Venezuelan man shot by ICE in Texas is charged with assault
Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez is accused of striking an agent with his car's side-view mirror while driving away.
**Venezuelan man shot by ICE in Texas faces assault charge**
A Venezuelan man who was shot in the back by a US immigration agent in Texas has been charged with assault, after allegedly sideswiping the officer with his car while trying to drive off.
It is alleged that Wilber Rafael Garces Perez’s side-view mirror struck the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during a traffic stop on 20 September in Austin.
The 28-year-old is charged with one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer. If convicted, he could receive up to 20 years in federal prison.
Garces Perez appeared in court on Tuesday. His lawyers said they only found out about the hearing afterward.
According to the justice department, the stop began after an ICE officer checked a database and confirmed that the blue Toyota sedan was registered to Garces Perez, who had already been issued a final order of removal from the US.
The affidavit gives a different version of events.
In the court filing, Garces Perez said a law enforcement SUV had "caused a collision" with his car by making an abrupt manoeuvre during the stop.
But federal agents said there was "no contact" between their SUVs and Garces Perez’s car when they first pulled him over.
The filing says Garces Perez admitted he knew he would be arrested and acknowledged refusing to get out of the car when ordered.
He then drove away, allegedly hitting the officer in the torso with the driver’s side-view mirror.
The court filing says Garces Perez "led them on a high-speed chase through a commercial and residential area".
The brief chase ended when a federal agent’s SUV hit his car and "caused it to spin around", according to the affidavit.
Garces Perez said that after he was forced to stop, an agent fired his pistol into the back right window of his car.
The justice department said the "officer caught up to Garces Perez, who allegedly attempted to strike the officer with his car, causing the officer to fire his pistol".
The Venezuelan national was hit by a bullet in his upper back, which his lawyers say is still lodged there, putting him "in grave danger".
Last week, DHS said Garces Perez has received "some of the best medical care he's ever received in his life".
A judge last week temporarily blocked Garces Perez’s deportation.
He entered the US in 2024 through CBP One, an asylum-seeker programme launched by President Joe Biden and later cancelled by President Donald Trump.