ICE Agent Accused of Fatal Misdemeanor to Surrender in Harris County

Mario Alberto Morales, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, will surrender to local authorities on Monday. His attorney, David Lindenmuth, told the Associated Press that Morales plans to turn himself in at a courthouse in Harris County. Morales is accused of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he struck Miguel Parra Hernandez with his vehicle in Houston.

The incident occurred on October 10 during a pursuit in a parking lot. Morales was driving an unmarked SUV when he hit Parra Hernandez, a 48-year-old construction worker. A grand jury formally charged Morales with a felony on Friday. The charge alleges that the agent used a deadly weapon to cause serious bodily injury to the victim.

Parra Hernandez suffered a broken leg in the collision. He is currently recovering in a rehabilitation center. According to Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, Parra Hernandez remains in federal custody while he heals. Teare addressed reporters on Friday to provide details on the victim's condition and the evidence gathered by the prosecution.

Video from surveillance cameras shows the SUV mounting a median strip before hitting the victim. Footage from Morales' body camera captures the agent making sharp turns with the steering wheel. After stopping, Morales exits the vehicle and turns toward Parra Hernandez, who is lying on the ground shouting. Morales tells another arriving ICE agent, 'I was coming and I hit him with the car.'

An incident report from the Harris County Sheriff's Office details the initial statements from both men. Parra Hernandez told officers that he ran from a traffic stop when Morales pulled a mask and threw his vehicle toward him. Morales stated that he did not brake before hitting Parra Hernandez but insisted the collision was not intentional. His lawyer previously described the event as clearly an accident and said local authorities invented a crime.

ICE stated that the operation targeted a man named Jose Mendoza-Cervantes. The agency claimed they saw him getting into a car with Parra Hernandez. However, Mendoza-Cervantes' daughter told the immigrant rights group FIEL that her father had died nearly a decade ago. This discrepancy adds context to why the wrong man was in the vehicle during the pursuit.

Morales is 33 years old and has worked for ICE for just over one year. Teare noted on Friday that officials possess a significant amount of information about Morales. The prosecutor said that based on his experience, law enforcement agencies would not typically hire someone with Morales' background. He did not provide further details on those specifics during the press conference.

Court records in Harris County show that Morales faced a misdemeanor charge in 2013 for stealing four DVDs. Those charges were dismissed after he paid a $270 fine and reached a deal with the prosecution. Morales also ran unsuccessfully for the Texas 34th Congressional District this year under the name Bam Morales. He served in the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army and later as a prison officer and public order agent.

In a candidate survey for Ballotpedia, Morales listed illegal immigration as one of the country's biggest challenges. He cited veterans' rights, economic issues, and Christian principles as his main priorities. He claimed the backing of a group called Make America Godlier Again. Morales also served as a Spanish translator at a 2024 Christian conference led by televangelist Johnson Suleman. In video from that event, Suleman said he wanted to pray for immigrants and bless them while Morales translated the words into Spanish.