A key witness in a controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement killing of an American citizen died Saturday in an unrelated vehicle crash, sparking questions as to whether the witness’ passing may “hurt the investigations going forward,” The New York Times reported Monday.
Ruben Ray Martinez, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen, was killed last year by an ICE agent, with the Department of Homeland Security accusing him of having struck an ICE agent with their vehicle. However, DHS’ account of the incident was fiercely disputed by Martinez’ childhood friend, Joshua Orta, who was present during the encounter and claimed neither had offered any resistance to ICE officers’ demands.
On Saturday, Orta died in an unrelated car crash while driving in San Antonio, Texas, with his stepfather confirming his death to the Times on Monday.
“First and foremost, Joshua’s death is an awful tragedy for his family and friends, and the Reyes family is grieving with them,” said Alex Stamm, a lawyer for Martinez’ mother, speaking with the Times.
“In terms of Ruben’s death, the world has also now lost a critical eyewitness. 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.”
Despite occurring last March, Martinez’s death was not reported by DHS at the time, and was only uncovered recently through public record requests, sparking outrage among critics.
DHS stood by its original account of the incident – that the ICE agent had fatally shot Martinez in an act of self-defense – releasing a statement Sunday that the agency stood by its “original statement,” the Times reported.
“He told me that he was involved and that he was going to testify,” said John Arriga in an interview at Orta’s family home in San Antonio on Sunday, the Times reported. “He said, ‘I need to do whatever I have to do because of my friend.’”
