Costa Mesa man convicted of murder in freeway shooting that took the life of a child
A Costa Mesa man was convicted of murder on Thursday in connection with a freeway shooting that killed a 6-year-old boy in 2021.
Marcus Anthony Eriz, 26, was found guilty of second-degree murder and shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, both felonies, and sentencing enhancements for discharging a firearm causing death.
Eriz faces 40 years to life in prison. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for April 12.
Eriz and his girlfriend, Wynne Lee, were arrested as suspects in a vehicle-to-vehicle shooting along the 55 Freeway in Orange that resulted in the death of Aiden Leos. The Eriz trial began with opening statements on Jan. 18, and closing arguments were heard on Wednesday.
Lee, who is standing trial separately, faces a felony charge of accessory after the fact, as well as a misdemeanor for having a concealed firearm in a vehicle. Authorities have said she was driving the car from which Eriz fired the fatal shot. She could face up to three years in state prison and one year in the county jail, if convicted on all charges.
“If you shoot somebody or use violence in this county and you harm an individual, you will pay the price,” Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer said in a news conference following the verdict’s announcement. “... If you go out and you take the law into your own hands, and you use violence or force, you will pay. Mr. Eriz is looking at 40 years to life. His life is over, and it’s because he took the life of this precious, innocent little boy through no fault of his own.
“We will never forget Aiden Leos. We will always remember what he stood for, and we will always cry with the parents who lose their children before their time has come.”
The jury, comprised of 10 men and two women, began deliberating for the case late Wednesday afternoon. Jurors took approximately two hours to come to a verdict, as the court indicated that the jury had reached its decision at about 10:15 a.m. on Thursday.
Eriz appeared to have little or no reaction outwardly as the verdict was read.
Spitzer, who wore a turquoise tie for the proceedings after asking Aiden’s mother, Joanna Cloonan, what her son’s favorite color was, said he informed her of the verdict.
Cloonan responded positively to the verdict via text, said Spitzer, who said he told her she was a “hero” for testifying during the trial.
A traffic altercation broke out on the 55 Freeway in Orange just after 8 on the morning of May 21, 2021. Aiden had been riding in the back of the Chevrolet Sonic driven by Cloonan on his way to a kindergarten class in Yorba Linda.
Cloonan was cut off by a Volkswagen Golf SportWagen operated by Lee, who is said to have gestured with a “peace sign” as she drove by. Cloonan pulled up alongside the couple and displayed the middle finger. Eriz then reached for his gun behind Lee’s seat, racked a round, and rolled down the window before pointing and shooting his Glock 17 9-millimeter pistol at Cloonan’s vehicle.
Randall Bethune of the Orange County Public Defender’s Office, representing Eriz, had argued that Cloonan’s hand gesture was enough of a provocation to bring a voluntary manslaughter conviction into play. Jurors were also allowed to consider involuntary manslaughter.
Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Daniel Feldman, the lead prosecutor in the case, had submitted to the jury that the second-degree murder charge should hold up under the criteria for implied malice or committing an act that he knew to be dangerous with a conscious disregard for life.
Feldman told the jury that Eriz had passed a firearm safety test to have the weapon in his possession and that he had customized it to prove his knowledge of firearms. The prosecution also used comments from Eriz during an interview with investigators, in which he revealed he had been bringing a firearm in the car with him for months because people were being “hostile” on roadways.
“I am so grateful to this jury because 12 people, citizens of Orange County, made it very clear that is not the new world order because people are acting irrationally and crazy out on our roads today,” Spitzer said. “That’s not OK. Had the jury allowed that to be voluntary manslaughter, if they had bought the defense’s argument, they would have sent a message that it’s OK to carry a gun in your car, and if somebody comes by, and you get into some kind of exchange and you fire your weapon, you are only responsible for voluntary manslaughter.”
Aiden died at Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Orange, authorities said. The cause of death was a perforating gunshot wound, the shot that killed him having traveled through his liver, lung and heart before exiting through his right abdomen. The prosecution and the defense agreed to those facts in the case.
Before dismissing the jury, Judge Richard King told the jurors that the court would be offering counseling to the jurors of what he described as “a very trying case.”
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