Judge keeps Venezuelan delivery driver shot by ICE in custody for alleged assault

A Venezuelan delivery driver, Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, remains in custody after being shot by an ICE agent in Texas. According to prosecutors, Garces Perez faces charges of assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal officer during an attempt to escape arrest. A federal judge ruled that the case should proceed, citing body-worn camera footage showing Garces Perez striking a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with his driver's side mirror during the encounter.

Garces Perez, 28, appeared in court on a wheelchair, still needing medical care ten days after the incident. He is charged with one count of assaulting, resisting, and impeding a federal officer, potentially facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted. The defense argued that the camera footage was inconclusive, as it didn't fully capture the moment of the alleged assault.

The officer struck by the car mirror wasn't wearing a body-worn camera, and the footage shown in court didn't capture the shooting itself. Garces Perez, an asylum seeker with a valid work permit, had his deportation ordered after missing an immigration court hearing due to a change of address.