Background: A family member holds a classroom decoration and ID from El Monte Middle School teacher Sergio Martin of California, who was shot inside his home multiple times during a burglary in November 2023. YouTube screengrab ABC affiliate KFSN./ Inset: Top, Joseph Garcia booking photo. Bottom, Jorge Arrieta, Dinuba Police Department; Garcia and Arrieta are two of three suspects allegedly involved in Martin’s slaying.
Authorities in California have arrested a 16-year-old male in connection with the murder of a longtime middle school Spanish teacher, Sergio Martin, and have also announced charges for two adults allegedly connected to the fatal burglary just ahead of Thanksgiving last year.
Sergio Martin, 50, was a teacher for Cutler-Orosi Joint School District. He was found dead inside his Dinuba, California, home from multiple gunshot wounds on Nov. 6., 2023, according to a statement from the Tulare County District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigations. Dinuba is located in Central California, some 200 miles north of Los Angeles.
Police did not disclose the name of the male charged with murder and noted only that he cannot be tried as an adult because he was 15 years old at the time of the alleged crime. The teenager was arrested on April 24.
The adults who will be tried in the case are Jorge Luis Arrieta, 21, and Joseph Angel Garcia, 20. The Tulare District Attorney’s office said they will be charged with felony second-degree burglary and felony accessory after the fact. The district attorney also said both are charged with allegedly entering Martin’s home after the murder last November.
Arrieta faces a misdemeanor charge of receiving stolen property, too.
Arrieta and Garcia were arrested on April 26. Only Arietta remains in jail; Garcia posted bail and returns to court for his arraignment on May 22. A review of publicly available court records in Tulare county shows Arietta’s next court date is scheduled for June 11.
According to USA Today, a vigil was held for Martin following his death with many students expressing their love for the man who taught Spanish for 17 years at El Monte Middle School.
His family members, including one cousin, told local ABC affiliate KFSN that Martin was a passionate and caring teacher and person.
“Someday we will meet up again … he’s just gone too soon,” a cousin to Martin said.
“I can’t believe he’s not going to be here for the holidays, we’re going to miss him so much. That’s something we will never get used to,” she added.
Yolanda Valdez, the superintendent for the Cutler-Orosi school district told California NBC and CBS outlets KSEE/KGPE: “All you need to do is walk onto campus and in every room you will find something that commemorates Mr. Martin.”
Martin’s father died this spring and he is survived by his mother, Hilda Martin.
“I just want to let Hilda know that our hearts to go out to her,” Valdez said.
Police said when they found Martin in his home, he had gunshots along his upper body. An investigation is still ongoing.
Five months ago, the teenager allegedly involved was arrested for the first time in connection to Martin’s case. He was released after questioning though still considered a suspect, KFSN reported.
Attorneys for Arrieta and Garcia did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
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