A federal grand jury indicted Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, on Oct. 20, accusing him of assaulting federal officers during a Sept. 20 encounter in North Austin in which an ICE agent shot him. The Venezuelan national faces one count of assaulting, resisting, impeding and obstructing a federal officer.
The one-page indictment alleges he used a motor vehicle as a deadly and dangerous weapon while interfering with two officers carrying out official duties. It does not detail the encounter.
The indictment was returned Oct. 20. It is a formal accusation, and Perez is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The Justice Department says he faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted. The allegation follows a criminal complaint filed by the Department of Homeland Security.
The indictment charges interference with federal officers
A nine-page complaint says ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers stopped Perez after confirming an immigration judge had issued a final order of removal. The officers said Perez gave them his driver's license but did not follow repeated directions to put the vehicle in park and get out. They also gave him instructions in Spanish.
According to the complaint, he abruptly closed the window and drove away. Prosecutors allege his driver's-side mirror struck an officer in the torso. The officers pursued with emergency lights and sirens on.
One officer told investigators Perez later tried to hit him with the car, prompting the officer to fire. The complaint says Perez was shot in the back. The Justice Department said Perez tried to strike the officer with his vehicle, “causing the officer to fire his pistol.”
DHS special agent Rick Bazan said the pursuit lasted about eight minutes, partly through residential neighborhoods, and ended near Research Boulevard and Anderson Square. Bazan said officers had seen Perez enter a restaurant and checked his license plate. They waited for him to drive away before attempting a stop in a less populated area.
An investigator who spoke with Perez said he acknowledged disregarding the officers’ commands. Perez also admitted fleeing, according to the complaint.
Perez and his lawyers contest the officers’ account
Perez has said he wanted to park somewhere safe before surrendering. His attorneys said officers had not activated their law-enforcement lights before ramming his car. He initially thought they were an aggressive driver, they said, then realized they were with ICE after speaking with them.
The affidavit says Perez recalled the first officer’s SUV striking his car and making it spin. After the vehicle stopped, he recalled L.G. firing through the back-right window. Perez told investigators he wanted to move the car so his wife could retrieve it after his arrest.
At a Sept. 30 hearing in Austin, U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin M. Howell found probable cause to support the charge. Prosecutors played body-camera footage they said showed the mirror striking an officer before the pursuit. The defense argued the video does not clearly show contact.
Howell agreed Perez was a flight risk but found prosecutors had not shown he was a danger to the community. Prosecutors cited his flight, family ties in Venezuela, including his parents and child, and the prison sentence he could face. The judge denied bond, leaving Perez in federal criminal custody.
Criminal defense attorney Shane McMahon argued Perez had been trying to obtain legal residency. Perez had an immediate removal order after missing a court date; his appeal was denied. Immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch said his immigration case would continue despite the bond decision. She called the federal charge retaliatory, saying, “This is a charge that the government often uses in retaliation against people who have resisted or protested or been assaulted by ICE.”
The recordings leave gaps in the shooting sequence
The affidavit says L.G. was not wearing a body camera. The other officer, identified as D.F., had one but turned it off during the pursuit.
Court footage shows D.F. calling the Texas Department of Public Safety for backup. About six minutes into the pursuit, he lost sight of his partner and Perez, then turned off the camera before calling L.G.
Bazan said he and his team did not interview L.G. or ask whether the officer had been hit by the car. He also said he did not ask D.F. why he switched off the camera. Bazan interviewed Perez and D.F.; investigators reviewed officers’ footage and video from local businesses. A separate DHS unit is investigating the shooting.
The criminal case runs alongside removal and medical proceedings
Perez was hospitalized after the shooting and later held at an immigration detention facility. Daniel Woodward, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said Perez would not return to the South Texas facility and remained in federal court custody.
His lawyers said he underwent surgery Thursday to remove a bullet lodged near his spine since Sept. 20. The Texas Civil Rights Project said he was recovering. DHS officials have said Perez received medical care and medication. Lincoln-Goldfinch said the bullet remained in his back and described him as being “in grave danger because of it.”
Perez’s lawyers have called for the full body-camera footage to be released and filed a lawsuit seeking to stop his removal from the United States. His immigration proceedings continue alongside the federal criminal case.
Austin police say federal evidence is still outstanding
The Austin Police Department is conducting a separate investigation. Chief Lisa Davis said local investigators had made several requests to federal authorities but had not received evidence. “We have a lot of the evidence that we need. We have made several attempts or several calls to our federal partners. We've not received anything at this point, but I am still hopeful that we will,” she said.
Police released dash-camera video from an off-duty detective and body-camera footage from a responding officer. Neither recording shows the shooting.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson called for local authorities to have a role in the investigation. At a Sept. 20 news conference, he said he was angry about a person being shot in Austin by someone reporting to be law enforcement, “particularly when it's ICE.” The criminal case is before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin.
