Loved ones demand justice after 20-year-old father-to-be killed in Pomona shooting

POMONA, Calif. (KABC) -- Family members and loved ones of a delivery driver are searching for answers after the young father-to-be was shot and killed in Pomona.

The investigation into the murder is ongoing, and police tell Eyewitness News they may have some leads in the case. But as the killer remains on the streets, the victim's family is demanding justice and sharing more about the young man they say was taken from them too soon.

Through tears, the heartbroken mother of 20-year-old Maximo Sanchez remembered her first-born son as God-fearing and hard-working.

"He was an amazing son, very loveable, very caring... I'm going to miss his smile," said Martha Sanchez.

Sanchez was fatally shot early Friday morning. Pomona police and the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to a call shortly after 4:30 a.m. for a gunshot victim outside the Pala Motel.

Sanchez was pronounced dead at the scene.

His family says he had been out delivering for Uber Eats - a part-time job he'd just started as he prepared financially to welcome a son.

Sanchez's pregnant fiance says she'd sometimes accompany him on deliveries, and recalled the last time she saw him alive.

"He asked me if I wanted to go with him, but before I could even answer him, he just said never mind, that he would go alone," said Cecilia Herrera.

"Sometimes I wish I was with him... he didn't have to go through it alone," she added.

As police search for a suspect and motive, Sanchez's family gathered Monday at a park in Upland for a balloon release in his memory.

"We're all going to miss him a lot... He was like my twin. We did everything together," said the victim's sister, Victoria Sanchez.

Anybody with information about the murder is asked to contact Pomona police.