ICE Agent Indicted After Video Shows Vehicle Swerving Into Mexican Worker
A Houston grand jury charged ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales with aggravated assault after body‑camera footage contradicted agency claims.
Grand jury indictment
A Harris County grand jury charged ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales on Friday with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after a traffic incident on October 10 in Houston.
What the video shows
Body‑camera footage released by the district attorney’s office, along with a bakery’s security video, captures the unmarked SUV swerving toward Miguel Parra Hernandez as he ran away during a pursuit.
The recordings contradict ICE’s claim that the man “ran in front of the vehicle.” District Attorney Sean Teare said the evidence is “as clear as any” he has prosecuted.
Injuries and custody
Parra Hernandez, a Mexican construction worker, suffered a broken leg and remains in federal custody at a rehabilitation facility.
Legal response
Prosecutors announced a warrant will be issued for Morales’s arrest.
Morales’s attorney, David Lindenmuth, asserted his client did not commit a crime and called the indictment politically motivated.
Lindenmuth described Morales as “a good man, a former member of our military, that has given his entire life to public service.”
Broader context
The incident occurs amid heightened immigration enforcement in south Texas, which has impacted local businesses and communities.
The case proceeds as prosecutors prepare to pursue charges against the ICE officer.
