Doordash driver shot by ICE agent in Texas charged with assault, resisting arrest - USA Today
A Texas DoorDash driver who was shot and wounded by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Sept. 20 may have struck the agent with his vehicle, new video and court documents filed in the federal case show.
Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a Venezuela national, made his initial court appearance Sept. 29 on a charge of resisting and assaulting a federal officer, the Department of Justice said.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the Department of Homeland Security one day earlier, Garcés Pérez fled from federal agents and his car’s sideview mirror struck one of them during the Sept. 20 incident in North Austin.
Prosecutors said Garcés Pérez, 28, was pulled over by ICE after they saw him leaving a restaurant and identified him as having a final order of removal.
The officers identified themselves as immigration agents and Garcés Pérez gave them his Texas driver license, according to court papers. One officer wore a body camera, the other officer did not.
The agents then instructed Garcés Pérez to place the car in park and step out, but "he ignored the request and engaged in a conversation in Spanish about moving the car and parking it," the complaint alleges. "The conversational tone was pleasant and not aggressive."
Soon after, Garcés Pérez allegedly abruptly closed his window and drove off, striking one of the officers in the torso with the driver’s side-view mirror, the affidavit reads.
During a brief vehicle chase, Garcés Pérez allegedly attempted to hit an officer with his car, and the officer fired into the vehicle's back right window striking Garcés Pérez in his upper back, according to the complaint.
He was taken to a hospital to be treated and released into ICE custody, according to Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, Garcés Pérez's attorney.
According to USA TODAY Network previous reporting, Lincoln-Goldfinch said her client told her he was making a DoorDash delivery shortly before 1 p.m. on Sept. 20, when an unmarked black truck sideswiped his car. He did not know the people inside were federal officers and made a U-turn beneath a highway before the truck followed him and struck his car again, she said.
Lincoln-Goldfinch said Garcés Pérez told her he entered the United States in 2024 through the Biden-era CBP One app, had a work permit and was seeking asylum, but received a deportation order in absentia after a hearing notice was sent to the wrong address.
But DHS said Garcés Pérez's work permit expired the year prior and said a work permit does not grant legal status.
Garcés Pérez is due back in court for a detention hearing Oct. 2, online records show.
He faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted, prosecutors said.
Contributing: James Powel and Thao Nguyen with USA TODAY and María Luisa Paúl and Mateo Rosiles with the USA TODAY Network.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
