{"id":181456,"date":"2026-02-26T16:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/181456\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T16:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:14:12","slug":"grand-jury-votes-not-to-indict-ice-agent-who-shot-san-antonio-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/181456\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand Jury votes not to indict ICE agent who shot San Antonio man"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ICEICE shot and killed Ruben Ray Martinez of San Antonio during a traffic incident nearly a year ago. Credit: Mission Park Funerals and Chapel Cemetary<\/p>\n

A grand jury on Wednesday declined to indict an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent who shot and killed<\/a> San Antonio man Ruben Ray Martinez last year while he was visiting South Padre Island, the Texas Tribune reports. <\/p>\n

Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz said his office presented the case Wednesday and the South Texas jury voted not to proceed because it couldn\u2019t find probable cause, according to the online publication. Prosecutors rarely pursue a criminal case after a grand jury declines an indictment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

An ICE officer fatally shot 23-year-old Martinez on March 15, 2025, while helping direct traffic at the site of a South Padre Island auto accident, according to an internal report obtained by Newsweek. Federal officials said the officer opened fire after Martinez refused to comply with commands and struck an agent with his car. The agent was taken to the hospital and released, according to the report.<\/p>\n

ICE\u2019s involvement in the shooting didn\u2019t come to light until this month, when watchdog group American Oversight publicly released a trove of documents on the embattled federal agency. <\/p>\n

Beyond the delay in details, the passenger in Martinez\u2019s car, Joshua Orta, 25, contradicted the feds\u2019 account<\/a> of the shooting in a written statement supplied to attorneys. Orta \u2014\u00a0who died last weekend in a separate car crash \u2014 said Martinez complied with commands and never struck the ICE officer, adding that the agent fired \u201cwithout giving any warning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez was at Padre Island last year celebrating his birthday, a spokesperson for Rachel Reyes, Martinez\u2019s mother, told the Tribune.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRuben\u2019s family is devastated,\u201d attorneys with Thompson Stam and Hayes Law, the firms representing Reyes, said in a statement to the news site. \u201cThey are proud Americans, strong supporters of law enforcement, and Trump voters. They believe there are honest and decent officers out there. They just want to be treated honestly and decently.\u201d<\/p>\n

Call for DPS disclosure <\/p>\n

The attorneys also said it\u2019s unclear whether the jury saw Orta\u2019s statement about the shooting.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we do not know if they were shown video of an ICE agent dragging Ruben onto the ground and handcuffing him immediately after shooting him three times,\u201d the lawyers told the Tribune.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that it is essential now that the Texas Department of Public Safety publicly disclose the full findings of their investigation, so that Ruben\u2019s family and the public can determine for themselves whether ICE\u2019s story is accurate and why Ruben was killed that night,\u201d the attorneys continued in the statement.<\/p>\n

San Antonio elected officials including Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro and Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones have called for a congressional investigation<\/a> into Martinez\u2019s death. The congressman further argued that the Texas Rangers and the Texas Department of Public Safety were actively involved in covering up ICE\u2019s involvement. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very unusual that for almost a year they would not disclose that an ICE agent shot and killed this person,\u201d Castro said during a recent call with reporters. <\/p>\n

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