Ruiz Ortega Convicted in Shooting Case

PHOTO CAPTION: Marine veteran Jimmy Friesenhahn, who was left paralyzed after being shot while working security at a San Antonio bar, is pictured in a wheelchair following the attack. A Bexar County jury convicted Wilmer Vladimir Ruiz Ortega on multiple aggravated assault charges in the shooting. Photo courtesy of the Friesenhahn family via GoFundMe.

A Texas jury has convicted the man who shot a Marine veteran working security at a San Antonio bar, leaving him paralyzed after a struggle over a handgun.
Wilmer Vladimir Ruiz Ortega, 30, was found guilty Friday on multiple aggravated assault counts stemming from the May 4, 2025, shooting of veteran Jimmy Friesenhahn.
Friesenhahn was working security at El Patio Sports Bar on San Antonio's West Side when Ruiz Ortega approached the entrance.
Friesenhahn testified that he was licensed to work security and had been hired directly by the bar.
During a pat-down, Friesenhahn discovered that Ruiz Ortega was carrying a handgun.
Surveillance video shown to jurors captured the encounter developing into a struggle before shots were fired.
Friesenhahn was shot three times.
Police and previous court reporting said two rounds struck him in the chest but were stopped by his protective vest. A third struck him in the neck, causing catastrophic spinal injuries and leaving him paralyzed. KSAT
Friesenhahn survived.
The veteran had served four tours in Iraq with the Marine Corps and later also served in the Army, according to previous reporting.
He has said that during the confrontation he initially drew his own firearm but decided against starting a gunfight because other people could have been put at risk.
Instead, Friesenhahn said he attempted to physically take the gun away from Ruiz Ortega.
He later recalled being shot in the throat before losing consciousness.
Doctors initially did not expect him to survive.
More than a year later, Friesenhahn entered the courtroom in a wheelchair and testified against the man who shot him.
When KSAT asked what he felt upon seeing Ruiz Ortega during the trial, Friesenhahn gave a one-word response.
“Anger.”
The jury ultimately convicted Ruiz Ortega of multiple aggravated assault offenses, including aggravated assault with a weapon causing paralysis, aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
A separate charge accusing him of aggravated assault against a security officer was dropped Friday. KSAT
Ruiz Ortega now faces up to life in prison.
His legal problems do not end with the state convictions.
KSAT previously reported that Ruiz Ortega was in the United States without legal status and that he also faces federal immigration proceedings.
Court records reviewed by the station showed he had previously been arrested in Bexar County.
A 2020 driving while intoxicated charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor offense. Ruiz Ortega also failed to appear in court multiple times, and a previous deferred adjudication was revoked in 2024. KSAT
He has also faced a federal firearm charge related to possession of a firearm while lacking legal immigration status. KSAT
The verdict marks a major turn in a case that Friesenhahn and his family have spent more than a year waiting to see resolved.
Earlier this year, Friesenhahn said justice to him would mean seeing Ruiz Ortega receive a life sentence.
He said the shooting had already handed him one of his own.
Ruiz Ortega has now been convicted.
His sentence has not yet been imposed.