting in the course of their duties.
“Allegations that ICE struck Miguel Parra-Hernandez intentionally are RECKLESS and FALSE,” the agency said in a statement.
The district attorney played Morales’ body camera footage
Teare has said video clearly contradicts the ICE account. Surveillance video shows a Jeep Cherokee speed over a median and drive toward Parra Hernandez as he runs away. During a news conference Friday, he played Morales’ body camera footage, which shows him driving and talking about pursuing someone.
The video shows Morales making a few sharp moves with the steering wheel before the SUV shakes. Morales stops the vehicle, then gets out and turns toward Parra Hernandez, who is several feet away. The video then shows Parra Hernandez on the ground and grabbing his leg, yelling in pain.
Morales is heard saying, “He got hit with a car, bro.” It is not clear to whom he is talking.
“I was coming in and I hit him with the car,” Morales says.
Family says ICE was looking for a dead person during operation
Parra Hernandez has lived in Harris County for more than 30 years and did not have a deportation order or criminal background, according to Teare.
Other aspects of ICE’s account have also been called into question.
After Parra Hernandez was taken into custody, ICE released a photo of another man, Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, and said he was the target of the operation that day. ICE said he was seen entering a vehicle with Parra Hernandez. Family members of Parra Hernandez said they had never heard of him. FIEL, an immigrant rights group in Houston that has been working with the family, said Mendoza-Cervantes’ daughter told them her father has been dead since 2017.
Teare’s office has previously said its investigation has not found that Parra Hernandez and the man ICE identified as Mendoza-Cervantes were in a vehicle together, contrary to ICE’s statement.
ICE has not responded to claims that the suspect they were looking for has been dead for years.
Fatal summer Houston shooting also under investigation
Teare has said the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has not cooperated with his investigators and accused ICE of destroying evidence “either intentionally or through gross negligence.” He has said Morales left the scene before the vehicle could be impounded.
In July, Teare said DHS also ignored his requests for information after an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in his van. DHS has said Salgado Araujo had “weaponized his vehicle” before the shooting and that an officer fired in self-defense. Other passengers in the van have disputed that account.
