ICE agent charged in hit-and-run

ICE agent Mario Alberto Morales was indicted on Friday for a second-degree felony involving aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The 33-year-old officer turned himself in on Monday in Harris County, Texas, following a traffic incident that occurred on October 10.

Morales posted a $30,000 bond to secure his release. District Judge Matthew Peneguy presided over the hearing. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said video evidence led investigators to conclude that Morales deliberately struck pedestrian Miguel Parra Hernández to stop him during a pursuit.

Footage from local business cameras shows Parra exiting a stopped truck and running away. Morales’s vehicle makes a sharp left turn in front of another stationary car and hits Parra. The agent’s body camera captures him telling Parra, “The car hit you, brother,” before attempting to lift him by the arms.

Teare described Morales’s attempt to move the injured man as “imprudent.” The prosecutor’s office stated that Morales had two handcuffed detainees in the back of his vehicle without seatbelts at the time of the collision. Teare noted that these tactics reveal issues with agency training and hiring standards.

Morales was hired by ICE in August 2025. His attorney, David Lindenmuth, said Morales had more training than other new agents. Lindenmuth argued the collision was accidental, claiming Morales swerved to avoid hitting a vehicle ahead of him. The defense also noted that Morales is an ordained pastor and studied to become a police chaplain.

An ICE spokesperson called the allegations that the agency intentionally struck Parra “TEMERARY and FALSE.” The statement emphasized that agents are held to high standards of professionalism and integrity. ICE announced earlier this month that it would retrain thousands of agents who had received accelerated training during a rapid hiring surge.

Morales previously worked as a security guard at the Port Isabel Detention Center and served as a prison officer in Cameron County. He also spent seven months at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, resigning in 2018 while on probation for falsifying security logs. He served two years in the Army as a first class private before joining ICE.

Morales is the first ICE agent formally charged in Texas. In Minnesota, agent Christian Castro was charged in May for the January shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis and indicted in September for making false statements to investigators.

Teare said no agency he knows of would have hired Morales. Lindenmuth called his client a “good man” and accused the prosecutor of trying to destroy his reputation. Parra is currently recovering from multiple injuries under ICE supervision.