A Venezuelan man shot in the back by a US immigration agent in Texas has been charged with assault, accused of sideswiping the officer with his car as he tried to drive away.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez’s side-view mirror hit the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during the traffic stop on 20 September in the city of Austin, it is alleged.
The 28-year-old faces one count of assaulting, resisting and impeding a federal officer. He could face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
Garces Perez appeared in court on Tuesday. His lawyers said they only learned of his court appearance afterwards.
According to the justice department, the traffic stop was initiated by an ICE officer after confirming through a database that the blue Toyota sedan was registered to Garces Perez, who had been issued a final order of removal from the US.
The affidavit contains a conflicting account of the incident.
According to the court filing, Garces Perez said a law enforcement SUV had “caused a collision” with his car by pulling an abrupt manouevre during the traffic stop.
But the federal agents said there was “no contact” between their SUVs and Garces Perez’s car when they first pulled him over.
According to the court filing, Garces Perez said he knew he would be arrested and admitted to declining to exit his car when ordered to do so.
He drove away, allegedly striking the officer in the torso with the driver’s side-view mirror.
The court filing alleges that Garces Perez “led them on a high-speed chase through a commercial and residential area”.
The short pursuit ended when a federal agent’s SUV struck his car and “caused it to spin around”, says the affidavit.
Garces Perez said that after coming to a forced stop an agent fired his pistol into the back right window of his car.
The justice department said the “officer caught up to Garces Perez, who allegedly attempted to strike the officer with his car, causing the officer to fire his pistol”.
The Venezuelan national was struck with a bullet in his upper back, where his lawyers say it remains lodged, placing him “in grave danger”.
DHS last week said Garces Perez has received “some of the best medical care he’s ever received in his life”.
A judge last week temporarily blocked Garces Perez’s deportation.
He entered the US in 2024 using CBP One, an asylum-seeker programme introduced by President Joe Biden and cancelled by President Donald Trump.
By BBC News
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