“In fact, what you see when the bullets ring out and go through Ruben’s torso, what you see are the brake lights on,” said Attorney Butch Hayes.
SAN ANTONIO — Newly released body camera footage from the Texas Department of Public Safety is providing a closer look at the moments leading up to a fatal shooting by a federal immigration officer during Spring Break on South Padre Island last year.
The video captures the early morning shooting of 23-year-old Ruben Ray Martinez of San Antonio on March 15, 2025, after he drove up to the scene of a car accident.
Authorities previously said an officer with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement fired when Martinez’s vehicle sped toward law enforcement, posing a threat. But an attorney representing Martinez’s family says the newly released footage contradicts that account.
“Their justification for killing Ruben was that Ruben was a danger to them,” said attorney Butch Hayes, who represents Martinez’s mother. “The video does not support that at all. In fact, when the bullets ring out and go through Ruben’s torso, what you see are the brake lights on.”
The footage released by DPS was recorded by a trooper at the scene, not the ICE officer who fired the shots.
According to Hayes, Martinez had spoken with several officers after arriving at the crash scene and was told to follow the flow of traffic. Hayes said an officer later shouted for others to stop the vehicle from roughly 100 feet away.
“There’s no chance that Ruben could have heard that,” Hayes said.
Martinez’s best friend, Joshua Orta, was in the car at the time of the shooting and previously disputed law enforcement’s account.
In a witness statement provided to attorneys in September, Orta said an officer approached Martinez’s vehicle and instructed him to turn around and leave the area. As Martinez attempted to do so, a DPS trooper stood in front of the car and did not move out of the way, according to the statement.
Orta said he then saw officers draw their weapons. He told attorneys that Martinez never accelerated and that officers were not in danger.
Last week, a grand jury in Cameron County declined to indict the ICE officer involved in the shooting, finding no probable cause for criminal charges.
Orta did not have the opportunity to testify before the grand jury. He died in a car crash in San Antonio in February.
“He would have testified to that grand jury down in Cameron County if he were given the opportunity,” Hayes said. “That Ruben didn’t hit anyone, didn’t intend to harm anyone and wasn’t going fast.”
Hayes also raised concerns about what happened immediately after the shooting. He said ICE officers had conversations with each other about the incident and were able to review video footage before giving official statements.
The attorney also claims eight seconds are missing from the body camera video released by DPS.
Hayes said Martinez’s family is still seeking answers and that legal action remains possible, though no lawsuit has been filed, and wouldn’t be filed prematurely.
“We owe it to Rachel and her family, and to Ruben’s memory to figure that out,” Hayes said. “We’re convinced now more than ever that we need to fully understand what happened that night.”
Hayes added that he believes additional video footage of the incident may exist and hopes to speak with other eyewitnesses who were on South Padre Island during the shooting.
Hayes also added that Martinez’s mother, Rachel Reyes, has enormous respect for law enforcement.
“We do too. We think there are so many really well-intended, excellent, hardworking, brave, honest law enforcement officers out there, and my concern is that what I’m seeing here, could, if it turns out to be what really happened, this could be an exception.” Said Hayes.
In a statement released Saturday evening, ICE officials said the agency stands by the grand jury’s decision:
“We stand by the grand jury’s unanimous decision that found no criminality,” the agency said. “This incident was investigated from every possible angle by an independent body, and it cleared our officer.”
According to the investigative report done by the Texas Rangers which included analysis of multiple body cameras, footage shows Martinez “holding a bottle of Crown Royal Whiskey” and “rolling toward an officers location.”
Officers yell “where are you going” and “stop him.” At this point, an officer directing traffic “was directly in front of the Fusion” and “only one-half a car length away.”
Martinez “rolled forward and made an immediate left turn.” The agent then “appears to move as if he were on the vehicles hood.”