Jan. 25 (UPI) — Jurors on Thursday found Marcus Eriz guilty of murder in a 2021 road rage incident that killed 6-year-old Aiden Leos.
Eriz, 26, also was found guilty of one felony count of murder, one felony count of shooting into an occupied vehicle and two felony enhancements of personal discharge of a firearm causing bodily injury and death.
Leos was shot while riding in the back of a silver Chevrolet Sonic driven by his mother Joanna Cloonan on 55 Freeway in Orange, Calif., in 2021. Cloonan said she was enraged that a vehicle cut her off and flashed her middle finger while she passed the car.
Eriz, riding in the passenger seat of his girlfriend’s car, retaliated by pulling a Glock 17 from the driver’s seat back pocket and shooting at Cloonan’s vehicle.
The bullet went through the back of the car before striking Leos. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital about 30 minutes after the shooting.
Eriz was arrested in Costa Mesa and charged with murder, following a two-week manhunt. His girlfriend, 23-year-old Wynne Lee, was charged with one felony count of accessory after the fact and one misdemeanor count of having a concealed firearm in the vehicle.
“They took my son’s life away,” Cloonan told ABC News in 2021. “He was beautiful and he was kind and he was precious, and you killed him for no reason. And I want to find them, and I want there to be justice to be served for my son.”
During interrogation, Eriz reportedly admitted he shot at Cloonan’s car “for some reason” after she made the gesture.
When asked what his motive was for shooting at the car, Eriz said, “I don’t have an answer. Because I’m stupid. I didn’t think of anything. I didn’t think of the consequences or anyone.”
Eriz pleaded not guilty to murder and discharging a firearm. He faces a maximum sentence of 40 years to life in prison.
Lee faces a maximum sentence of three years in state prison and one year in the Orange County Jail if convicted on all charges. She is currently out of custody and being monitored by GPS after posting a $100,000 bond in 2021.
