ICE officer charged in Texas collision

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced Friday that a grand jury has indicted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Mario Alberto Morales on a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The indictment stems from an Oct. 10 incident in which Teare said Morales struck Miguel Parra-Hernandez with a 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee during a vehicle pursuit.

Parra-Hernandez, a Mexican national who has resided in Texas for over three decades without documentation, was driving at the time. Teare stated that Parra-Hernandez had no criminal record and no active deportation order. During the chase, Parra-Hernandez and a passenger abandoned the car and ran on foot.

Video from Morales' body camera played at a Friday news conference captured the moment of impact. In the footage, the officer told another person, "Like, I was coming in, and I hit him with the car." The video also showed Parra-Hernandez lying on the ground and groaning in pain. He suffered a broken leg in the crash.

Immediately after the accident, an ICE spokesperson told CBS News that Parra-Hernandez ran in front of the agency's vehicle. Teare countered this account by highlighting the body camera evidence and the details of the pursuit.

Prosecutors noted that ICE initially stated agents were chasing Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, a Mexican national described as an undocumented immigrant. Teare revealed Friday that Mendoza-Cervantes has apparently been dead for nine years, complicating the agency's original explanation for the high-speed chase.

If convicted, Morales faces a prison sentence ranging from two to 20 years. The district attorney's office presented the indictment as part of a broader review of the Oct. 10 stop, citing the disparity between the agency's initial statement and the visual evidence.