The only known eyewitness to the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old Texas man by federal agents has died in a separate car accident, just days before he was expected to formally sign a statement contradicting the government’s version of events.
Joshua Orta, 25, who was in the passenger seat when his childhood friend Ruben Ray Martinez was shot and killed on March 15, 2025, in South Padre Island, died over the weekend in an unrelated highway crash near San Antonio, attorneys confirmed.
Orta had planned to assist further inquiries into the shooting and sign a sworn statement that challenged the account given by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Shooting On South Padre Island
Martinez, 23, was fatally shot during an encounter later confirmed to involve agents from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit. The involvement of ICE was not publicly disclosed at the time of the incident.
According to DHS, agents were assisting the South Padre Island Police Department following what it described as a major accident. A spokesperson said a “driver of a blue Ford intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigations special agent,” leaving the agent on the hood of the vehicle.
“Upon witnessing this, another agent fired defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public,” DHS said in a statement. The driver was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The injured agent sustained a knee injury.
DHS identified the deceased as a US citizen from San Antonio and said a second individual in the vehicle, also a US citizen, was taken into custody by local police pending charges. That individual was Orta.
Orta’s contradictory account
In a sworn statement given to lawyers representing Martinez’s family, Orta described the drive to South Padre Island as “spontaneous” and “lighthearted,” saying the two friends were heading to visit others just days after Martinez’s birthday.
He claimed Martinez was driving cautiously and did not strike anyone or accelerate dangerously, directly contradicting federal authorities’ assertions.
“The trooper seemed to be trying to get in front of the car, like he wasn’t moving out of the way when we tried to turn around and leave like the police officer told us to do,” Orta said in the statement.
Orta alleged that a federal agent fired multiple shots from a few feet away without issuing warnings or giving Martinez an opportunity to comply. He further claimed that officers delayed medical assistance for at least 10 minutes after the shooting.
“Following the shooting, law enforcement pulled Ruben from the car while he was clearly unconscious or already dead,” Orta wrote. “Despite this, they put him face down on the pavement and handcuffed him. At least 10 minutes passed before any tried CPR or other treatment on Ruben.”
He also disputed claims that Martinez had entered an ambulance lane, struck an officer, or possessed drugs and alcohol.
“Ruben was unarmed, non-violent, not fleeing, and not resisting at the time he was shot. His killing was unjustified and excessive,” Orta wrote in September.
Calls for investigation
The death of Orta has intensified calls for an independent investigation into Martinez’s killing. Texas Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro said on X that he wanted to know why there had been an “8-month cover up.”
Alex Stamm, a lawyer representing Martinez’s family, described Orta’s passing as a devastating blow.
“First and foremost, Joshua’s death is an awful tragedy for his family and friends, and the Reyes family is grieving with them,” Stamm said. “In terms of Ruben’s death, the world has also now lost a critical eyewitness.”
The Texas Department of Public Safety Ranger Division is investigating the shooting.
With the only eyewitness now gone, attorneys for Martinez’s family say key questions remain unanswered about the circumstances leading to the fatal encounter on South Padre Island.