The fate of a Costa Mesa man who admitted to firing the gunshot that killed 6-year-old Aiden Leos in the midst of morning rush-hour traffic on the 55 Freeway in Orange is in the hands of a jury, as deliberations began late Wednesday in his murder trial.
The Orange County Superior Court jury is tasked with deciding whether Marcus Anthony Eriz committed second-degree murder when he shot the boy following a road-rage confrontation on May 21, 2021, as argued by the prosecution, or if he is guilty of a lesser count of voluntary manslaughter, as countered by the defense.
Eriz and his girlfriend — Wynne Lee — were driving to their workplace in Highland when they got into an apparent road-rage confrontation with Aiden’s mother — Joanna Cloonan — who was driving the boy to kindergarten. Cloonan testified that Lee, who was driving a Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen, sped up behind and then around Cloonan’s Chevrolet Sonic before cutting the mother off and brake checking her.
Lee flashed a peace sign, the mother testified. Cloonan pulled up next to the Volkswagen and gave Lee and Eriz — a passenger in the vehicle — the middle finger before merging into other lanes. The mother testified that she made brief eye contact with Eriz and recalled him smiling at her.
Moments later, the mother heard a loud noise and a cry of pain from her son. She looked back to see his head hanging down. Aiden had been struck by a gunshot that went through the trunk of Cloonan’s car. He died within the hour.
A two-week manhunt ended with the arrest of Eriz and Lee. Eriz admitted to being the shooter, telling investigators that Cloonan “came up to us and started acting hostile toward us,” and adding “I don’t know why, I have no answer why, but I pulled out my Glock and pulled the trigger and it was gone.”
Closing arguments Wednesday in a Santa Ana courtroom focused primarily on Eriz’s mental state at the time of the shooting.
No one alleged that Eriz meant to kill Aiden,…
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