Body camera videos released from the fatal shooting of Ruben Ray Martinez, a U.S. citizen, by a federal immigration agent, have cast doubt on the Department of Homeland Security’s version of events.
Martinez was shot while celebrating his birthday on South Padre Island in March 2025. The killing did not gain national attention until months later. Body camera footage was released by the Texas Department of Public Safety on Friday after public records requests from multiple media outlets.
A Texas grand jury declined to charge Homeland Security Investigations Supervisory Special Agent Jack Stevens, the agent who shot Martinez.
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The Department of Homeland Security said Martinez intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigations special agent, putting him on the hood of the vehicle.
“Upon witnessing this, another agent fired defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public,” a DHS spokesperson previously told Straight Arrow News.
Videos released Friday, though, don’t show Martinez’s car hitting an agent. One video starts at the scene of a car crash, with multiple cars around. Federal agents were present, which the Texas Tribune noted is common, as South Padre Island is a border community about 30 miles from Mexico.
As officers tried to redirect traffic, Martinez’s car, a blue Ford Fusion, pulled up very slowly, even appearing to stop at one point before reaching an intersection. An agent yelled “Stop him” and “Get him out” before opening fire three times. Martinez was then pulled out of the car, and thrown to the ground by an ICE agent face down.
Lawyers for Martinez’s family said that the footage and other documents don’t support the Trump administration’s statements.
“This batch of evidence shows no justification for Ruben’s killing,” Charles Stam and Alex Stamm, attorneys for Martinez’s mother, said in a joint statement, according to the Texas Tribune. “We, and the public, have yet to see all of the evidence held by the government.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement that it stands by the grand jury’s decision.
“This incident was investigated from every possible angle by an independent body, and it cleared our officer,” ICE said.
A written statement by Joshua Orta, who was in the car with Martinez, was previously shared with Straight Arrow News. His recollection contradicts what DHS said about the shooting.
Orta wrote they had a “few drinks” at a condo and hung out at a pool party, then went to Whataburger before approaching the accident. He said a local police officer saw an open alcohol container in the back of the car, and told the two to turn around and leave. An officer approached the car, slapped the hood and tried to get in front of the vehicle, Orta said.
While being questioned by a Department of Public Safety officer, Orta said the car didn’t hit the officer.
“He kind of like, you know what I mean, caught his feet,” Orta said. “It was just slowly moving and they started shooting.”
Martinez, Orta said, didn’t know what to do and “definitely didn’t want to go to jail.”
“As far as running over an officer, endangering, he wouldn’t do that,” Orta said.
Orta died last month in a single-car crash in San Antonio, which Stamm called an “awful tragedy.”
Martinez’s mom speaks out
In an interview with CBS News, Rachel Reyes said she wants to know what happened and why federal agents feel the shooting was justified.
“I’m not a mother in denial. I’m just a mother in doubt, because I know my son and I know he’s not a threat,” Reyes told the news outlet.
She said she doesn’t blame President Donald Trump for her son’s death because “he wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger.” However, Reyes added that something needs to be changed in that department as far as the pattern of violence or abuse and impunity.”
“[My son] was not a violent person. He was not aggressive,” she said.
