Man shot by ICE in Austin charged with assaulting, resisting federal officer
AUSTIN, Texas - A man shot by an ICE officer in North Austin has been charged with assaulting and resisting a federal officer.
28-year-old Wilber Rafael Garces Perez made his appearance in federal court Tuesday.
What they're saying:
The US Attorney's Office says that Perez has been charged with one count of assaulting, resisting, interfering and impeding a federal officer.
Court documents say that on Sunday, Sept. 20, ICE Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) officers performed a traffic stop on Perez after confirming he had a final order of removal from an immigration judge.
Those documents also allege that during the stop, Perez gave the ICE officers his driver's license. The officers then asked him to put his car in park and step out, but Perez allegedly ignored their orders.
The USAO says that body camera footage shows that after more directions given in Spanish, Perez "abruptly closed his window and drove off, striking one of the ICE ERO officers in the torso with the driver's side-view mirror."
The ICE officers then pursued Perez with their emergency lights and sirens activated. Perez allegedly led the officers on a "high-speed chase through a commercial and residential area."
One of the officers caught up to Perez, who then allegedly attempted to hit him with his car, which the USAO says led to the shooting.
The other side:
Perez's legal team provided a statement on the charge to FOX 7 Austin, saying:
"Today, as a surprise to his legal team, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a Venezuelan immigrant who was shot by ICE in a traffic altercation on Sunday, September 20, appeared in federal court after being charged with a count of assaulting, resisting, interfering with, and impeding a federal officer. His attorneys only learned of this appearance due to a pre-scheduled meeting they had with him this morning, in which he did not appear.
Nine days after being shot by ICE, Wilber still has a bullet lodged in his back. Medical professionals say he’s in grave danger because of it. This morning, when his attorneys were finally able to see him, he was in considerable pain, dizzy, and needed pain medication, which had not been provided. Rather than provide the life-saving medical care he needs, DHS and the government are playing games with his life.
This is another example that demonstrates that the government doesn't care — the same way it didn't care about Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, killed in Houston, and Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a young father killed in Maine.
This is a developing situation, and our team remains focused on it."
What's next:
He has a detention hearing set for Oct. 2, says the US Attorney's Office.
If he is convicted, Perez could face up to 20 years in federal prison.
What happened in the ICE shooting on Sept. 20 in Austin?
The backstory:
Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Rob Luckritz said emergency crews were notified of a reported shooting at about 12:56 p.m. in the 8000 block of Anderson Square.
Paramedics arrived within about 3 1/2 minutes and found an adult man with a gunshot wound. The man was transported to a local trauma center in serious but stable condition.
APD Chief Lisa Davis initially stated that the shooting involved a federal agent and later confirmed she had been told the agent was with ICE. Austin police were not involved in the shooting.
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Latest update on man shot by ICE agent in Austin
It's been three days since an ICE agent shot a man in North Austin. Congressman Greg Casar gave an update on Wednesday after visiting the Venezuelan man in ICE custody.
Perez told immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch that he was driving for DoorDash on Sunday when an unmarked car sideswiped him. He did not know it was ICE.
He told Lincoln-Goldfinch that he did a U-turn under the highway and was then sideswiped again. He then said the agents got out of the unmarked car and shot him in the back of the neck. They then pulled him from the car.
RELATED COVERAGE: Austin ICE shooting: New details released on man shot by ICE agents
Lincoln-Goldfinch said there was no foot chase. However, ICE said there was a foot chase.
DHS officials have confirmed that Perez is from Venezuela and say he entered the country illegally and had a final order of removal.
Perez was taken into federal custody to the South Texas ICE processing center in Pearsall.
Austin police release footage
APD releases body cam video of ICE shooting
Austin police are sharing more information and videos from their response to Sunday's ICE shooting in North Austin.
New video released by APD appears to show Perez was involved in a traffic stop with federal agents before leading them on a pursuit, minutes before he was shot by a federal agent.
APD released video captured on an off-duty APD detective's personal dashcam and cellphone, as well as body camera footage from an on-duty officer.
RELATED COVERAGE: Austin ICE shooting: APD releases body cam footage, cellphone video
Reports last week by The Atlantic and FOX News indicated there may be no body camera footage from ICE's perspective of the incident.
Multiple federal law enforcement sources told FOX News that there is no ICE bodycam footage from the incident, FOX's Bill Melugin said last week on social media.
The Atlantic's Nick Miroff also stated that three DHS officials had told him that the officer was a "recent hire who was not wearing his body camera."
So far, the APD videos are the only footage that has been publicly released.
The Source: Information in this report comes from a Sept. 29 release by the US Attorney's Office, a Sept. 29 statement from Wilber Perez's legal team and previous reporting by FOX 7 Austin.