A Marine Corps veteran from Texas who was left paralyzed and without a voice after being allegedly shot by a criminal illegal immigrant has since regained a portion of his ability to speak and shared his first message since the attack exclusively with The Daily Wire.
Jimmy Friesenhahn, 44, was working as a security guard at the El Patio Sports Bar in San Antonio in May when he found a pistol in the pocket of a man he was patting down. When the Marine veteran tried to confiscate the gun, the man, later identified by authorities as Wilmer Vladimir Ortega Ruiz, 29, allegedly resisted, and the two engaged in a scuffle.
Credit: Jennie Taer for The Daily Wire
Friesenhahn has since undergone seven surgeries and has regained the ability to speak at a whisper. Before his latest battle, Friesenhahn served 14 years in the Marines, surviving multiple overseas deployments, including to Iraq.
He now faces a new fight as he navigates life in a wheelchair and tries to gain any small forms of independence.
When asked to share his first message with the public, Friesenhahn offered a sobering account of what life has been like since the shooting, which he said he remembers clearly, and had some choice words for the man who left him paralyzed.
“I don’t think it’s fair that he can do this and get away with it, and I am left with all these disabilities, or for him to get a reduced sentence when I’ve been sentenced to a wheelchair for the rest of my life,” Friesenhahn said.
He went on to speak directly to the man he believes tried to kill him that fateful day.
“I hope one day you’ll go through the same thing I went through, or you spend the rest of your life behind bars and remember what you did. This has affected a lot of other people, not just myself, but my family and friends and coworkers,” he said.
The illegal immigrant, who federal law enforcement sources say snuck across the border without detection, was first arrested in San Antonio for a DWI in October 2020, according to court records. Authorities released him on a personal recognizance bond, and he never appeared for his later court date.
The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office later downgraded the DWI charge to obstructing a passageway, which Ortega Ruiz pleaded guilty to. He later violated his probation and was arrested again in August 2023.
Ortega Ruiz was released again after posting a $1,500 bond and never appeared for his later court hearing.
Authorities arrested him for a third time in September 2023 before he posted a $1,500 bond and again failed to show up to court.
His fourth arrest took place in November 2024. He was sentenced to time served three weeks later.
At one point, Ortega Ruiz was allegedly tied to an assault investigation after his girlfriend claimed he physically attacked her. The illegal immigrant ran from the scene and was never captured for the alleged crime, law enforcement sources said.
Friesenhahn directed a message to President Donald Trump, who he believes can ensure the illegal immigrant stays behind bars.
“For President Trump, I would say this: the fact that this person was locked up four times and released, and our justice system seems to fail our citizens, what does that say? You’re not a citizen of the United States, and we won’t let you walk away,” Friesenhahn said.
“I want to thank President Trump for working so hard to secure our borders and putting the American citizens first. Many people have been hurt or killed because of the unsecured border and soft-on-crime practices. Americans deserve to be protected, and President Trump is helping to make sure this happens,” he said.
The Marine vet also made clear that he doesn’t want Trump to deport the alleged shooter.
“Do not deport him, but have harsher punishments for those who commit crimes in this country because if we commit a crime in [another] country, I guarantee you they would not … deport us, we would do the time there, and it would not be the same.
“In my case and in any other case, and victims who have been victimized by illegal immigrants, I say you do the crime, you pay the time in that country.”
The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office has only pursued aggravated assault charges against the illegal immigrant.
Both Friesenhahn and his family are outraged with the charges, arguing that the illegal immigrant’s alleged crimes rise to attempted murder and that he should be behind bars for life.
“It seems as if the district attorney’s office here is just trying to clear their backlog without serving true justice to victims and their families. There have been many recent cases dismissed or even lenient probations established where there should have been jail time. We await trial and sentencing, or even, more so, anxiously await a poor deal where the shooter receives a low sentence of twenty years or less,” his brother-in-law Emmanuel Martinez told The Daily Wire.
In an attempt to ensure the illegal immigrant faces justice, the federal government has hit Ortega Ruiz with charges for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer to ensure he’s not released onto the streets again.
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