Wilber Garces Perez, who was shot in the back by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Sept. 20 in North Austin, has been charged with assaulting, resisting, interfering and impeding law enforcement.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas brought the charges against Garces Perez, a citizen of Venezuela, after he fled from immigration officials during a traffic stop, according to prosecutors.
During the initial stop, Garces Perez showed his driver's license to the ICE agents, but after being asked to step out the car, he drove off, hitting an officer on the hip with his side mirror, prosecutors said.
An agent then pursued and caught up to Garces Perez, who is accused of trying to strike an officer with his car, leading the ICE officer to shoot Garces Perez, who was unarmed.
The officer who shot Garces Perez did not have a body-worn camera, according to court documents. The other officer who was present at the time of the stop said he lost sight of Garces Perez and the officer who shot him, according to the same document.
Garces Perez, if convicted, faces up to 20 years in federal prison. His detention hearing for these charges is set for Friday. He will also appear in court on Wednesday as his attorneys seek his release from detention.
This is a developing story.
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