Road rage killer gets 40 years to life for shooting boy, 6, dead as youngster sat in moving car
A traffic killer who fatally shot a six-year-old boy on a California highway after the child’s mother gave him the middle finger was sentenced Friday to 40 years to life in prison.
Marcus Eriz, 27, was convicted in Orange County Superior Court of killing Aiden Leos in May 2021, as the boy was taken to preschool at Freeway 55 in Orange County.
In January, a jury convicted Eriz of manslaughter and shooting into an occupied motor vehicle.
In a tearful apology, the killer addressed Aiden’s family and the rest of the court before being led away in handcuffs.
“I would like to start by saying that Aiden looked like a beautiful, precious, sweet and happy little boy,” Eriz said.
Aiden Leos (pictured) was killed while being taken to kindergarten by his mother
Marcus Eriz (here you can see his apology statement read in court) fired his Glock in a fit of rage. His girlfriend, Wynne Lee, was driving and had cut off Aiden’s mother, who then gave them the middle finger. Eriz responded by firing his gun. His bullet traveled through the trunk of the car before hitting Aiden in the chest
Aiden’s mother testified that she heard something hitting her car (pictured) before Aiden screamed. When she turned around, the little boy slumped over
He continued, βHe was a son, a brother and a friend to others. He looked like he was brightening the world everywhere he went, and truly one of God’s little angels.β
At that moment, Eriz’s voice began to crack and he adjusted his glasses.
βI’m so sorry I ever hurt him and for the pain he endured because of me. He never deserved it and neither did his family.β
On May 21, 2021, Joanna Cloonan was taking her son Aiden Leos to preschool when a white Volkswagen SportWag cut her off in the carpool lane.
According to Cloonan’s testimony, after cutting her off, Eriz’s girlfriend, Wynne Lee, who was driving the vehicle, showed her a “peace sign.”
βI didn’t want to be around these people,β Cloonan said. βI left the carpool lane. We sat next to each other. I made a gesture. And I started to separate myself from them.β
That “gesture” was the middle finger, and it was a gesture that Cloonan would “regret beyond words,” as one prosecutor put it.
Cloonan further testified that after giving Eriz and Lee the middle finger, she made eye contact with Eriz, who was sitting in the front passenger seat.
βHe looked at me and smiled after the gesture,β Cloonan said.
Moments later she heard a crash, followed by a scream from her son Aiden. She turned around and saw the six-year-old boy slumped over in his chair.
The distressed mother swerved to the side of the road and called 911 while cradling her bleeding child.
An off-duty police officer and paramedics desperately tried to save the boy, but he was later pronounced dead in hospital, just ten days after his sixth birthday.
The toddler (pictured with Cloonan, left, and sister Alexis, right) was pronounced dead at hospital after a bullet pierced his liver, lungs and heart
Wynne Lee, who drove the car and cut off Aiden’s mother, will be tried separately. She subsequently stated that she was not guilty of complicity
Investigators determined that Eriz’s bullet punched through the trunk of the Chevrolet Sonic before entering Aiden’s body and puncturing his liver, lungs and heart.
A two-week manhunt followed, during which Eriz and his girlfriend refused to turn themselves in. They hid the white Volkswagen in a relative’s garage. Eriz changed his appearance, shaved his beard and changed his hairstyle.
Ultimately, authorities were able to correct a blurry image of the vehicle’s license plate and received many tips from the community.
This helped them track down the perpetrators, and they monitored the couple in their Costa Mesa home before arresting them.
Once arrested, Eriz, an auto worker whose social media accounts are littered with photos of him shooting guns, readily admitted to the crime.
He claimed not to have learned of the murder until a week later, when a colleague noticed that Eriz’s girlfriend’s car looked like the car authorities were looking for.
The autoworker told investigators, “We went ahead of that lady, the lady came up to us and started acting hostile toward us.”
βI don’t know why, I don’t have an answer as to why, but I pulled out my Glock and pulled the trigger and it was gone.β
Pressed by police for a motive, Eriz said candidly, “I have no answer.” Because I’m stupid? I didn’t think of the consequences, nor did anyone else.’
The 27-year-old told investigators he decided not to turn himself in because he believed his girlfriend, Wynne Lee, had done nothing wrong.
Lee, whose online presence is sparse, is the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants. She grew up in the San Gabriel Valley and is said to be unemployed.
She is being tried separately and later denied being guilty of complicity.
Neither Eriz nor Lee have previously been convicted of a crime.
On Friday, Eriz was sentenced to 40 years to life for the murder of Aiden Leos.
Judge Richard King did not mince his words and described Aiden, a boy who was taken to nursery school by his mother, as ‘the most vulnerable victim imaginable’.
Of Eriz’s subsequent rampage, Judge King said, “At that particular moment, you had the power and that power was that gun.”
Eriz is seen in a photo on social media with a gun in his hand. The 27-year-old autoworker’s social media accounts are full of photos of him with guns
Judge Richard King was not mollified by the defendant’s arguments. He said that when Eriz fired the gun, he “wanted to get back” to the victim’s mother. Jude King sentenced Eriz to 40 years to life in prison on Friday
The judge continued: βWhether it was to impress your girlfriend to express your anger, you shot and that little boy died. Ultimately that’s what happened.β
Judge King went on to say that he did not think there was any “justification” for Eriz’s response in such a case. He said the autoworker just wanted to “get back” to Aiden’s mother.
Before announcing the sentence of 40 years to life, the judge said gravely, “I don’t think the English language can even attempt to describe what Aiden’s mother went through.”
‘She stops and her son dies in her arms. I don’t think anyone can even fathom what the rest of her life will be like.β