Indicted ICE officer turns himself in, appears before judge in Houston case

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) – A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer indicted in Harris County and accused of hitting a Mexican national with a vehicle appeared before a judge in Houston on Monday. 

Mario Alberto Morales surrendered himself on Monday, appearing before Judge Matthew Peneguy, presiding over the Harris County 488th District Court. Joining his defense team was former Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, a Democrat who lost her primary race in the last election to current Harris County DA Sean Teare.

Peneguy ordered a $30,000 bond, which was paid, in a case where Morales faces a second-degree felony offense of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison. He is accused of hitting Mexican national Miguel Parra-Hernandez with his vehicle, breaking his leg and ankle during a traffic stop on Oct. 10. 

Video surveillance released to the public shows Parra-Hernandez running on foot after he bailed out of his vehicle instead of responding to a traffic stop by Morales in Houston, The Center Square reported. Video surveillance appears to show Morales’ vehicle hitting the Mexican national after pulling into a parking lot while in pursuit. Parra-Hernandez was not the primary subject of the interdiction effort and has been living illegally in the U.S. for 30 years, ICE said. 

At a news conference after the hearing, Morales’ lead defense attorney, Michael Wynne, again said Teare’s prosecution was politically motivated. Morales “was indicted on the last day of early voting in this Harris County — the elected district attorney jumped on it immediately,” he said, Houston Public Media reported. He also said Morales is “a man who’s devoted his life to God and Jesus as a pastor for his Christian church” and he isn’t “the monster that the [district attorney] would have you believe that he is."

Attorney David Lindenmuth, also representing Morales, referred to the indictment as "political prosecution" and the collision was “nothing more than an accident.”

"This officer was doing his job, and a fleeing individual caused the chaotic circumstances that led to this unfortunate incident," he told Houston Public Media. "And it was unfortunate. Nobody wishes harm on this individual, including Mr. Morales, but it was not a crime. It has been manufactured to be a crime by a politically minded district attorney."

Morales served for two years in the U.S. Army as a military police officer and paratrooper and was honorably discharged in 2014 after suffering two traumatic brain injuries. After that, he worked in different law enforcement jobs, most recently resigning from a state prison job after being put on probation and disciplined for allegedly falsifying security-round records, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Teare questioned his qualifications and criticized the Trump administration’s vetting of new ICE “surge hires.” Morales has been working for ICE for one year.

Teare pushed back against the “political prosecution” claim, telling reporters, “I don’t know what side is on the other side of people getting run over, but this is not a political prosecution.”

Wynne said his legal team filed a motion to move the case to federal court, which is pending.

Parra-Hernandez’s attorney Kim Bruno said his surrender “is an important step toward accountability, but it is only a step. Mr. Parra Hernández was seriously injured and has endured pain, surgeries, loss of livelihood because of this officer’s actions. No badge places anyone above the law, and our client deserves a full, transparent investigation and a justice system that treats this case like any other.”

ICE again issued a statement condemning Morales’ indictment, saying it was “nothing more than a political stunt by Houston sanctuary politicians."

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Aaron Reitz has said he is not bringing federal charges in the case and also criticized the indictment, The Center Square reported. “Federal agents should not be turned into political trophies for doing the difficult and dangerous work of enforcing federal law. We stand with ICE and all our federal law enforcement partners,” he said.