Family, Friends Mourn Slain Security Guard : Violence: Disabled for two years, Bill Martin got a temporary job guarding a fireworks stand to buy his wife an anniversary present. Police have no suspects or motive in his stabbing death.

Unable to work since an accident two years ago, Bill Martin took a job guarding a fireworks stand because he wanted to buy his wife an anniversary present, she and friends said Wednesday.

But Martin’s five-day job turned deadly. On Tuesday about 5 a.m., his body was found near the Red Devil fireworks stand in the Pavilion Plaza parking lot at Brookhurst Street and Chapman Avenue.

To celebrate their anniversary, Donna Martin said, she and her husband had bought roast beef sandwiches at Arby’s and an ice cream cake at Baskin-Robbins. After eating, he took a two-hour nap and then left for work. That was the last time she saw him.

“It was our 15th anniversary on July 3,” she said. “The last thing we said to each other was, ‘I love you, happy anniversary, and goodby.’ ”

Garden Grove police on Wednesday said they are still searching for suspects and a motive for the slaying. There were no witnesses at the scene.

“We don’t know if it was an attempted robbery or not,” Det. Sgt. Doug Morrill said. “Nothing was taken, and no entry was made into the fireworks booth.”

Morrill also said there is no apparent link between Martin’s murder and a robbery at another fireworks stand a few blocks away, which occurred 30 minutes before Martin’s body was found. In the robbery case, two men wearing ski masks and carrying guns took $6,000 in fireworks, after holding up two 16-year-olds who were guarding the stand.

On Wednesday, members of the New Wine Church in Anaheim, where Martin, 36, was a member, gathered to offer support to his wife and their 10-year-old daughter, Virginia. The members, most of them in the church’s “motorcycle ministry,” described Martin as a religious man who enjoyed riding his Harley, and gave 100% to everything he did.

“He was willing to do anything to help out,” said Scott Monson, a member of the church, clad in a black denim vest with “Peacemaker” stitched on the back. “It’s just like him to die protecting a fireworks stand, because that’s just the kind of guy he was.”

Vicky Sundgren, who with her husband supervised the Red Devil fireworks booth, said Martin might have tried to resist the burglars because he was upset that he had failed to prevent a burglary Saturday night. A couple hundred dollars worth of fireworks had been stolen from the booth while he was in the bathroom.

“He kept telling me he was afraid we wouldn’t have him back as a guard,” she said.

Family friend Avery Garey said Martin “was the kind of guy who would have stood his ground,” even though he was under five feet tall.

Donna Martin said her husband’s strong faith in God helped him get through tough times in the past.

Two years ago, he was involved in a motorcycle accident that required him to have hip replacement surgery and left him unable to work full time, his friends said. Before his accident, Martin had worked as a security guard for at least 15 years, his wife said.

“He went from a wheelchair to crutches, from crutches to a cane,” she said, adding that he had been able to walk without any assistance for only the past two to three months.

“He was the kind of person any wife would cherish. He was very loyal to his work. You could depend on him.”

Neighbors and friends said the Martin family struggled financially since his accident. American Promotional Events Inc., which distributes Red Devil Fireworks, has offered a $5,000 reward for information. The company and more than 40 charities and nonprofit groups in Orange County that sell its fireworks have established a trust fund for the Martin family at the Garden Grove branch of Wells Fargo Bank.

Members of the church now are collecting funds to help pay for Martin’s funeral services.

“I know his family is not financially prepared for a circumstance like this,” said Robert Nixon, a pastor at the church. “That’s why we’re trying to help them out.”