Family and friends remember teacher shot and killed at Dinuba home

TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- There aren't enough words for family and friends to describe Sergio Martin.

The 50-year-old El Monte Middle School teacher touched so many lives and his sudden loss ripples across several communities.

Dinuba police say early Monday morning, they found Martin dead in his home from multiple gunshot wounds.

While it's been a difficult week. listening to his favorite tunes Friday night, family and friends came together to remember him.

"It's nice to see everybody, a lot of sad faces, were just sad but we're talking about all the good memories," said Martin's cousin, Wendy Gonzales. "It is sad but it does warm my heart that so many people love him."

From pins to shirts, they are doing what they can to keep his legacy alive.

"We have the year that he was born, and the year that he passed away. So it's just something that we have to honor his memory, Dodgers, which again, he was a die-hard fan," said Chris Velasco, Martin's colleague.

Emilio Botello is one of Martin's close friends and says if you knew him, there were just a few things that mattered most to him.

"There's three things I can say he would consistently talk about, it was his mom, it was his dad, his dogs and it was his vinyl records at home," said Emilio Botello, Martin's friend.

Botello added it was special to continue the celebration in his backyard, where he often talked with Martin about life and the students he cared so much about.

"Beyond his teachings and in the classroom, he's affected many kids, but to adults that's not that easy, its not that easy and he's done that," said Botello.

One of those people he's left an impact on is Alexa Quezada she was not only his student, but three years ago she became his co-worker and he encouraged her every step of the way.

"He was so proud that his student came back and now is his co-worker. He would be, every day whenever I had a rough day, he would always check in on me, give me advice, and just support me in any way that he could," explained Quezada.

While everyone will miss having his presence in the classroom, they will never forget the affection he gave those around him.

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