Venezuelan national shot by ICE officer in Austin charged with assaulting federal officer
A Venezuelan national who was shot by an ICE officer following a vehicle pursuit in Austin earlier this month has been charged with assaulting, resisting, interfering with and impeding a federal officer, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors allege that Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez, 28, refused ICE officers' commands to exit his vehicle during a targeted traffic stop before speeding away and striking one officer in the torso with his driver's side-view mirror.
Garces-Perez faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, according to DOJ.
According to the complaint, officers first spotted Garces-Perez's vehicle outside a restaurant, ran its license plate and confirmed that an immigration judge had issued a final order of removal against him before initiating the stop.
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The accounts differ over whether the vehicles made contact as officers stopped Garces-Perez. The officer told investigators there was no contact between the vehicles, while Garces-Perez claimed the ICE SUV's maneuver caused a collision before the officers approached him.
During the encounter, Garces-Perez provided officers with his driver's license, according to the complaint.
The officers described the initial encounter as "pleasant and not aggressive," according to the complaint. After officers instructed Garces-Perez to place the vehicle in park and step out, body camera footage shows him abruptly closing his window and driving away, according to the complaint.
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Garces-Perez later told federal investigators that he disregarded the officers' command to exit the vehicle and drove away, according to the complaint. The complaint states that he was read his Miranda rights in Spanish, said he understood them and agreed to speak with investigators without an attorney present.
As he drove away, Garces-Perez's driver's side-view mirror struck one of the officers in the torso, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, ICE officers pursued Garces-Perez through commercial and residential areas with emergency lights and sirens activated.
The officer wearing a body camera lost sight of both Garces-Perez and the second ICE officer while requesting assistance from a DPS dispatcher and then turned off his camera, according to the complaint. The second officer, who later fired his weapon, was not equipped with a body camera.
The second officer later called his partner and reported that Garces-Perez had attempted to strike him with his vehicle, prompting the officer to fire his service weapon, according to the complaint.
Garces-Perez was struck by a bullet in his upper back, according to the complaint. He told investigators that the officer's SUV rammed his vehicle to force it into a spinout and that, after he was shot, the officer opened his driver's door, removed the keys from the ignition and told him to remain inside while an ambulance was en route.
Garces-Perez's immigration case has also been the subject of competing claims.
Fox News previously reported that his attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said the order was issued after a hearing notice was sent to an old address despite Garces-Perez having updated his address with the court.
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ICE has disputed claims surrounding his immigration status, saying his work authorization expired in 2025 and that a work permit does not itself confer lawful immigration status.
His attorney has said Garces-Perez remains seriously ill and has a bullet lodged in his body while being held at an ICE detention facility.
Lincoln-Goldfinch, responding to the criminal complaint in a social media post, called for DHS to release the body camera footage.
"The criminal complaint also provides another critical piece of information: one of the officers involved in the incident had a body camera that was turned off at some point during the pursuit. We have not seen that footage. DHS must release the body camera footage immediately and provide full transparency to the American public," Lincoln-Goldfinch wrote.
"He is now facing proceedings in both a federal criminal case and his federal immigration habeas case. We are working through what these developments mean, and we will share additional information as we are able."
DOJ said Garces-Perez made his initial appearance in federal court Tuesday.
A detention hearing is scheduled for Oct. 2.