Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, appeared in federal court in Austin on Monday for his initial appearance. A detention hearing is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 2. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas said.
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A criminal complaint filed by a Homeland Security investigator tells the government's version of events on Sept. 20. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers stopped Garces Perez after confirming a final order of removal had been issued by an immigration judge. Garces Perez provided his driver's license, and was told to park his vehicle and exit, according to the complaint.
Prosecutors said Garces Perez ignored those instructions, including further instructions made in Spanish, closed his window and drove away, hitting an ICE officer in the torso with his driver-side mirror. Officers followed him with their lights and sirens on, through commercial and residential areas. One officer lost sight of the vehicle. A second caught up, and the complaint alleges Garces Perez attempted to hit that officer with his car, leading the officer to open fire.
The shooting was not captured on camera. The unsealed affidavit notes that the officer who fired was not wearing a body camera and that another officer switched his camera off. The second officer's camera captured some of the traffic stop but not the shooting, NBC News reported last week. The officer who shot at Garces Perez is on administrative leave.
Garces Perez's own statement to investigators is also included in the complaint. He told investigators the officer fired into the back-right corner of his vehicle, and the bullet hit him in his upper back. He said the officer then opened the driver's side of the car, took the keys and told him to remain in the vehicle and wait for an ambulance.
His lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, told a different tale. An unmarked ICE vehicle sideswiped his client's car twice, she said. He made a U-turn under a highway overpass and didn't realize what hit him, she said. He had no knowledge the men were federal officers, she said. Garces Perez spoke to reporters by phone from ICE custody. He said he asked to pull over somewhere safe but was refused, and that he then felt a shot in his back.
He worked as a DoorDash delivery driver at the time.
The bullet remains lodged near his spine. Rep. Greg Casar, an Austin Democrat who represents the area, said last week that Garces Perez needs surgery to remove it and that his lawyer has mentioned the possibility of paralysis. He is being held in Pearsall, and a judge has prevented his deportation, ordering him to appear for a hearing in San Antonio.
The shooting led to protests in Austin, including student walkouts. It is under investigation by several agencies.
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security said the shooting followed a dangerous attempt to evade arrest.
