The only known witness to the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old Texas man by federal agents died in another car crash just days before he was expected to formally sign a statement that contradicted the government’s version of events.Joshua Orta, 25, was fatally shot in South Padre Island on March 15, 2025, when his childhood friend Ruben Ray Martinez was shot and killed while he was sitting in the passenger seat, attorneys confirmed.Horta was scheduled to assist with further investigations into the shooting and sign a sworn statement challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) account.
south padre island shooting
Martinez, 23, was shot and killed during a confrontation that was later confirmed to have involved agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit. ICE’s involvement had not been publicly disclosed at the time of the incident.According to the Department of Homeland Security, agents are assisting the South Padre Island Police Department after a major incident. A spokesman said “the driver of a blue Ford intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigations agent” and left the agent on the hood of the vehicle.“After witnessing the incident, the other agent fired his weapon defensively to protect himself, his fellow agents and the public,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. The driver was taken to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead. The injured agent suffered a knee injury.The Department of Homeland Security identified the deceased as a U.S. citizen from San Antonio and said another man in the car, also a U.S. citizen, has been detained by local police pending charges. That person is Horta.
Horta’s contradictory narrative
In a sworn statement filed with attorneys representing Martinez’s family, Horta described the drive to South Padre Island as “spontaneous” and “relaxing” and said the two friends were preparing to visit others just days after Martinez’s birthday.He claimed that Martinez was driving carefully, did not hit anyone and did not speed dangerously, directly contradicting federal authorities’ claims.“The officer appeared to be trying to get in front of the car and when we tried to turn away, he did not move out of the way as the officer told us,” Horta said in the statement.Horta claimed that a federal agent fired multiple rounds from just a few feet away without warning or giving Martinez a chance to comply. He further claimed that police delayed medical assistance for at least 10 minutes after the shooting.“Following the shooting, law enforcement officers pulled Ruben from the vehicle, where he was apparently unconscious or dead,” Horta wrote. “Nonetheless, they placed him face down on the sidewalk and handcuffed him. At least 10 minutes passed before CPR or other treatment was administered to Ruben.”He also disputed claims that Martinez entered the ambulance lane, assaulted the officer or was in possession of drugs and alcohol.“Ruben was unarmed and non-violent when he was shot, without running away or resisting. His killing was unjust and excessive,” Horta wrote in September.
Call for investigation
Horta’s death intensified calls for an independent investigation into Martinez’s killing. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said on X that he wanted to know why an “eight-month cover-up” occurred.Alex Stamm, an attorney representing Martinez’s family, described Horta’s death as a devastating blow.“First and foremost, Joshua’s death is a terrible tragedy for his family and friends, and the Reyes family grieves with them,” Stam said. “The world has now also lost an important witness to Reuben’s death.”The Texas Department of Public Safety Ranger Division is investigating the shooting.With the only witness gone, attorneys for the Martinez family say key questions about the circumstances leading up to the fatal encounter on South Padre Island remain unanswered.
