Garces-Perez Charged With Assaulting ICE Officer, Facing Up to 20 Years After Austin Pursuit
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 30
Garces-Perez Charged With Assaulting ICE Officer, Facing Up to 20 Years After Austin Pursuit
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 30
Summary
Federal prosecutors said Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez, 28, was charged Tuesday after allegedly refusing to exit his car, fleeing a targeted ICE stop in Austin and striking an officer in the torso with his side-view mirror.
The Justice Department said officers had confirmed a final removal order before the stop; body-camera footage described in the complaint shows the initially "pleasant" encounter changed when Garces-Perez closed his window and drove off.
The pursuit ended when a second ICE officer—who had no body camera—reported Garces-Perez tried to hit him with the vehicle and fired, striking him in the upper back; Garces-Perez says the officer's SUV rammed his car first.
One officer turned off his body camera after losing sight of the chase, and Garces-Perez's lawyer is demanding DHS release the footage as she says he remains seriously ill in ICE detention with a bullet lodged in his body.
Garces-Perez made his initial federal court appearance Tuesday, and a detention hearing is set for Oct. 2 while his criminal case proceeds alongside an immigration habeas fight over his removal order and status.