Wilber Rafael Garces Perez is a 28-year-old Venezuelan national who has become the focus of a federal criminal case after an encounter with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Austin, Texas, left him wounded by gunfire. Garces Perez was working as a DoorDash delivery driver on September 20, 2026, when the encounter took place in North Austin. Days after he was shot, federal prosecutors charged him with assaulting, resisting, interfering with and impeding a federal officer. The charge has added a new legal dimension to an incident that already involved conflicting accounts from Garces Perez and federal authorities.
The case has drawn attention because Garces Perez is simultaneously a criminal defendant and the person who was shot during the encounter. His attorneys have disputed important parts of the government’s account, while the federal complaint describes a sequence in which Garces Perez allegedly refused orders to leave his vehicle, drove away and struck an ICE officer with his car’s side-view mirror. Federal authorities further allege that he later attempted to drive toward an officer, prompting the officer to fire. Garces Perez has given a different description, saying that an unmarked vehicle first caused a collision involving his car and that he was shot after his vehicle was forced to stop.
Because the case is still developing, the allegations contained in the federal complaint have not been established as facts at trial. Garces Perez has been charged, not convicted, and his lawyers have challenged the government’s description of what happened. His story has also become intertwined with a separate immigration proceeding because federal authorities say he was subject to a final order of removal. A federal judge has temporarily blocked his deportation, allowing the legal proceedings surrounding the shooting and his immigration status to continue.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez Was Working as a DoorDash Driver
Before the September 20 encounter, Garces Perez was living in Austin and working as a food delivery driver. According to his attorney, he was carrying out a DoorDash delivery when the incident unfolded in North Austin. Local reporting identified him as a Venezuelan immigrant who had entered the United States in 2024 through the CBP One system and subsequently sought asylum. His attorneys have said that he had a valid work permit and that he was trying to support himself through delivery work.
The circumstances surrounding his immigration status are an important part of the case. Federal authorities say Garces Perez had been issued a final order of removal and that ICE officers identified his vehicle through a database before initiating the traffic stop. His lawyers, however, have disputed aspects of the government’s characterization of his immigration history. Earlier reporting said his attorneys maintained that he entered the country legally in 2024 using CBP One and applied for asylum, but that he later missed an immigration court hearing after the notice was sent to an incorrect address.
The distinction matters because the September 20 encounter was not described by federal authorities as a random traffic stop. According to the federal affidavit, ICE officers were carrying out immigration enforcement and had information connecting the blue Toyota sedan to Garces Perez and a final removal order. The officers reportedly observed the vehicle near a shopping center in North Austin before beginning the stop. The federal filing says one officer was wearing a body camera, while the officer who ultimately fired the shot was not equipped with one.
Garces Perez’s attorneys have presented a different account of the beginning of the encounter. According to his reported account, he initially believed an unmarked vehicle had sideswiped his car and said he did not immediately understand that the people pursuing him were immigration officers. He later said he attempted to move to a safer location and pull over. The conflicting descriptions of the first moments of the encounter are now part of the broader dispute surrounding the case.
🛑 Clinton Judge Blocks Wilber’s Removal Clock 🛑
— Katie K USA (@KimKatieUSA) September 23, 2026
Judge Orlando Garcia, a San Antonio federal district judge appointed by Bill Clinton, just put the brakes on removing Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, the Venezuelan illegal alien who fled ICE at high speeds in North Austin on Sep 20,… pic.twitter.com/RFIAkv7SCu
The fact that Garces Perez was working when the encounter occurred has also shaped public attention around the case. He was not described as someone actively seeking out law enforcement or involved in a planned confrontation; rather, he was carrying out an ordinary delivery when the traffic stop began. At the same time, prosecutors now allege that his actions during the stop crossed into conduct that federal law criminalizes when directed against an officer. Those two aspects of the story — his everyday work and the government’s allegations about his actions during the stop — are central to understanding why the case has generated such interest.
What Happened During the Austin ICE Encounter
According to the federal affidavit filed in the case, ICE officers first encountered Garces Perez’s blue Toyota sedan near a shopping center in Austin. The officers allegedly confirmed through a database that the vehicle was registered to him and that he had a final order of removal. They then initiated a traffic stop. The government says Garces Perez provided his driver’s license but did not follow instructions to place the vehicle in park and get out.
