A COUPLE was arrested on Sunday and are expected to be charged with murder over the "road rage" shooting that killed six-year-old Aiden Leos after a $500,000 reward was offered for information.
Eriz Anthony, 24, and Lee Wynne, 23, were arrested in their home in Costa Mesa, California Highway Patrol said, and will appear in court today.
Authorities said in a press release that they expect murder charges to be brought against the couple, according to CBS Los Angeles.
Aiden was fatally shot while riding in the back seat of his mother's car last month after she reportedly angered another driver who cut her off on a highway in Orange, California.
The tragic incident unfolded on 55 freeway near Chapman at around 8am on May 21 as Aiden's mother was driving him to kindergarten in her silver Chevrolet Sonic.
Aiden's heartbreaking final words were said to be "Mommy, my tummy hurts."
Read our live blog below for the latest updates…
- Julia Fields
WHAT DO ERIZ AND LEE DO FOR WORK?
Although Eriz's social media lists him as an auto shop worker, the owners of Platinum Collision told ABC7 he stopped working there in January.
Lee is the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants who grew up in the San Gabriel Valley.
She was listed as unemployed on jail records, with authorities saying both she and Eriz were under surveillance in the months prior to their arrests.
- Julia Fields
ERIZ AND LEE NOT SUSPECTED TO HAVE PRIOR FELONIES
Neither Eriz nor Lee are thought to have prior felonies, nor is it known which gun was used to kill Leos or if it was pictured on Eriz's social media.
Eriz's social media is filled with photos of the suspected gunman firing off guns at shooting ranges and posing with firearms.
In one picture, he's seen holding two handguns and a rifle, while in another, he's brandishing ammunition.
- Julia Fields
$50K REWARD OFFERED TO LEAD TO THE COUPLE'S CAPTURE
Marcus Anthony Eriz, 24, and his girlfriend Lee Wynne, 23, were arrested in their home in Costa Mesa, California Highway Patrol said, after a $500,000 reward was offered for information leading to their capture.
Authorities added that they expect murder charges against the couple, according to CBS Los Angeles. They are reportedly working to secure the firearm used in the shooting.
- Katie Balevic
FAMILY PLED FOR INFORMATION ON KILLERS AT AIDEN'S MEMORIAL
The family pleaded with the suspects to come forward as the young boy's funeral was held on Saturday.
"This is a memorial, not a funeral," Pastor Joshua Holiday said, according to ABC7. "A funeral's a ceremony, it's held in connection with the burial or cremation, someone's death and it signifies the end of their existence."
"A memorial service is a ceremony serving to preserve the remembrance of someone's life. The focal point is different," he went on.
Aiden's mother Joanna Cloonan also eulogized her son in a moving tribute.
"Your kindness, your prayers, your support and unbelievable generosity has helped provide me with so much strength, so I may stand on my own two feet today, in front of you, and share the beauty of who Aiden was and still is," Coonan said.
- Katie Balevic
POLICE SEARCHED FOR THE SUSPECTS USING A PHOTO OF THEIR VEHICLE
There was a hunt for the suspects and their vehicle which was described as a 2018-2019 white Volkswagen Golf SportsWagen with non-tinted windows and a sunroof.
According to KTLA, Eriz and Wynne are boyfriend and girlfriend and their car was found in another location.
It is not clear if it is the white Volkswagen cops were searching for.
The circumstances in the lead-up to the arrest is also not clear. The reward for information leading to the arrest of the two was $500,000.
Credit: California Highway Patrol - Katie Balevic
MARCUS ERIZ FREQUENTLY SHOWED OFF HIS GUNS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Eriz's social media was full of photos of him and his many guns.
It is unclear what gun was used to kill Leos or if it is present on Eriz's social mediaCredit: Instagram/Marcus Eriz Eriz liked to show off his guns on social mediaCredit: Instagram/Marcus Eriz - Katie Balevic
ARRESTED KILLER IS AN APPARENT GUN AFICIONADO
The man arrested over the apparent road rage shooting that left six-year-old Aiden Leos dead is a gun-toting auto shop worker who frequently posts videos of his latest weapons.
Marcus Anthony Eriz, 24, and his girlfriend Lee Wynne, 23, were arrested in their home in Costa Mesa, California Highway Patrol said, after a $500,000 reward was offered for information leading to their capture.
Officials say Eriz was the shooter in the fatal road rage incident, with his gun-ridden social media posts showing Eriz shooting a variety of weapons.
Eriz's social media is filled with photos of the suspected gunman firing off guns at shooting ranges and posing with firearms.
