Indicted ICE Officer to Surrender After Houston SUV Strike Leaves Man Seriously Injured

A Harris County grand jury has indicted Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Mario Alberto Morales on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, after an October 10 incident in Houston in which his SUV struck a man fleeing on foot. Morales was expected to surrender on Monday, November 2, according to his attorney.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced the indictment on October 30. Prosecutors say Morales was pursuing a vehicle and then chased men on foot through a parking lot in west Houston, and that body-camera and nearby business surveillance video show his vehicle steering toward Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, a construction worker, before impact.

Parra Hernandez suffered serious leg injuries, including fractures, and was reported to be recovering at a rehabilitation facility while remaining in federal custody. Prosecutors said the vehicle ran over his legs, leaving him hospitalized, and that the charge, a second-degree felony, carries a possible sentence of two to 20 years if he is convicted.

Morales's attorney, David Lindenmuth, told ABC News the strike was an accident, saying, "It was an accident. It was nothing more than accident." ICE has likewise said Parra Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle, called the allegation of intentional conduct reckless and false, and described the indictment as a political stunt. Morales has been placed on administrative leave.

An indictment is an accusation, not a conviction, and the case now turns on what the video and other evidence prove about intent. The incident has also drawn wider attention to use-of-force scrutiny around immigration enforcement, with local officials and federal authorities disputing each other's account of what happened.