Federal judge orders immigrant driver shot by ICE to remain in custody on assault charge
A Texas federal judge denied bond for Venezuelan delivery driver Wilber Garcés Pérez, who was shot by an ICE agent, and allowed the assault case to proceed despite disputed video evidence.
A federal judge in Austin ordered Venezuelan delivery driver Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez to stay in custody on a charge of assaulting a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, despite his claim that the shooting was unjustified. Prosecutors presented body-worn camera footage showing Garcés Pérez handing his driver’s license to officers, refusing to exit his vehicle, and then accelerating away, after which a high-speed chase was captured by a nearby business’s cameras. The video did not record the moment he was shot, and the ICE officer who fired was not wearing a camera; another officer’s camera was turned off during the pursuit.
Garcés Pérez, 28, entered the United States in 2024 under the CBP One program and was working as a DoorDash driver. He was shot on September 20 and still has a bullet lodged in his back, requiring medical care. He appeared in court in a wheelchair and used a translation headset. The defense described the assault charge as retaliation and argued that the footage was inconclusive, noting that no federal investigator had directly interviewed the officer allegedly struck by the car’s side mirror.
"ICE’s conduct has been so egregious, that physicians, nurses, medical ethicists and health advocates have come together to demand his release," said immigration attorney Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch after the hearing.
The judge denied bond, citing a potential flight risk to Venezuela, where Garcés Pérez has a child. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.