Couple faces murder, accessory charges in road rage death of young boy

The suspects arrested in the deadly road rage shooting of a 6-year-old boy in Southern California are facing murder and accessory charges, officials announced Tuesday.

The Orange County District Attorney’s office said Marcus Anthony Eriz is facing charges for murder and shooting at an occupied vehicle in the boy’s death. His girlfriend, Wynne Lee, was charged with being an accessory after the fact and illegally carrying a concealed firearm.

Six-year-old Aiden Leos was shot and killed last month while in the rear passenger seat of a car while his mother, Joanna Cloonan, drove him to kindergarten. 

Authorities have said that they believe Eriz fired the shot that killed Leos, and Lee was driving the car. 

“With respect to the charges against both, I absolutely am convinced they’re rock solid,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer told reporters during a press conference.

Spitzer added that officials do not believe evidence shows there were other accessories or accomplices linked to Leos’s death.

Orange County Board of Supervisors member Don Wagner (R) on Tuesday thanked law enforcement and community members for their work on the shooting.

“I did want to take just a moment to come here and … thank the community. The bottom line here is that I am aware that the DA’s office and the (California Highway Patrol) has been working on this case literally around the clock,” Wagner said.

Cloonan and other bystanders have said Cloonan made a hand gesture to a vehicle that cut her off while driving on a Southern California freeway. The vehicle then drove behind her and fired shots into her vehicle, according to reports.

After Eriz and Lee were arrested Monday, California Highway Patrol Commissioner (CHP) Amanda Ray said in a statement that “While these arrests will not ease the pain of a mother’s loss, my hope is for the Leos family to have some peace of mind and to rest assured the CHP will work with the Orange County District Attorney to bring justice for Aiden.”