ICE officer Mario Morales surrenders after indictment in Houston-area crash
HOUSTON - An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon surrendered in Houston on Monday.
ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales was indicted last week in connection to a Harris County crash that left a man hospitalized.
Morales appeared in court on Monday morning. His bond was set at $30,000. He bonded out soon after.
ICE agent reportedly ran over suspect
The backstory:
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said that officials responded to the crash around 7:20 a.m. Oct. 10 near Clay Road and Highway 6.
ICE agents were said to be going after a truck with two men inside. According to HCSO, the white truck began driving the wrong way down Clay Road before coming to a complete stop.
Two men exited the white truck and fled on foot. One man ran eastbound down Clay Road and escaped. The second man, identified as Miguel Parra Hernandez, was struck by an ICE vehicle.
Parra was rushed to a local hospital, where he underwent surgery for a broken leg. Parra was still hospitalized as of Friday, according to District Attorney Sean Teare.
Indictment of ICE agent
ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales was indicted with the second-degree offense of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Under Texas law, this is a second-degree felony, punishable by two to 20 years in prison.
According to officials, Morales was one of the surge hires in August 2025 for ICE. The District Attorney's Office hasn’t received any training records.
VIDEO: Body cam released of ICE agent hitting man with vehicle
The Harris County District Attorney's Office released the body camera video showing the moment when an ICE agent reportedly hit a man with his vehicle in Harris County on Oct. 10. The agent, Mario Morales, was indicted on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges.
During a news conference on Friday, never-before-seen body camera video was shown of the incident after Morales allegedly ran over Miguel Parra Hernandez. In the video, Hernandez can be seen on the ground screaming.
The 911 call from the incident was also played.
Defense attorney fires back
David Lindenmuth, the attorney representing Morales, says his client was attempting to close the distance with someone fleeing from agents when the crash happened.
"What I see is an individual fleeing from a lawful detention and deciding that they don't want to be detained. I see an officer doing what every single officer who drives a patrol car does, closing the distance with an individual on foot. What went wrong is that that person fled, and there was a vehicle in front of Mr. Morales's patrol vehicle, and he had to take evasive maneuvers to not strike that vehicle head on. That's what happened. That is an accident. It is not a crime," Lindenmuth said.
In its latest statement, ICE claimed, "This is nothing more than a political stunt by Houston sanctuary politicians."
Dig deeper:
Read previous reports from FOX 26 on this incident:
- Harris County ICE crash: Deputies investigating crash involving ICE vehicle, ICE releases statement
- Man injured in weekend collision involving ICE vehicle undergoes surgery, remains hospitalized
- Reports: ICE agent in Houston operation placed on leave; wanted suspect died 9 years ago
The Source: Information from this article was provided by FOX 26 reporter Angie Rodriguez in court and previous FOX 26 reports.