An illegal alien from Venezuela made his initial appearance in federal court today after being charged with one count of assaulting, resisting, interfering, and impeding a federal officer, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.
According to court documents, on Sept. 20, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) officers initiated a traffic stop for Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez, 28. The stop was initiated due to confirmation of an immigration judge having issued a final order of removal on Garces-Perez.
The criminal complaint alleges that, during the stop, Garces-Perez provided the ICE ERO officers with his driver’s license. After verifying Garces-Perez was the person they were seeking, the officers asked Garces-Perez to place his vehicle in park and step out-orders which he allegedly ignored. The complaint alleges and body camera footage shows that after further direction from the officers in Spanish, Garces-Perez abruptly closed his window and drove off, striking one of the ICE ERO officers in the torso with the driver’s side-view mirror.
The ICE ERO officers pursued Garces-Perez in their vehicles with their emergency lights and sirens activated. The complaint alleges Garces-Perez led them on a high-speed chase through a commercial and residential area. While one of the officers lost sight of Garces-Perez during the pursuit, the other ICE ERO officer caught up to Garces-Perez, who allegedly attempted to strike the officer with his car, causing the officer to fire his pistol.
Garces-Perez made his initial court appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Howell of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. A detention hearing is set for Friday, Oct. 2. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Britni Verdeja is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.