Federal prosecutors have charged a Venezuelan illegal alien whom an ICE officer shot in Austin with assaulting and resisting a federal officer, alleging that he struck an officer with his car’s side-view mirror and later tried to hit the officer with the vehicle.
Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez, 28, appeared Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Howell in the Western District of Texas. He faces one count of assaulting, resisting, interfering with and impeding a federal officer, according to the Justice Department’s announcement.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the September 20 shooting prompted anti-ICE demonstrations in Austin. The new charge lays out the government’s account of the encounter and carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if Garces-Perez is convicted.
Traffic stop and pursuit
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers stopped Garces-Perez after confirming that an immigration judge had issued a final removal order against him, according to DOJ, which identified him as an illegal alien.
Garces-Perez handed over his driver’s license but allegedly ignored instructions to put the car in park and get out. After officers gave further directions in Spanish, he closed his window and drove away, striking an officer in the torso with the driver’s side-view mirror, DOJ said.
Body-camera footage captured that portion of the encounter, according to the department. Officers then pursued him with emergency lights and sirens through commercial and residential areas in what prosecutors described as a high-speed chase.
One officer lost sight of the pursuit. The other caught up with Garces-Perez, who allegedly tried to strike him with the car before the officer fired his pistol, DOJ said.
What the complaint records
The criminal complaint also includes Garces-Perez’s account. He acknowledged that the officer identified himself as an immigration officer and that he disregarded the order to get out and drove off, according to the affidavit.
Garces-Perez told investigators he wanted to park the car for his wife to collect. He said an officer’s SUV struck his car during the pursuit, forced it to stop, and the officer then fired through a rear window, hitting him in the upper back, the affidavit states.
The officer who fired had no body camera. His partner turned off his camera after losing sight of the pursuit, according to the affidavit. The filing attributes the alleged attempted vehicle strike before the shooting to the shooting officer’s account relayed by his partner.
Federal case moves forward
DOJ’s Tuesday announcement listed a detention hearing for Friday, October 2. Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Britni Verdeja is prosecuting it.
The charge is an allegation. Garces-Perez remains presumed innocent unless prosecutors prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Dallas Express previously documented a separate North Texas ICE operation during an exclusive ride-along, showing how agents identified a target and coordinated a vehicle stop.
Provided by Dallas Express
