HOUSTON – A Harris County grand jury returned an indictment against the ICE officer who ran over a man in northwest Harris County earlier this month, causing injuries that required hospitalization.
It is not yet clear what charge the federal agent, who has been identified as Mario Morales, is currently facing.
The crash happened in a parking lot near Clay Road and Highway 6 on Oct. 10. Miguel Parra Hernandez was struck after fleeing a truck that ICE agents were pursuing during what federal officials described as an enforcement operation targeting another man they believed to be in the vehicle.
Shortly before 8 a.m. Friday, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare and the head of his civil rights division, Je’Rell Rogers, entered the grand jury room to present the case. Around 8:40 a.m., Teare and his top aides left the room.
Teare previously told KPRC 2 the case was being investigated for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, pointing to surveillance video he described as showing an “intentional” strike.
DHS previously said Parra Hernandez was struck after running in front of the vehicle, and any claims that this happened intentionally are “reckless and false.”
According to a search warrant affidavit, ICE agents left the scene of the accident with the vehicle involved before the investigation was completed. Teare previously said they did not consent to the vehicle being towed to obtain forensic evidence, and left while investigators worked to obtain a search warrant.
A judge signed a search warrant from DA investigators for the vehicle on October 15. The report notes that it was sent to the Department of Homeland Security’s legal division, and as of October 23, DHS and ICE had “failed to respond” to the search warrant, not providing access to the vehicle.
Teare said driving the vehicle away from the scene likely erased all crash data records and compromised obtaining information relevant to the investigation.
A few days after the accident, The New York Times reported that the man ICE claimed to be targeting died nearly a decade ago, according to his sister who spoke to the newspaper and provided documents.
KPRC 2 contacted defense attorneys representing the ICE officer as well as DHS.
Teare is expected to hold a news conference with Sheriff Ed Gonzalez at 10:30 a.m.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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