OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — Relatives and friends are recalling a Navy veteran who was killed outside a Boston bar over St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
“We are heartbroken,” said an emotional Micaela Martinez, who spoke via Zoom about the loss of her little brother, Daniel Martinez.
“When I have kids, he won’t hold my kids. He won’t become the cool uncle I knew he was going to be,” Micaela said in tears.
Martinez, 23, a sailor from Camp Pendleton released in August after serving four years, was in Boston Saturday night for St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
Prosecutors say that for some reason he and a friend were denied admission to a downtown bar and left, before bouncer Alvarro Larrama pursued them. According to prosecutors, there was a scuffle before Larrama stabbed Martinez in the chest.
Martinez was rushed to hospital, where he died. Larama, 38, pleaded not guilty to the murder charges.
Micaela remembers her brother as kind, funny, and outgoing. As a Marine, he rose to the rank of sergeant before leaving.
“He found pride in knowing that he was a help to those in need,” Micaela said.
Micaela says he loved giving to homeless people in San Diego and hosted Thanksgiving for Marines who couldn’t go home.
“Everyone was there at the Airbnb, and they all had Thanksgiving and felt like they were their own family,” Micaela said.
Pendleton Marines set up a GoFundMe campaign for his family, posting comments honoring his memory.
Martinez’s family hopes justice will be served.
“I would like the message to be, for actions to have consequences…. he took away a man who had so much light and love to share and who had shared so much,” Micaela said.
Prosecutors say there is surveillance video showing the attack.
According to relatives, Martinez, who lived in Chicago, intended to go to college, possibly for film production.
Comments are closed.