Orta’s death Saturday came as federal and state agencies continue reviewing a fatal shooting in Texas that a family of the slain man says did not match the government’s version of events, according to court-related statements and investigators’ public comments. San Antonio Police said a 25-year-old man died after a vehicle crashed into a curved highway exit and slammed into a utility pole, and passengers escaped the burning car but could not pull the driver out.
The lawyer for Martinez’s mother identified the man killed as Joshua Orta. Alex Stamm said first “First and foremost, Joshua’s death is an awful tragedy for his family and friends,” and added that in terms of Ruben’s death, “the world has also now lost a critical eyewitness.”
The case traces to last year’s encounter involving Ruben Ray Martinez and federal agents directing traffic around an accident at a busy intersection. According to a draft statement prepared after interviews in September, Orta said he and Martinez had been on a Spring Break trip to South Padre Island to meet friends, and that after having drinks and attending a pool party and other stops, they arrived at the scene where police and federal agents were present.
In that account, Orta said Martinez did not hit an officer and that their car was moving slowly as they tried to turn in the traffic. Orta said a local officer told them to turn around and leave, while another officer slapped the hood and appeared to move in front of the car. Orta also said that multiple officers surrounded the vehicle, yelled for them to stop, and drew guns, and that he believed the officers were not in danger because Martinez “never hit the gas.”
Orta’s draft statement further disputed how the shooting began. He said an officer by the open driver’s side window fired without warning so close that bullet casings ejected from the weapon landed inside the car, and that he heard Martinez say “I’m sorry” as Orta’s friend slumped backward unconscious. Orta also said federal agents pulled Martinez from the car and handcuffed him and waited at least 10 minutes before medical aid, according to the draft affidavit described by the family’s lawyers.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, by contrast, said in its statement that Martinez “intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigation special agent,” and that the other agent fired “defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public.” The Associated Press reported that DHS did not publicly disclose that an agent pulled the trigger for 11 months after the shooting.
Orta’s account, and the family’s statements about it, have fed into whether Martinez’s actions were consistent with DHS’s description. The lawyer for Martinez’s family said Orta’s account confirmed Martinez’s car was barely moving when the officer opened fire, and Martinez’s mother, Rachel Reyes, told AP last week that her son was shot three times. Reyes also said an investigator from the Texas Rangers obtained videos of the shooting that she said undermined the claim that her son tried to run over the agent.
The Texas Rangers confirmed last week they are investigating the shooting, but the agency did not respond Monday about whether it interviewed Orta before his death. Lawyers for Reyes said Orta was the man killed Saturday, and the draft affidavit indicated Martinez’s family is preparing to file a wrongful death lawsuit related to the earlier shooting.
The dispute over what happened during the Texas shooting comes amid scrutiny of similar federal shootings during President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement push. AP reported that Martinez’s death would mark at least six deadly shootings by federal officers since the start of the crackdown, and the story noted that a past incident in Minneapolis involved an initial government attempt to portray a driver as a “domestic terrorist” that drew questions after videos emerged.
Lawyers for the Martinez family said they are pressing for public access to evidence and for witnesses to come forward in cases where they believe government accounts do not match the record. Stamm, speaking about Orta’s draft account and the family’s efforts, said in an interview that Orta told the lawyers “unequivocally” that Ruben “did not hit anyone,” and said the public needs “every piece of evidence in the government’s possession” and that “any witness come forward.”