A federal grand jury has indicted Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, on one count of assaulting, resisting, interfering with and impeding a federal officer, according to court documents filed on Tuesday, October 20, reported by CBS Austin and confirmed in KXAN Austin's reporting. The indictment alleges he used a motor vehicle as a deadly and dangerous weapon while interfering with two federal officers performing their official duties. An indictment is a formal accusation only; Garces Perez is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Source: CBS Austin via Hindustan Times / The Local Report

If convicted on the assault count, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison, according to the Justice Department's earlier complaint in the case. He remains in federal custody after a judge denied him bond, the reports said.

Source: KXAN Austin

What happened on September 20

Garces Perez was working a DoorDash delivery in North Austin on September 20 when ICE officers stopped him after running his license plate, according to court filings and his attorney. Prosecutors allege he handed over his licence, then ignored orders to park and get out, rolled up his window and drove off, allegedly striking an officer with his driver's-side mirror. An approximately eight-minute pursuit through residential streets ended near Research Boulevard and Anderson Square, where an ICE agent shot him in the back, the Associated Press reported from an earlier court hearing.

Source: Associated Press

Both sides, and the questions that remain

At the earlier hearing, the defence noted that the officer who fired was not wearing a body camera and that the officer who did have one turned it off during the pursuit, according to the federal complaint — gaps the defence says leave the shooting itself unrecorded. Prosecutors say footage from body cameras and a nearby business supports their account of the stop and pursuit, the AP reported.

The Austin Police Department's separate investigation is continuing. APD Chief Lisa Davis said earlier this month that local investigators were still waiting for evidence from federal authorities despite repeated requests: "We have a lot of the evidence that we need. We have made several attempts or several calls to our federal partners. We've not received anything at this point, but I am still hopeful that we will," Davis said.

His attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, has said Garces Perez entered the United States in 2024 using CBP One and held a valid work permit as an asylum seeker, and that a deportation order was issued after he missed a hearing whose notice went to a former address. Federal officials say he was subject to a final order of removal. His lawyers have also filed a lawsuit seeking to stop his removal, the AP reported.