Indicted ICE Officer Surrenders in Houston and Is Released on $30,000 Bond
Mario Alberto Morales turned himself in Monday in Harris County court after a grand jury indicted him on an aggravated assault charge over an October 10 vehicle strike that left a man with multiple fractures. A judge set bond at $30,000 and barred contact with victims or witnesses.
An immigration officer indicted by a Harris County grand jury turned himself in Monday in Houston and was released on a $30,000 bond after a court hearing. Mario Alberto Morales, 33, appeared in Harris County 488th District Court, where Judge Matthew Peneguy set the bond and ordered him to have no contact with victims or witnesses in the case, according to Houston Public Media.
Prosecutors had asked for a $75,000 bond, citing the violent nature of the incident, while Morales’ lawyer asked for $25,000, arguing that his client posed no flight risk. Morales’ next court hearing is set for December 2, according to his attorney David Lindenmuth.
A grand jury indicted Morales on Friday on a charge of second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The charge stems from an October 10 incident near Houston in which Morales, driving an ICE vehicle, allegedly struck Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, with his vehicle, causing multiple leg fractures. Parra Hernandez had lived in Harris County for more than 30 years, had no criminal record, and had no deportation order at the time of the incident, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said at a news conference Friday.
The grand jury indictment was announced Friday by Teare and Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
Two accounts of what happened on October 10
Teare said surveillance video contradicts the account from ICE that Parra Hernandez stepped in front of the vehicle. The footage, Teare said, shows a Jeep Cherokee speeding over a median and driving toward Parra Hernandez as he runs. Body camera footage played at the news conference showed Morales driving and talking about pursuing someone, then getting out and turning toward Parra Hernandez, who was on the ground holding his leg, according to CNN.
ICE called the allegations that Morales struck Parra Hernandez intentionally “reckless and false” and described the indictment as a political stunt. The agency said it immediately contacted emergency medical services and provided aid to Parra Hernandez. Morales’ lawyer said the incident was an accident and that his client did not commit a crime.
Teare said the other occupant in the car with Parra Hernandez was identified by ICE as Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, who the agency said was the target of the operation. Teare said the man by that name has apparently been dead for nine years, and Parra Hernandez’s brother told CNN that the person ICE was looking for was not the person with his brother. Parra Hernandez was on his way to work at a nearby construction site when ICE officers started the enforcement action, his brother said.
What happens next in the case
If Morales is convicted, the assault charge carries up to 20 years in prison, according to Houston Public Media. His defense team said after the hearing that it anticipates filing to move the case to federal court. Parra Hernandez’s attorney said he has suffered fractures, nerve damage, and surgery, and continues to face mobility limits and chronic pain.
Teare said he hopes the prosecution sends a message to immigration officers. “An ICE badge does not give you free rein to injure, kill, or violate the constitutional rights of anyone,” he said, according to CNN.
Reporting based on coverage by CNN and Houston Public Media.
