Texas grand jury rejects indictments in fatal shooting of US citizen by federal immigration agent

A grand jury on Wednesday rejected indictments in last year’s fatal shooting a US citizen He was killed by a federal immigration agent during a traffic accident in Texas, prosecutors said.

The shooting of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez by a Homeland Security Investigations agent on March 15, 2025, was not publicly disclosed by the Department of Homeland Security until the Associated Press and other media outlets reported it last week.

The grand jury declined to issue the indictment after the case was presented, the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. The office did not provide additional details.

DHS alleged that Martinez “intentionally ran over” an HSI special agent, causing another agent to “take defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public.”

This shooting would be the earliest of at least six fatal shootings by federal officers. nationwide immigration pressure It was launched during President Donald Trump’s second term.

Passenger Joshua Orta, who was in the vehicle with Martinez, had argued That’s DHS’s account in a draft affidavit filed last year, according to attorneys for Martinez’s family. Orta, the key witness of the encounter, died in a car accident last weekend.

According to the draft affidavit, Martinez and Orta were on a Spring Break trip on Texas’ South Padre Island when they approached local and federal officers who had been involved in a traffic accident at a busy intersection after midnight.

The draft affidavit said Orta reportedly said Martinez did not hit an officer with his vehicle, that their vehicle was “just crawling,” and that a federal agent “fired into the driver’s side window without giving any warning, command or opportunity to comply.”

Attorneys for Martinez’s family did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Martinez’s mother, Rachel Reyes, has previously said her son works at an Amazon warehouse, likes to play video games, hang out with friends and has never had any problems with law enforcement.

Martinez’s death was reported in local media at the time, but authorities did not announce that the attack was carried out by a team from HSI.

An incident report from Immigration and Customs Enforcement described what happened while officers were helping local police direct traffic around a car crash.

The report stated that a four-door Ford with a driver and passenger inside approached the police officers and the police ordered the driver to stop.

The driver initially did not respond to commands but eventually stopped and agents surrounded the vehicle and ordered those inside to get out, according to the report.

The driver then “accelerated forward” and struck an HSI special agent who was “hugging the hood of the vehicle,” prompting a nearby HSI supervisory special agent to fire his gun multiple times through the open driver’s side window, the report said.

The draft declaration disputes these details.

Orta reportedly said it was the first time a police officer approached him and Martinez and told them to leave. As they tried to turn around, another officer approached, banged on the hood and “appeared to be trying to get in front of the car,” he added.

The draft affidavit said officers surrounded the vehicle, yelled at them to stop and drew their guns, and Martinez said,

The draft affidavit said an officer near the driver’s side window drew his gun and fired without warning, and Orta described hearing Martinez say “I’m sorry” as he collapsed backwards, unconscious.

Martinez’s mother, Reyes, told the AP last week that her son was shot three times.