Newly released videos showing the fatal shooting of a US citizen by a federal immigration agent in Texas last year call into question assertions by the Department of Homeland Security that a driver intentionally rammed an agent with his car immediately before he was killed. The videos, some from officer body cameras, offer the first visual account of the shooting of Ruben Ray Martinez, 23, during a beach trip in South Padre Island last year. Hours of footage and other law enforcement records were released Friday following a public records request from the AP and other news outlets.
The Texas Rangers closed their investigation into the March 15, 2025, shooting after a grand jury declined last week to file any criminal charges against Homeland Security Investigations Supervisory Special Agent Jack Stevens, who fired the fatal shots, according to records released by the Texas Department of Public Safety. In a written statement included in the files, Stevens said he fired to protect his fellow agents, police officers and the public from what he feared was a terrorist attack intended to cause mass casualties. A DHS spokesperson said last month that the HSI agent fired defensive shots after the driver "intentionally ran over" his fellow agent, "resulting in him being on the hood of the vehicle." The newly released body camera videos, taken from behind Martinez's car, do not clearly show the vehicle striking an agent.
Another video shows Joshua Orta, who was riding in the car with Martinez, telling investigators that his friend had not intended to harm federal officers but had panicked because he feared getting arrested for driving while intoxicated. "He didn't know what to do. Like he definitely didn't want to go to jail," Orta said. "But as far as like running over an officer ... he wouldn't do that." Spokespersons for DHS did not respond to requests for comment about the videos. The full AP report can be found here.
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