AUSTIN, Texas — Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez, a Venezuelan DoorDash driver who was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent during an operation in Austin on September 20, faces a federal charge of assaulting, resisting, interfering with, and obstructing a federal agent.
The Department of Justice reported that Garces-Perez, 28,
appeared in federal court Tuesday after being charged with a charge related to
the confrontation that occurred during an attempted immigration arrest.
According to the complaint filed by federal prosecutors,
agents ordered him out of his vehicle after confirming that there was a final
deportation order against him. Authorities maintain that Garces-Perez suddenly
rolled up his window and drove off, striking one of the agents in the torso
with the driver's side mirror.
The complaint states that the incident was captured on the
body camera of one of the ICE agents. However, the footage has not been
publicly released; the court document includes photographs extracted from that
recording. The agent who later shot Garces-Pérez was not wearing a body camera.
Authorities also allege that, during the ensuing pursuit,
Garces-Pérez attempted to ram the pursuing agent with his car, at which point
the agent opened fire, wounding him.
Garces-Pérez remains in custody. If convicted on the federal
charge, he could face up to 20 years in prison, although the complaint
constitutes only an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until
proven guilty in a court of law.