Wilber Rafael Garces Perez , a 28-year-old Venezuelan national, is a DoorDash driver who was in the middle of a delivery when he was shot. A Venezuelan man shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in North Austin last month has been indicted on a federal charge of assaulting, resisting, interfering with, and impeding a federal officer.
The indictment accuses Perez of using a motor vehicle as a deadly and dangerous weapon while interfering with two federal officers performing their official duties, per CBS Austin. The Austin Police Department is continuing its separate investigation into the officer-involved shooting. During Perez’s criminal hearing last month, a federal judge found that prosecutors have probable cause to support the charge against him. ICE body camera footage played in court by prosecutors showed that Perez allegedly struck an ICE agent with his driver’s side mirror. Officers then went on an eight-minute pursuit of Perez through North Austin neighborhoods, which ended near Research Boulevard and Anderson Square, where an ICE agent shot Perez.
Court documents filed Tuesday, October 20, stated that a federal grand jury indicted Perez in connection with the September 20 incident.
APD Chief Lisa Davis said earlier this month that local investigators were still waiting for evidence from federal authorities despite repeated requests.
Perez is now in federal custody. The criminal case is moving forward after a judge denied his bond.
