A South Texas grand jury on Wednesday declined to indict an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot a San Antonio man last year, dampening the family’s hopes for further investigation of a killing that captured national attention after ICE’s role was revealed last week.

Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz said a grand jury did not find probable cause to charge anyone in the March 15, 2025, death of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez on South Padre Island. The Department of Homeland Security has said Martinez was intoxicated and struck an agent with his car. Another agent shot him multiple times through a side window at point-blank range.

Martinez’s killing was the third of an American citizen by an ICE agent since President Donald Trump launched a mass deportation campaign in January 2021. But the involvement of the immigration agency in his death became known only when the nonprofit watchdog American Oversight published records obtained via a public records request. Newsweek was first to report on the shooting.

READ MORE: New records reveal ICE agent fatally shot a San Antonio man in Texas last year

Democratic elected officials representing San Antonio in city hall, the Legislature and Congress have called for a Department of Justice inquiry into Martinez’s death, citing discrepancies between Trump administration statements and video evidence in past shootings. State Rep. Ray Lopez, D-San Antonio, has sought to force a Republican Texas House committee chair to hold a hearing on the matter using a newly-created procedural rule.

At the time of the incident, Homeland Security Investigation special agents were assisting local police with traffic control on South Padre after a major accident.

In a statement to the San Antonio Express-News on Friday, DHS said the federal agent fired “defensive shots” and that Martinez “intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigation special agent.” The DHS spokesperson said the agent sought treatment at the hospital for a knee injury.

A passenger who was in the car with Martinez said he was confused by conflicting directives, according to attorneys for Martinez’s family. The eyewitness, Joshua Orta, said local police told Martinez to turn around before federal agents surrounded his vehicle and ordered him to stop. He also said Martinez was “crawling” or “coasting” and did not accelerate into the officer.

In a shocking turn of events, Orta died in a car accident on Saturday, days after giving a statement to lawyers about his friend’s killing. He said Martinez’s last words were, “I’m sorry.”

The family is asking for a “full acknowledgment that Ruben’s civil and constitutional rights were violated through excessive use of deadly force, failure to provide timely medical care, and deliberate efforts to suppress public records,” according to a statement sent to reporters on Wednesday. They are also seeking the release of all body camera footage, records and reports related to Martinez’s death.

The Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting.

This article originally published at Texas grand jury votes not to charge ICE agent who shot and killed San Antonio man.