The federal account says the situation escalated when Garces Perez allegedly closed his window and drove away. Prosecutors allege that the driver’s-side mirror struck an ICE officer in the torso as he moved away from the stop. The affidavit further states that the officers pursued Garces Perez through commercial and residential areas in what authorities describe as a short, high-speed chase. The pursuit eventually ended after an ICE vehicle struck Garces Perez’s car, causing it to spin around, according to the government’s filing.
The most serious part of the encounter came after the vehicle chase. Federal authorities allege that Garces Perez attempted to strike an officer with his vehicle, after which the officer fired into the vehicle. Garces Perez was struck in the upper back. His attorneys have said that the bullet remained lodged in his body after the shooting and that he required additional medical attention. He was initially taken to a hospital and later transferred into ICE custody.
Garces Perez has disputed the government’s version of the critical moments. His account, as reported by his lawyers, says that an unmarked SUV caused contact with his car and that he tried to pull over after realizing the people involved were law enforcement. He has also said that the shooting happened after his vehicle was forced to stop. The federal complaint presents a different sequence, alleging that Garces Perez drove toward an officer and that the officer fired in response.
There is also an important limitation concerning available video evidence. The federal affidavit includes images taken from a body-worn camera, but the officer who fired the shot was not wearing a body camera. Another officer involved in the encounter had a body camera, but the available material does not provide a complete video recording of the shooting itself. That means the competing accounts of the most critical moment have not simply been resolved by a complete public video of the shooting.
The shooting led to additional scrutiny in Austin, where local officials called for the circumstances to be investigated. The Travis County District Attorney’s Office also asked federal immigration authorities to halt Garces Perez’s removal while the investigation continued, arguing that removing him could interfere with his ability to participate as a witness in the investigation or any future prosecution connected to the incident.
Why Wilber Rafael Garces Perez Is Now Facing a Federal Charge
On September 29, federal prosecutors charged Garces Perez with one count involving assaulting, resisting, interfering with and impeding a federal officer. He appeared in federal court the same day. The charge is based on the government’s allegation that he struck an ICE officer with his vehicle and later attempted to use the vehicle against an officer during the pursuit. If convicted under the charged statute, he could face a federal prison sentence of up to 20 years, although a charge itself does not establish guilt and the eventual outcome will depend on the legal proceedings.
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Garces Perez’s lawyers have raised concerns about the circumstances of the case and his medical condition. They have said that he continues to have a bullet lodged in his back and have argued that he needs appropriate medical treatment. Federal officials have said he has received significant medical care. The disagreement over his treatment has become another issue alongside the criminal allegations and his immigration case.
His initial court appearance also drew attention because his attorneys said they learned about the hearing only afterward. Meanwhile, Garces Perez remains in federal custody while the criminal and immigration proceedings move forward. A judge has temporarily blocked his deportation, meaning his immigration status will not be resolved simply by removing him from the United States while these legal issues are being examined.
The case therefore involves several separate questions that should not be confused with one another. One is whether Garces Perez committed the conduct alleged in the federal criminal complaint. Another concerns the circumstances under which the ICE officer fired and whether the government’s description of the encounter is supported by the available evidence. A third concerns Garces Perez’s immigration status and the history of his asylum proceedings. These matters can proceed simultaneously but require separate legal determinations.
For now, the most firmly established facts are that Garces Perez is 28, is from Venezuela, was working as a DoorDash driver when the September 20 encounter occurred, was shot during the encounter with ICE officers in Austin, was subsequently taken into federal custody and has now been charged with assaulting, resisting, interfering with and impeding a federal officer. The government alleges that his vehicle struck an officer and that he later attempted to hit an officer with the car. Garces Perez disputes key parts of that account, and the case remains unresolved.
As the criminal case develops, evidence surrounding the traffic stop, the vehicle pursuit and the shooting will likely become increasingly important. The federal affidavit currently provides the government’s most detailed public account, while Garces Perez’s attorneys have offered a substantially different description of the encounter. Until the evidence is fully examined through the legal process, the allegations against him remain allegations. His case now sits at the intersection of a federal criminal prosecution, an immigration proceeding and an investigation into the shooting that left him wounded.
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