Venezuelan man shot by ICE agent charged with assaulting officer in Texas

Federal prosecutors in Texas charged Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez, 28, on Tuesday — the Venezuelan delivery driver shot in the back by an ICE agent in Austin on 20 September — with assaulting a federal officer.

The complaint alleges he tried to escape ICE after being pulled over following a judge’s final removal order, sideswiped an officer with his side-view mirror, and later tried to hit an officer with his car, according to US Attorney Justin R. Simmons. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison; his attorney declined to comment on Tuesday morning.

Court papers say he handed over his driver’s licence and spoke in Spanish with an officer about parking the car — “the conversational tone was pleasant and not aggressive”. He then abruptly closed the window and drove off, striking officer L.G. in the torso with the side-view mirror. In the chase he allegedly tried to hit an officer, and the officer fired into the back right window, striking him in the upper back. He was hospitalised, released into ICE custody, and appeared in court on 29 September.

His lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said he entered the US in 2024 via Biden’s CBP One asylum appointments programme, ended by Trump on his first day in office, and was seeking asylum with a valid work permit — though DHS says the permit had expired the year before. She said a judge issued the deportation order after he missed a hearing because the notice went to a former address.

Sources

• CNN
• AP via Washington Sun
• USA Today