In one picture, he's seen holding two handguns and a rifle, while in another, he's brandishing ammunition.
Neither Eriz nor Lee are thought to have prior felonies, nor is it known which gun was used to kill Leos or if it was pictured on Eriz's social media.
- Katie Balevic
'THIS IS NOT OK,' AIDEN'S HEARTBROKEN MOTHER SAYS
Aiden’s mother, Joanna Cloonan, spoke for the first time after the incident on May 24, 2021.
Speaking to ABC News, she said: "This is not OK…whoever these people are and for whatever reason, this is not OK.
"It should never happen again. So whatever help this does, that's my intention, is for my son,"
"They took my son's life away."
"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."
- Katie Balevic
HOW DID LITTLE AIDEN DIE?
The tragic incident unfolded on 55 freeway near Chapman at around 8am as Aiden Leos' mother, Joanna Cloonan, was driving him to kindergarten in her silver Chevrolet Sonic.
Cloonan gave the finger to a driver in her review mirror, but as she switched lanes, a male gunman believed to have been sitting in the passenger's seat of a car driven by a woman, suddenly fired into her vehicle.
The single gunshot struck little Aiden in the back.
His mother pulled over to the side of the road and cradled him in her arms until an off-duty police officer raced over to administer CPR.
He was taken by ambulance to the Children’s Hospital of Orange County where he was pronounced dead.
- Katie Balevic
MURDER CHARGES EXPECTED FOR ALLEGED KILLERS
Eriz Anthony, 24, and Lee Wynne, 23, were arrested in connection to the shooting death of Aiden Leos in their home in Costa Mesa, California Highway Patrol said.
Authorities said in a press release that they expect murder charges against the couple, according to CBS Los Angeles.
A decision on the exact charges against Anthony and Wynne should be revealed in the next 48 hours.
- Katie Balevic
AIDEN'S FAMILY GATHERED AT A MEMORIAL ON SATURDAY
Aiden Leos' family gathered at the Walnut Avenue overpass on Saturday where a growing memorial of flowers and stuffed animals honors the little boy killed in a shooting as part of a road rage incident.
According to the family's GoFundMe, they also held a church memorial for him at noon on Saturday.
"We will never forget your support. Thank you," an update about the event said.
- Katie Balevic
OVER $340K RAISED FOR AIDEN'S FAMILY
Following the tragic death of Aiden Leos, a GoFundMe page was setup for Aiden’s family and to help with the six-year-old's burial costs.
The fundraiser had raised more than $342,000 as of Monday afternoon.
"As a family we are overwhelmed by your generosity & support of Aiden’s mother, Joanna and his older sister Alexis and on behalf of Aiden’s father during this difficult time, your support has made them know they are loved & supported," the page reads.
- Katie Balevic
AIDEN'S UNCLE CALLS THE SHOOTERS 'COWARDLY'
Aiden's uncle John Cloonan said the person who shot his nephew was "cowardly."
"There's one bullet shot in the trunk, went through the trunk and right through my nephew so you can tell it was a cowardly way of doing it because they shot her in the back pretty much," he told the media.
"You took her [Aiden's mother] son away. You took her boy away. This boy was full of love and joy and laughter."
- Katie Balevic
AIDEN'S FAMILY CALLS HIM A 'BEAUTIFUL SOUL'
Following the tragic death of six-year-old Aiden Leos, many of his family members spoke out about their sorrow.
Aiden's uncle John Cloonan spoke recently of Aiden's "beautiful, beautiful soul".
"Everybody he met, everybody he talked to, he would compliment them and be kind to them before he could talk," he explained.
"He was walking up to you and putting his head on your shoulder, or your lap and kissing you."
- Katie Balevic
WHAT WAS THE REWARD TO FIND AIDEN'S ALLEGED KILLERS?
After Aiden Leos was killed in a shooting as part of an alleged road rage incident, a sizable reward was offered to find his killers.
A $50,000 reward for anyone with information that could lead to the arrest of the shooter was offered.
Eriz Anthony, 24, and Lee Wynne, 23, were arrested in their home in Costa Mesa, California Highway Patrol said.
It's unclear whether or not that reward will be doled out.
- Katie Balevic
WITNESS SAW AIDEN'S MOM CRADLING HIM AFTER HE WAS SHOT
Witness Reyes Valdivia told the Orange County Register Aiden Leos' mom told him and his wife that she “flipped off” the driver of a white sedan after he cut her off in the carpool lane back in May 21.
“My wife noticed a lady pulling her son out and dropping to the ground with her son in her arms,” he said.
