Ruben Ray Martinez Update: Passenger in ICE Shooting Dies in Car Crash 

The only passenger in the car with Ruben Ray Martinez when he was fatally shot by an ICE agent in South Texas last year has died in a separate car accident, attorneys told Newsweek.

Joshua Orta, 25, a close friend who was with Martinez during the shooting and the only known eyewitness, had planned to formally sign a statement and assist with further inquiries into the incident before he was killed over the weekend in an unrelated highway collision near San Antonio, according to Martinez’s family attorney.

Martinez, 23, was shot and killed on March 15, 2025, in South Padre Island, Texas, during an encounter with federal agents that authorities later confirmed involved a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations unit—an involvement that was not publicly disclosed at the time.

This is a developing story. More to follow.