During the hearing, the Venezuelan man appeared in a wheelchair with his left arm in a sling, as his attorneys confirmed a bullet remains in his back.
A federal judge denied bond for the man shot and injured by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer earlier this month during a detention hearing Wednesday in an Austin courtroom.
The judge also found that federal prosecutors have probable cause to support the criminal charge against Wilber Garcés Pérez for assaulting, resisting, interfering, and impeding a federal officer.
During Wednesday's hearing, the 28-year-old Venezuelan man appeared in a wheelchair with his left arm in a sling, as his attorneys confirmed a bullet remains in his back following the shooting on Sept. 20 in North Austin.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Howell ruled that the government has probable cause to pursue the charge, and that there is sufficient evidence to believe Garcés Pérez may flee if released on bond. The judge cited details about his initial interaction with ICE officers on Sept. 20 and a former failure to appear for an immigration hearing.
Howell heard testimony from Homeland Security Investigations special agent Rick Bazan, the author of a criminal complaint detailing the charge against Garcés Pérez, as well as arguments from both federal prosecutors and the defense.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Britni Verdeja played body camera footage from one of the two ICE officers on scene during the initial stop of Garcés Pérez, which prosecutors said shows the moment he allegedly struck one of the officers with his driver's side mirror.
The footage continues to show a pursuit of Garcés Pérez from the perspective of an ICE officer's body camera, which investigators say lasts for about eight minutes through residential neighborhoods in North Austin. It shows the officer calling a contact at the Texas Department of Public Safety seeking assistance. He then calls a number for DPS dispatch. He appears to shut off his body camera before calling the other ICE agent, who investigators say shot Garcés Pérez.
Investigators say the other officer was not wearing a body camera, but Bazan was not able to offer an explanation to the defense.
Shane McMahon, the defense attorney for Garcés Pérez, argued that the footage does not make clear if his mirror actually made contact with the officer's torso.
While Garcés Pérez admitted to disregarding orders from the officers to park and exit his car during an initial interview with investigators, McMahon said he does not believe his client committed an act of violence.
"Unfortunately, the judge denied bail at the end of the hearing, which means Wilbur is going to stay in federal custody pending these criminal charges. He still needs life-saving surgery. He still has a bullet in his back," his immigration attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, said in an update after the hearing.
During a press conference following the hearing, Lincoln-Goldfinch said separate immigration proceedings for her client are expected to continue.
