Federal prosecutors have charged a Venezuelan delivery driver with assaulting a federal officer after he was shot in the back by an immigration agent in Texas. Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, 28, faces one count of assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal officer following the September 20 shooting.
As reported by The Guardian, the charge comes from a criminal complaint filed in an Austin federal court, where Garcés Pérez made his initial appearance on Tuesday. Government officials claim he struck an officer with his vehicle’s side mirror while attempting to flee, while his legal team says he still has a bullet lodged in his back.
The government’s account is detailed in a nine-page affidavit from a Department of Homeland Security agent, which includes photos from body-worn cameras. No video footage has been released to the public.
The two sides tell very different stories about the stop
According to the affidavit, agents spotted the driver’s car parked outside a restaurant with its emergency flashers on. A database check showed the car was registered to Garcés Pérez, who had a final order of removal from the US, and agents said they turned on their lights to conduct a stop.
Garcés Pérez gave investigators a different account, claiming an unmarked SUV followed him and abruptly cut him off on the side of the road. He was working as a DoorDash delivery driver at the time and reportedly handed over his driver’s license through a crack in his window.
He refused to exit the vehicle, telling investigators he had asked the officers to wait until his wife could arrive to retrieve his car. Court documents describe the initial interaction as briefly pleasant and not aggressive.
About a minute later, records indicate, Garcés Pérez closed the window and drove off. The government alleges he struck an officer in the torso with his side mirror as he left.
If convicted, Garcés Pérez faces up to 20 years in prison. Under 18 USC 111, enhanced penalties apply to those who use a dangerous weapon or inflict bodily injury while resisting federal officers.
The officer who fired the shot was not wearing a body camera. Another officer involved did have one, but the affidavit states it only captured the scene after the shooting, and the screenshots included do not show the alleged impact.
Garcés Pérez entered the US in 2024 through the CBP One program, which allowed immigrants to schedule appointments for asylum consideration. President Donald Trump ended the program on his first day in office.
His attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said he was an asylum seeker with a valid work permit who was issued a deportation order after missing a court hearing because the notice went to an old address. His attorneys are fighting to stop his removal.
ICE reported more than 50,000 monthly arrests in both July and August. Since Trump took office in January 2025, there have been at least 10 fatal shootings involving immigration officers, and in similar cases in Chicago and Minneapolis, charges of assaulting an officer were eventually dropped.
In the Minneapolis case, the officer was later charged with lying about the alleged assault. The Texas case surfaced in the same news cycle as a Delta flight’s smoke emergency.
Garcés Pérez remains in the custody of US marshals after being moved from a federal detention center in south Texas. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson directed questions to the Department of Justice, and his attorney declined to provide immediate comment on Tuesday.
Published: Sep 30, 2026 12:30 pm