Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz announced a grand jury has issued a 'no bill' regarding the case of the officer-involved shooting at South Padre Island in March 2025.

A 'no bill' means the grand jury reviewed evidence presented and decided there is insufficient probable cause to charge a person and preventing the case from going to trial.

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"Today, The Cameron County District Attorney's office presented the March 15, 2025, Officer Involved Shooting to the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury, thereafter, issued a no bill on the case," a press release from Saenz's office stated.

Additional details were not provided. 

The shooting of Ruben Ray Martinez on March 15, 2025, in South Padre Island by a Homeland Security Investigations agent wasn't publicly disclosed until other media outlets reported it last week. 

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Martinez attempted to run over a federal agent and a second agent fired his weapon.

According to the Associated Press, Martinez's passenger, Joshua Orta, said in a draft affidavit that Martinez did not hit an officer with his vehicle. Orta said their car was “just crawling” and that a federal agent fired into the driver’s side window without “giving any warning, commands, or opportunity to comply."

Orta died in a car crash last weekend.

READ ALSO: Witness who saw friend fatally shot by immigration agent at South Padre Island last year dies in car accident

The draft affidavit states that Orta said that he and Martinez were first approached by a police officer who told them to leave. As they tried turning, another officer approached, slapped the hood and “seemed to be trying to get in front of the car,” it added.

Officers surrounded the vehicle yelling at them to stop and drawing their guns, the draft affidavit said, adding that Martinez was “only crawling," and never hit an officer or the gas.

An officer near the driver side window then pulled his weapon and fired without warning, the draft affidavit said, and Orta recounted hearing Martinez say “I'm sorry” as he slumped backward unconscious.

Attorneys who were working with Martinez's family released the following statement regarding the grand jury's decision:

"After a year defined by a persistent lack of transparency since Ruben Ray Martinez was shot and killed by an ICE officer, once again, his family is left in the dark by yet another event. Today’s process was private. We do not know what information was presented to the grand jury in that secret proceeding. We do not know what video evidence they were shown, if any. We do not know if they were shown any statement from eyewitness Joshua Orta, who was clear in a thorough firsthand statement that Ruben’s car was moving slowly and did not hit anyone. And we do not know if they were shown video of an ICE agent dragging Ruben onto the ground and handcuffing him immediately after shooting him three times.  

Ruben’s family is devastated. They are proud Americans, strong supporters of law enforcement, and Trump voters.  They believe there are honest and decent officers out there.  They just want to be treated honestly and decently. We believe that it is essential now that the Texas Department of Public Safety publicly disclose the full findings of their investigation, so that Ruben’s family and the public can determine for themselves whether ICE’s story is accurate and why Ruben was killed that night. We have sought that information, and we will continue to do so, and urge any witness with information about that evening to contact the law firms of Thompson Stam or Hayes Law. Our work continues unabated. Today’s event changes nothing."

The shooting remains under investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety Ranger Division.