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

AUSTIN, Texas — 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 evade arrest, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

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

Garcés Pérez 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 of President Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on immigration.

With a bullet still lodged in his back, Garcés Pérez appeared in court in a wheelchair. 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 listen to a translation of the proceedings.

The defense called the charges against Garcés Pérez “retaliation” and argued that the camera footage was inconclusive because it didn’t fully capture the moment when he allegedly tried to flee.

The hearing also included testimony from Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Rick Bazan, who signed the criminal complaint charging Garcés Pérez with assault. The defense argued that Bazan, whose agency is the investigative arm of ICE, could not confirm whether the ICE agent was actually hit by the car mirror since no federal investigators interviewed the agent directly. Bazan also couldn’t explain why the officer allegedly struck by the mirror was not wearing a body-worn camera.

Footage provided Wednesday in court shows officers pulling Garcés Pérez over Sept. 20 in Austin, where he was making deliveries for DoorDash.

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The video showed Garcés Pérez 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 Garcés Pérez 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, Garcés Pérez abruptly and rapidly drives off.

Prosecutors show video but not of the shooting itself

Prosecutors presented a video from cameras at a nearby business showing the ensuing high-speed chase through residential streets. The shooting itself was not captured on the footage shared in court.

The federal officer who shot Garcés Pérez 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.

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

The accusations against Garcés Pérez 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.

Lawyer accuses ICE of denying him medical treatment

Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, one of Garcés Pérez’s immigration attorneys, accused ICE of denying him medical treatment for his bullet wound.

“ICE’s conduct has been so egregious, that physicians, nurses, medical ethicists and health advocates have come together to demand his release,” she said outside court after the hearing.

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

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

Judge Howell said he denied Garcés Pérez bond on the basis that he could be a flight risk to Venezuela, where he has a child.

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