Judge keeps Venezuelan delivery driver shot by ICE in custody for alleged assault

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Venezuelan delivery driver who was shot in his car by a federal immigration agent in Texas will remain in custody on charges that he assaulted an officer while trying to escape arrest, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday.

Judge Dustin Howell said that the case against Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, should proceed after prosecutors showed body-worn camera footage of the interaction where Garces Perez allegedly struck a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with his driver’s side mirror during the encounter in Austin.

Garces Perez is charged with one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. His case has sparked widespread outrage across the Texas capital city and brought renewed criticism from Democrats about President Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on immigration.

With a bullet still lodged in his back, Garces Perez appeared in court in a wheelchair and his attorneys said he still urgently needs medical care 10 days after being shot. He also wore a sling on his arm and needed help putting on a headset to receive a translation of the proceedings.

The defense argued that the camera footage of the encounter wasn’t conclusive since it didn’t fully capture the moment when Garces Perez tried to flee.

The defense also noted that the federal official who investigated the stop couldn’t confirm whether the ICE agent was actually hit by the car mirror, since he did not interview the ICE agent directly. The officer allegedly struck by the car mirror was not wearing a body-worn camera.

Footage presented Wednesday in court shows officers pulling Garces Perez over Sept. 20 in Austin, where he was making deliveries for DoorDash. The video showed Garces Perez giving officers his drivers license through a crack in his window and then asking in Spanish if he can park his car so that a relative could come retrieve it. The officer demanded Garces Perez get out of the car multiple times, to which he asked if he could park his own car so a family member could come retrieve it. After a back and forth, Garces Perez abruptly and rapidly drives off.

Prosecutors showed a video from cameras a nearby business of the high-speed chase that ensued through residential streets. But the shooting itself was not captured on the footage shared in court.

The federal officer who shot Garces Perez wasn’t wearing a body-worn camera. The immigration officer who did have a camera was driving in a separate car and turned the camera off during the pursuit.

Garces Perez said he was struck by a law enforcement SUV and spun around before he was shot. Federal officers told investigators, however, that Garces Perez attempted to strike an officer with his car at the end of the chase before the unidentified officer fired his weapon.

The accusations against Garces Perez recall previous claims made by immigration agents after other high-profile shootings similarly accusing drivers of weaponizing their vehicles. In a handful of cases, the allegations have been undermined or walked back after the release of body-worn camera footage, drawing renewed scrutiny about the DHS’s reliance on vehicular stops to execute arrests.

Garces Perez entered the U.S. in 2024 using CBP One, a program begun under President Joe Biden that allowed migrants to make appointments with U.S. authorities to be considered for asylum. President Donald Trump ended the program on his first day of returning to office.

Garces Perez was an asylum seeker and had a valid work permit, according to his lawyer. She said a judge issued a deportation order after Garces Perez missed an immigration court hearing because the notice was sent to a former address.

His attorneys have filed a lawsuit seeking to stop his removal from the U.S.

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Riddle reported from Los Angeles.