Mario Alberto Morales, ICE Agent, Indicted in Houston Vehicle Strike Case
A Harris County grand jury has indicted ICE agent Mario Alberto Morales on a state aggravated assault charge over a vehicle strike in Houston on 10 October.
A grand jury in Texas has indicted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, Mario Alberto Morales, 33, on a state charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon over a vehicle strike that injured a construction worker in Houston this month, according to the Harris County district attorney's office. The indictment was handed down on Friday, the New York Times reported, and Morales has not surrendered to authorities.
Sean Teare, the district attorney for Harris County, which includes Houston, confirmed the charge. Efforts to reach Morales were unsuccessful, and it was unclear whether he has a lawyer.
What happened on October 10
The injured man is Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, an undocumented immigrant who was driving to work on 10 October when federal immigration authorities tried to stop his car in unmarked vehicles, according to Houston immigration advocates. When he pulled over, he and a passenger tried to run away.
ICE has said Parra Hernandez ran in front of one of its vehicles and was struck. Surveillance video from a business, however, appears to show an ICE vehicle veering around a corner and hitting Parra Hernandez from behind as he and another man ran away. The two accounts differ, and the video's interpretation has not been officially confirmed.
A first for Texas
Morales is the first federal agent to face charges in Texas as part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, the New York Times reported. In a separate case, federal prosecutors in September charged an ICE officer with lying about a January 14 shooting of a Venezuelan man in Minneapolis. That officer, Christian Castro, faces several counts of making false statements and has pleaded not guilty.
What comes next
Morales faces a state charge, not a federal one, which means the case will proceed through the Harris County courts. Local outlet KHOU reported that new video has emerged in the case, and it is not yet clear how the video will be used in proceedings. No court date or arrest has been reported so far.
The indictment is an early step. Charges are allegations, and Morales has not entered a plea in the reports available so far.
Chopal Unfiltered will update this story as court filings, a response from Morales or any statement from ICE becomes available.
