Crucial witness claiming federal agents gave fake account of fatal Texas shooting dies in car crash
Joshua Orta was riding as a passenger in Ruben May Martinez's car in March last year and witnessed federal agents shoot him dead.
A witness who claimed the US government lied about the events which led to the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old driver by federal agents in Texas has died.
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Joshua Orta died in a crash in San Antonio, Texas, a lawyer for Ruben May Martinez’s family said.
Martinez was shot dead at the age of 23 during a traffic stop in Texas in March last year.
Orta was riding as a passenger in Martinez’s car when the pair reportedly encountered a group of local police and federal agents directing traffic around an accident at a busy intersection.
In a lengthy statement to lawyers on behalf of Martinez’s family, Orta rejected the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allegation that the driver “intentionally ran over a Homeland Security Investigation special agent”.
The DHS argued the driver’s alleged actions prompted an agent to fire “defensive shots to protect himself, his fellow agents, and the general public”.
But Mr Orta reportedly claimed Martinez never hit an officer with his vehicle and that their car was “just crawling as we were trying to turn around”.
Read more: New footage shows Alex Pretti clashing with federal agents 11 days before he was shot dead by ICE
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He said that a federal agent fired a shot into the driver’s side window from around two feet away without “giving any warning, commands, or opportunity to comply”, according to the draft affidavit prepared after interviews in September.
Martinez’s death in March 2025 would mark one of at least six fatal shootings by federal agents amid Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
In January, federal agents fatally shot 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.It came just days after the killing of mother-of-three Renee Good was shot dead by ICE in the same state - sparking widespread outrage.
Martinez’s death is now being investigated by the Texas Rangers.
A draft affidavit has suggested Martinez’s family was preparing to file a wrongful death lawsuit over the shooting.
Announcing Orta’s death, Alex Stamm, one of the lawyers representing the family, took the opportunity to redraw attention to Martinez’s killing.
He said: “First and foremost, Joshua’s death is an awful tragedy for his family and friends.
“In terms of Ruben’s death, the world has also now lost a critical eyewitness.”
Mr Stamm claimed Orta’s account confirmed Martinez’s car was barely moving before the HSI officer fired the fatal shot.
He said: “He also told us unequivocally that Ruben did not hit anyone.
"We believe Joshua’s account, and, as we have seen recently in Minneapolis, Chicago and elsewhere, it is critical that the public be shown every piece of evidence in the government’s possession, and that any witness come forward,” he said.
The DHS on Monday said: “We stand by our original statement.”