He recalled the woman saying “I got shot at in the car" adding that the bullet “went through the boy’s back”.
“She heard her child scream and immediately stopped,” Valdivia said in a separate interview with the Los Angeles Times.
- Katie Balevic
'HE WAS A VERY LOVING BOY' SISTER SAYS
Alexis, Aiden Leos' sister, said her little brother would often come to her room and say he loved her.
"Please help us find the people that did this to my little brother," she said before Eriz Anthony, 24, and Lee Wynne, 23, were arrested for his death.
"He's only six and he was so sweet. He was a very loving boy so please help us find who did this to him."
- Katie Balevic
THE SUSPECTS: ERIZ ANTHONY AND LEE WYNNE
Eriz Anthony and Lee Wynne have been arrested in the "road rage" shooting death of six-year-old Aiden Leos in California.
According to KTLA, they are boyfriend and girlfriend and their car was found in another location.
Eriz is an auto detailer, according to the Los Angeles Times, citing a law enforcement source.
- Katie Balevic
'MY LIFE IS OVER' AIDEN'S MOM SAYS
"He meant the world to me, and it feels like my life is over," Joanna Cloonan, Aiden Leos' mom, said of his tragic death in May.
"That was my baby. I've never, never thought pain like this could exist."
Aiden was fatally shot while riding in the back seat of his mother's car last month after she reportedly angered another driver who cut her off on a highway in Orange, California.
Eriz Anthony, 24, and Lee Wynne, 23, have been arrested in connection to his death.
- Katie Balevic
AIDEN'S DEATH IS AN 'UNSPEAKABLE' LOSS
Six-year-old Aiden Leos was fatally shot while riding in the back seat of his mother's car last month after she reportedly angered another driver who cut her off on a highway in Orange, California.
Aiden's grandmother Mary Cloonan recently said of the devastating loss of her grandson: "He was just a blessing, a pure blessing."
"To have that taken from us, the loss is unspeakable."
- Katie Balevic
HOW OLD WAS LITTLE AIDEN?
Aiden Leos was just six years old when he died.
The little boy was allegedly shot in his mother's car by people in a passing car in a road rage incident in May.
A couple, Eriz Anthony, 24, and Lee Wynne, 23, were arrested in their home in Costa Mesa, California Highway Patrol said, and stand accused of the shooting and death of the child.
- Katie Balevic
'THIS IS NOT OK,' AIDEN'S DISTRAUGHT MOM SAYS
Aiden’s mother, Joanna Cloonan, spoke for the first time after the incident on May 24, 2021.
Speaking to ABC News, she said: "This is not OK…whoever these people are and for whatever reason, this is not OK.
"It should never happen again. So whatever help this does, that's my intention, is for my son,"
"They took my son's life away."
"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."
- Katie Balevic
WHAT IS THE GO FUND ME PAGE FOR AIDEN LEOS?
Following the tragic incident, a GoFundMe page was setup for Aiden’s family and to help with the child’s burial costs.
The campaign raised more than $130,000 in the 24 hours after it was set up.
On May 23, 2021, a statement on the website said: "The mother, father and sister of Aiden want to express their appreciation for your loving support.
"While their lives are shattered in a million pieces they are strengthened knowing the world is wrapping their arms around them! THANK YOU!"
A second fundraiser was also set up by a friend of Aiden’s father, which detailed the heartbreaking moment that he learnt of his son’s death.
Lily Dinh wrote on the GoFundMe page: “Aiden Leos also had a loving father whom was very much in his life.”
- Katie Balevic
GUNMAN FIRES AFTER MOTHER GIVES HIM 'THE FINGER' WHILE CHANGING LANES
The tragic incident unfolded on 55 freeway near Chapman at around 8am as Aiden Leos' mother, Joanna Cloonan, was driving him to kindergarten in her silver Chevrolet Sonic.
Cloonan gave the finger to a driver in her review mirror, but as she switched lanes, a male gunman believed to have been sitting in the passenger's seat of a car driven by a woman, suddenly fired into her vehicle.
The single gunshot struck little Aiden in the back.
His mother pulled over to the side of the road and cradled him in her arms until an off-duty police officer raced over to administer CPR.
He was taken by ambulance to the Children’s Hospital of Orange County where he was pronounced dead.
- Katie Balevic
WHO WAS ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH AIDEN'S DEATH?
A couple was arrested on Sunday over a "road rage" shooting that killed six-year-old Aiden Leos.
Eriz Marcus Anthony, 24, and Lee Wynne, 23, were arrested in their home in Costa Mesa, California Highway Patrol said.
They were arrested after a $500,000 reward was offered for information.
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