DoorDash driver shot by ICE officer charged with assaulting federal agent
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, the Venezuelan DoorDash driver shot by an ICE officer in Austin on 20 September, has appeared in federal court charged with assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer.
Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, the Venezuelan DoorDash driver shot in the back by an immigration officer in Austin, Texas, has appeared in federal court charged with assaulting the federal agents who wounded him.
Garcés Pérez, 28, appeared in court on Tuesday, 29 September, charged with assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer over the 20 September incident in North Austin. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, and is due back for a detention hearing on 2 October.
A federal criminal complaint filed by the Department of Homeland Security on Monday alleges that agents spotted him leaving a restaurant, confirmed his final removal order, and approached him. He handed over his Texas driver’s licence and was told to put the car in park and step out, but instead “abruptly” closed his window and drove off, striking one officer in the torso with his side-view mirror, the complaint says. During a brief pursuit, he allegedly tried to hit an officer with his car; the officer fired into the vehicle’s back right window, striking him in the upper back. One officer wore a body camera; the other did not.
His attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, says he did not realise the men in an unmarked black truck were federal officers and turned to get away after the truck sideswiped his car. The bullet remains lodged in his back, fracturing his collarbone, she says, and he was released from hospital after four hours, returned for further treatment, then returned to ICE custody.
Sources
- USA Today, “Doordash driver shot by ICE agent in Texas charged with assault, resisting arrest”, 29 Sep 2026 — https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/crime/2026/09/29/doordash-driver-shot-by-ice-agent-faces-charges/92006186007/
- Al Jazeera, “Venezuelan man shot by ICE officer in Texas is charged with assault”, 29 Sep 2026 — https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/29/venezuelan-man-shot-by-ice-officer-in-texas-is-charged-with-assault
- PEOPLE, “Delivery Driver Shot and Detained by ICE Has Now Been Charged with Assault”, 29 Sep 2026 — https://people.com/delivery-driver-shot-and-detained-by-ice-charged-with-assault-12149155
More on this topic: all World stories
