A grand jury in Texas has indicted ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with an incident on October 10 in Houston. The officer is accused of striking Miguel Parra-Hernandez, a 48-year-old construction worker and immigrant resident of Harris County for over three decades with no criminal record, using an unmarked black Jeep Cherokee.
Parra-Hernandez sustained multiple fractures to his right leg and an ankle injury requiring surgery when he was struck in a parking area near Clay Road and Highway 6. According to investigators, Parra-Hernandez was running away from federal agents at the time of the incident. ICE has maintained that he ran in front of the vehicle rather than being intentionally struck, characterizing allegations of deliberate action as reckless and false.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced the indictment on Friday and stated that surveillance video contradicts ICE’s account. The footage shows the SUV crossing a median and pursuing Parra-Hernandez before the moment of impact, with the man visible on the ground immediately afterward. Body-camera footage released by authorities shows officer Morales acknowledging that he struck Parra-Hernandez with his vehicle.
Disputes between local and federal authorities have marked the investigation. Teare accused federal authorities of failing to cooperate, including removing the Jeep before local investigators could examine it. As of October 23, local authorities had not obtained access to the vehicle through a search warrant. Questions have also emerged regarding the operation’s intended target, with ICE stating agents were seeking Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, whom they believed was traveling with Parra-Hernandez. However, Mendoza-Cervantes’s daughter indicated her father died in 2017, and Parra-Hernandez’s family disputed knowing the man.
The indictment occurs as the Harris County District Attorney’s Office investigates a separate fatal shooting involving another individual. ICE officer Gregory Feathers has been accused in the July 7 shooting death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. Federal authorities have claimed the officer acted in self-defense, a position contradicted by surviving passengers in the vehicle.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI