ICE Agent Indicted in Houston After Running Over Man With SUV
A federal immigration officer faces a felony assault charge after striking Miguel Parra Hernandez in northwest Harris County on October 10.
KEY POINTS
- ICE agent Mario Alberto Morales indicted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
- Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, was struck by an unmarked SUV on October 10
- Parra Hernandez broke his leg and remains hospitalized, unable to walk
- Morales plans to turn himself in at a courthouse on Monday
- Body-camera footage shows conflicting accounts of the incident
A Harris County grand jury indicted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Mario Alberto Morales on Friday on a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The indictment comes about 20 days after Morales struck Miguel Parra Hernandez with his unmarked SUV in northwest Harris County on October 10.
Parra Hernandez, a 48-year-old construction worker, was hit as he ran through a parking lot during a traffic stop. He broke his leg and remains hospitalized, unable to walk. He has suffered fractures, nerve damage and chronic pain and has undergone surgery while recovering at a rehabilitation facility in federal custody.
“To ICE, this is not political. This is our lives. And if you think that justice is political, then you have no idea what justice really means.”
Immigrant-led advocacy group FIEL Houston held a news conference with Parra Hernandez’s family, legal team and relatives of a witness. Organization representative Cesar Espinosa called the indictment a historic moment and said it sends a clear message that federal agents are not above the law.
Attorney Kim Bruno, representing Parra Hernandez and witness Luis Delfin, said newly released body-camera footage tells a different story than the account initially offered by the federal agency. She said Parra Hernandez’s account has remained consistent from the beginning.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said the footage shows Morales aggressively steering his vehicle toward Parra Hernandez, striking him and running over both of his legs. Teare played the body-camera video at a news conference on Friday.
Morales’s attorney David Lindenmuth said his client will turn himself in at a courthouse on Monday. Lindenmuth previously described the incident as an accident and said local officials invented a crime out of thin air.
ICE has said Parra Hernandez ran in front of Morales’s car. Previously released surveillance video shows the vehicle driving over a median and striking Parra Hernandez as he runs away.
3 more sources below
COMMENTS (0)
No comments yet. Be the first.
RELATED STORIES
PSD leader Grindeanu proposes merging state institutions and caps board pay after baptism backlash
Sorin Grindeanu regrets the perception created by extravagant outfits at Alfred Simonis's son's baptism and announces plans to merge state institutions.
Student blockades continue at French high schools after six weeks of protest
High school students block dozens of schools across France as the six-week movement resumes after the autumn break.
Democrats fracture in Michigan as Trump campaigns before midterms
Democrats face internal division in Michigan days before the midterm elections while Trump campaigns in states he previously won.
- Shapiro's Pennsylvania reelection bid carries weight for 2028 Democratic hopes
- Florida governor race tightens as independents lean toward Democrat Jolly
- Bengaluru police probe phone handover in Siddaramaiah sting case
- FCT Stakeholders Endorse Tinubu for Second Term, Back National Assembly Candidates
- India Extradites Mahadev Betting App Promoter From Oman
This page was compiled with AI assistance from the outlets named above and passed an automated language check before publication. Montegre has no reporters of its own; the byline names the outlets the story was compiled from. Method and editorial standards