Grand Jury Won’t Indict ICE Officer in Fatal Shooting of Texas Man

By Colleen DeGuzman, The Texas Tribune

BROWNSVILLE, TX — A grand jury did not find probable cause to issue an indictment in the fatal shooting of a man last year on South Padre Island by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. 

Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz said his office presented the case on Wednesday, and the jury issued a no bill. Prosecutors can pursue a criminal case after a no bill but rarely do so.  

Agents assigned to a Department of Homeland Security subagency fatally shot 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez of San Antonio multiple times in the early hours of March 15 as they helped local police direct traffic at the scene of an auto accident.

In a statement Friday, DHS confirmed the shooting and accused Martinez of “intentionally” running over an agent, who was taken to a hospital for a knee injury. Local media reported on the shooting, but it was not clear until last week that federal immigration officers were involved.

DHS agents wrote in the report that Martinez failed to follow traffic instructions, so they surrounded his car. When he accelerated, according to the report, Martinez allegedly struck an agent who ended up on the hood — which prompted another agent to shoot Martinez.

On Saturday, Joshua Orta, the only passenger in the vehicle during Martinez’s shooting, died in an auto accident in San Antonio, according to the Associated Press. Police said the vehicle Orta was driving left the road and struck a utility pole at a high rate of speed. His passengers survived the fiery crash.

According to a draft of Orta’s affidavit obtained by the AP, Orta said Martinez “did not hit anyone” with his vehicle. 

It’s unclear whether the jury was shown Orta’s affidavit, according to Martinez’s attorneys.

“And we do not know if they were shown video of an ICE agent dragging Ruben onto the ground and handcuffing him immediately after shooting him three times,” they said.   

“We believe that it is essential now that the Texas Department of Public Safety publicly disclose the full findings of their investigation, so that Ruben’s family and the public can determine for themselves whether ICE’s story is accurate and why Ruben was killed that night,” their statement also said.

News of Martinez’s death by an ICE agent arrived last week amid protests around the country after two people in Minnesota — one of whom also struck an ICE agent with her vehicle — were killed while interfering with ICE operations earlier this year.