A Venezuelan man wounded by an ICE officer after a vehicle chase in Austin earlier this month is facing federal charges, the Justice Department said Tuesday. Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez is accused of assaulting, resisting, obstructing and interfering with a federal officer.
Federal prosecutors allege that Garces-Perez, 28, ignored ICE agents’ orders to leave his vehicle during a targeted traffic stop, then sped away and hit an officer in the torso with the driver’s-side mirror.
If convicted, Garces-Perez could receive a federal prison sentence of up to 20 years, according to the DOJ.
The criminal complaint says officers noticed Garces-Perez’s vehicle outside a restaurant and checked its license plate. They determined that an immigration judge had issued a final removal order against him before attempting to pull him over.
A federal complaint says one ICE officer switched off his body camera during the pursuit that ended when another officer shot Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez. (Department of Justice)
The complaint describes conflicting accounts of whether the vehicles collided during the stop. One officer told investigators that there had been no contact, while Garces-Perez said an ICE SUV caused a crash as it moved to stop him.
Garces-Perez handed over his driver’s license during the initial interaction, according to the complaint.
Officers characterized the first part of the encounter as “pleasant and not aggressive.” But after they directed Garces-Perez to put the car in park and get out, body camera footage allegedly shows him suddenly rolling up the window and driving off.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, was shot while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were attempting to take him into custody in Austin, Texas. (Austin Police Department)
Garces-Perez later acknowledged to federal investigators that he disobeyed the order to exit and drove away, the complaint states. Investigators read him his Miranda rights in Spanish, and he said he understood them before agreeing to answer questions without a lawyer present.
As Garces-Perez fled, the driver’s-side mirror struck an ICE officer in the torso, prosecutors allege.
ICE agents then followed him through business districts and residential neighborhoods, using emergency lights and sirens during the pursuit, according to the complaint.
The body-camera-wearing officer reportedly lost sight of Garces-Perez and the other ICE agent while seeking assistance from a Texas Department of Public Safety dispatcher. The complaint says he then turned off his camera. The second officer, who fired the shot, did not have a body camera.
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Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez, 28, was charged with assaulting, resisting, obstructing and interfering with a federal officer after an ICE vehicle pursuit in Austin, Texas, the Justice Department said. (Wilber Garces / Facebook)
The second officer later contacted his partner and said Garces-Perez had tried to hit him with the vehicle. The officer then fired his service weapon, according to the complaint.
Garces-Perez was hit in the upper back, the complaint says. He later told investigators that the ICE SUV struck his vehicle and spun it around. He also said that after the shooting, the officer opened his door, took the keys from the ignition and instructed him to stay inside while waiting for an ambulance.
Disputes have also emerged over the circumstances of Garces-Perez’s immigration case.
Fox News previously reported that his attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, argued the removal order was issued after a hearing notice went to an outdated address. She said Garces-Perez had already updated his address with the immigration court.
Prosecutors allege that Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez drove away from a targeted ICE traffic stop in Austin, and that his vehicle’s side-view mirror struck an officer in the torso. (Department of Justice)
ICE has rejected claims about his immigration status, stating that his employment authorization expired in 2025. The agency also emphasized that a work permit alone does not provide 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.
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