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A Venezuelan national who was shot and killed by an ICE agent following a vehicle pursuit in Austin earlier this month has been charged with assault, resisting, interfering and obstructing a federal agent, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Federal prosecutors allege that Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez, 28, refused ICE agents’ orders to exit his vehicle during a targeted traffic stop before speeding away and hitting an agent in the torso with his driver’s side mirror.
Garces-Perez faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, according to the DOJ.
According to the complaint, officers first spotted Garces-Perez’s vehicle outside a restaurant, checked his license plate and confirmed that an immigration judge had issued a final order of deportation against him before proceeding with the stop.
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A federal complaint says an ICE officer turned off his body camera during a vehicle chase that later ended with a second officer shooting Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez. (Ministry of Justice)
Accounts differ as to whether the vehicles made contact when officers stopped Garces-Perez. The officer told investigators there was no contact between the vehicles, while Garces-Perez claimed the ICE SUV’s maneuver caused a collision before officers approached him.
During the meeting, Garces-Perez provided officers with his driver’s license, according to the complaint.
Officers described the first encounter as “pleasant and non-aggressive,” according to the complaint. After the officers asked Garces-Perez to park the vehicle and get out, body camera footage shows him abruptly closing his window and walking away, according to the complaint.
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Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, was shot and killed as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents attempted to arrest him in Austin, Texas. (Austin Police Department)
Garces-Perez later told federal investigators that he ignored the officers’ command to exit the vehicle and drove off, according to the complaint. The complaint says he was read his Miranda rights in Spanish, understood them and agreed to speak to investigators without an attorney present.
As he drove away, Garces-Perez’s driver’s side mirror hit one of the officers in the chest, according to the complaint.
According to the complaint, ICE agents pursued Garces-Perez through commercial and residential areas with emergency lights and sirens activated.
The officer wearing a body camera lost sight of Garces-Perez and the second ICE officer while requesting help from a DPS dispatcher, then turned off his camera, according to the complaint. The second officer, who then fired his weapon, was not equipped with a body camera.
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Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez, 28, was charged with assaulting, resisting, interfering and obstructing a federal agent following a pursuit with an ICE vehicle in Austin, Texas, according to the Justice Department. (Wilber Garcés / Facebook)
The second officer then called his partner and reported that Garces-Perez had tried to hit him with his vehicle, prompting the officer to fire his service weapon, according to the complaint.
Garces-Perez was shot in the upper back, according to the complaint. He told investigators that the officer’s SUV rammed his vehicle to force him into a spin, and that after he was shot, the officer opened the driver’s door, removed the keys from the ignition and told him to stay inside while an ambulance was on the way.
Garces-Perez’s immigration record has also been the subject of competing claims.
Fox News previously reported that his attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said the order was issued after a notice of the hearing was sent to a former address, although Garces-Perez updated his address with the court.
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Federal prosecutors allege Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez fled a targeted ICE traffic stop in Austin before his vehicle’s rearview mirror struck a police officer in the torso. (Ministry of Justice)
ICE disputed the claims about his immigration status, saying his work authorization expired in 2025 and that a work permit does not in itself confer legal immigration status.
His lawyer said Garces-Perez remained seriously ill and had a bullet lodged in his body while he was being held in an ICE detention center.
Lincoln-Goldfinch, responding to the criminal complaint in a social media post, asked DHS to release the body camera footage.
“The criminal complaint also provides another crucial piece of information: One of the officers involved in the incident had a body camera that was turned off at some point during the pursuit. We have not seen this footage. DHS must immediately release the body camera footage and provide full transparency to the American public,” Lincoln-Goldfinch wrote.
“He is now facing prosecution in a federal criminal case and his federal immigration habeas case. We are investigating the significance of these developments and will share additional information as we are able.”
The DOJ said Garces-Perez made his first appearance in federal court on Tuesday.
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A detention hearing is scheduled for October 2.
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