Joshua Orta, a 25-year-old Texas native who was in the car with Ruben Ray Martinez when the latter was fatally shot by ICE agents in Texas last year, has died in a car crash. Orta was the only witness in the case and had planned to formally sign a statement that contradicted the US State Department’s narrative around Martinez’s death.
The accident Joshua Orta died in was unrelated to the March 15, 2025, incident where Ruben Ray Martinez was shot and killed by ICE agents. It happened on a San Antonio highway, Orta’s family attorneys confirmed.
As the death came just days before Orta was slated to sign a statement suggesting that they were complying with the agents when Martinez was shot at. His statement would have paved the way for further enquiries into the death of Martinez and the involvement of ICE in it.
Ruben Ray Martinez, a 23-year-old south Texas native, was fatally shot during an encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents n South Padre Island, Texas. The ICE and the Department of Homeland Security initially denied involvement but later confirmed the involvement of the agents in the incident.
Who Was Joshua Orta?
The New York Times reports that Joshua Orta was the only eyewitness of Ruben Ray Martinez’s killing. He was in the passenger seat of the car while Martinez was driving it. According to the New York Times, Orta was a “close friend” of Martinez.
Orta said in a sworn statement that he and Martinez were driving to visit friends just days after Martinez’s birthday celebrations. He described the drive as “spontaneous” and “lighthearted” and claimed that they were driving following the traffic rules when they were approached by the law enforcement agents.
The DHS has accused Orta of breaking traffic rules and accelerating dangerously while driving, striking people. However, Orta’s statement disputed the account DHS account, placing the actions of the federal immigration agents under the scanner.
“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,” the statement read, according to the New York Times.
He alleges that the agents did issue any warning to Orta or Martinez before shooting him “multiple times” from a few feet away. “Following the shooting, law enforcement pulled Ruben from the car while he was clearly unconscious or already dead,” the statement read.
“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 added, accusing the federal agents of negligence. “Ruben was driving cautiously in traffic in his proper lane and certainly did not strike anyone with his vehicle.”
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Ranger Division is actively investigating the shooting.
Meanwhile, Texas State Rep. Ray Lopez invoked a rule to compel a public hearing by the House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans’ Affairs, chaired by Rep. Cole Hefner.
