A Marine combat veteran left paralyzed by an illegal immigrant with a rap sheet is now hospitalized with blood clot complications — and may not be able to testify at his alleged attacker's trial next week, his family says.
Jimmy Friesenhahn, who served multiple overseas deployments, was working security at El Patio Sports Bar in San Antonio on May 4 when he spotted a firearm in 29-year-old Wilmer Vladimir Ruiz Ortega's pocket and tried to stop him from entering. A struggle ensued. Ortega allegedly fired multiple rounds, striking Friesenhahn twice in his bulletproof vest and once in the neck. The neck wound left him paralyzed, unable to speak, and in need of full-time medical care.
Ortega is a Honduran national who had been arrested at least four times in Texas before the shooting — DWI in October 2020, probation violation in August 2023, and twice for failing to appear in court, including November 2024. He had active warrants. Nobody acted on them.
"His last court appearance was in March 2025, and Jimmy was shot on May 4, 2025," said Emmanuel Martinez, Friesenhahn's brother-in-law. "At that point, the DA's office should have complied with removal orders and turned him over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement."
Friesenhahn's sister Becky Borjon put it plainly: "This guy was arrested multiple times, released on bond, and never reported. He had active warrants for repeated offenses while missing court appearances. Those warrants should have been acted upon, and maybe we wouldn't be here today. This guy should have been returned to his country."
Instead, Ortega walked free until he put a bullet in a Marine's neck. Now Friesenhahn is hospitalized indefinitely after complications from an August 28 surgery, and his family is hoping he'll still be able to take the stand when jury selection begins October 20.
It's not an isolated failure. In Fairfax County, Virginia, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala named Anibal Armando Chavarria Muy was indicted Friday for second-degree murder after allegedly confessing to stabbing 32-year-old Hugo Romero Vasquez with a machete during a March argument. Chavarria Muy, 39, had been charged in Arlington in November 2024 with assault and battery after a woman accused him of punching and trying to strangle her. That charge was dismissed under Virginia's accord-and-satisfaction law — a mechanism allowing victims to settle certain misdemeanor charges through restitution. DHS confirmed Chavarria Muy is in the country illegally. ICE has lodged a detainer with the Fairfax County Sheriff's Office. His trial is set for February 2027.
Fairfax County's top prosecutor is Steve Descano, a progressive reformer who ran on reducing incarceration. His office announced the indictment Friday. WJLA reported the facts of the case; Fox News focused its coverage on Friesenhahn's condition and the family's demand for accountability — and the question of why Ortega was still on American streets after four arrests.
The pattern is clear: illegal immigrants with criminal records are arrested, released, and arrested again — until someone ends up dead or paralyzed. The Bexar County DA had multiple chances to flag Ortega for removal. Arlington had a chance to press forward on an assault charge against Chavarria Muy. In both cases, the system chose the path of least resistance. A Marine now can't speak. A man is dead.
Ortega has been charged with aggravated assault against a security officer and illegal entry into the United States. Friesenhahn's family says they want the case prosecuted to the fullest extent. The question nobody in power is answering: why did it take a paralyzed veteran to get there?
