HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - The Harris County District Attorney's Office has indicted an ICE agent involved in a crash with a man in early October in northwest Harris County.
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 2 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.
During the news conference, 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.
ICE agents reportedly ran over suspect
The backstory:
On Oct. 10, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez shared that officials were responding to a reported auto-pedestrian crash that happened around 7:20 a.m. on Clay Road, near 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 is still hospitalized as of Friday, according to District Attorney Sean Teare.
ICE later released a photo of their initial target in the operation, Jose Mendoza-Cervantes. DHS confirmed that Cervantes is unlawfully present in the United States and has four prior arrests.
Hernandez's attorney, Kim Bruno, says her client does not know and has never heard of Mendoza-Cervantes, alleging the wanted suspect was not in the truck with her client.
A New York Times article later reported that the suspect who agents were reportedly looking for, Mendoza-Cervantes, died nine years ago.
According to NYT, the man's daughter shared a death certificate with Jose Hector Jimenez Mendoza showing that he died in 2017.
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.