A man who shot a Marine Corps veteran at a West Side sport bar last year, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down, has been convicted of aggravated assault and other offenses.
Wilmer Vladimir Ruiz Ortega, 30, faces up to 99 years in prison when he is sentenced on a date yet to be determined.
A Bexar County jury convicted him Friday of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon causing paralysis, aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was found not guilty of aggravated assault of a security officer.
Prosecutors said Ruiz Ortega fired six shots at security guard Jimmy Friesenhahn after Friesenhahn discovered a weapon inside his pants while conducting a pat-down at the entrance to El Patio Sports Bar on May 4, 2025.
Friesenhahn sustained two gunshot wounds in the chest and one in the neck, leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. Ruiz Ortega tried to leave the scene in a vehicle, but other security guards detained him until officers arrived, police said.
The shooting was captured on security camera footage, which was shown to the jury. Friesenhahn, now 45, testified at the trial, speaking in a low, hoarse voice from his wheelchair.
Ruiz Ortega has remained in the Bexar County Jail since his arrest. Jail records show he is being held under a federal immigration detainer, indicating that federal authorities believe he is in the country illegally.
The shooting drew national political attention. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz shared Friesenhahn’s story on X, writing, “My thoughts and prayers are with Jimmy Friesenhahn tonight, a Marine veteran and a Texan, who is fighting for his life after being shot by an illegal alien. His attacker never should’ve been in our country.”
During the trial, defense attorney Alfonso Otero argued that Friesenhahn’s search of his client was unlawful because Friesenhahn lacked the authority to work as a security guard. Otero said Friesenhahn was not employed through a registered security company.
He also said the bar did not have a sign informing patrons that firearms were prohibited. Missy Castillo, owner of El Patio Sports Bar, testified that such a sign was posted inside the entrance.
Court records show Ruiz Ortega was arrested in 2020 on a charge of driving while intoxicated. The charge was later reduced to obstruction of a highway, and he was sentenced to deferred adjudication, a form of probation, in 2022. His probation was revoked in 2024 after he repeatedly failed to appear in court, and a judge later ordered him to serve 35 days in jail.