Orange County DA Spitzer on charges in California road rage case
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer provides insight on ‘America’s Newsroom.’
Just days after Marcus Anthony Eriz allegedly shot and killed a 6-year-old boy in a road rage incident on a California freeway, he pulled a gun on a different driver during another altercation, a prosecutor said Wednesday in a court filing ahead of Friday’s arraignment.
Eriz, 24, was arrested on June 6 along with his girlfriend, 23-year-old Wynne Lee, who was allegedly driving their car during both road rage incidents.
The first altercation happened on the morning of May 21 as Joanna Cloonan was driving her 6-year-old son, Aiden Leos, to kindergarten.
Eriz and Lee allegedly cut Cloonan off on the freeway, then after a few miles, Cloonan caught up with the couple and gave them the middle finger. After that, Cloonan said she heard a loud bang, followed by her son saying, “Ow,” at which point she realized he was bleeding from his chest. Aiden Leos was pronounced dead at a local hospital less than an hour later.
Wynne Lee, 23, and Marcus Anthony Eriz, 24, have been arrested in the death of a 6-year-old boy following an alleged road rage incident.
(Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer)
Orange County Deputy District Attorney Whitney Bokosky wrote that after being arrested on June 6, Eriz admitted to investigators “that he was angry after being ‘flipped off’ by Ms. Cloonan, so he grabbed his loaded Glock 17 9mm and racked a round.”
“He then rolled the passenger window and took a shot at her vehicle,” Bokosky wrote Wednesday. “After shooting the victim, [Eriz and Lee] continued on to the 91 eastbound and on to work in the city of Highland.”
The next week, Eriz and Lee allegedly got into another road rage incident on the freeway.
“As Wynne Lee was driving on the 91 eastbound on the way to work with Defendant Eriz as her front passenger, a driver in a blue Tesla did something to make Defendant Eriz angry, acting aggressively,” the prosecutor wrote. “Defendant Eriz again took out his gun and brandished it to the driver of the Tesla.”
The Tesla driver in that incident then called the cops and drove away.
Aiden Leos, 6, was killed in a road rage shooting last month.
(Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer)
It wasn’t until a week after Eriz allegedly killed Aiden Leos that he realized exactly what he had done, according to the prosecutor. Eriz told investigators that on May 28, a coworker approached him and said that Lee’s car, a Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen, looked like the one authorities were searching for.
“Eriz claims that at that time, he looked on the Internet and saw the story about Aiden Leos’ death,” prosecutors wrote. “He said he ‘immediately’ knew he was responsible for the boy’s death.”
At that point, Eriz allegedly hid Lee’s car in a family member’s garage and starting driving his red truck instead.
Both defendants are scheduled to appear in court Friday for an arraignment and bail review.
Eriz, who is facing charges of murder and shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, is currently being held on a provisional bond of $2 million, but Bokoksy argued in Wednesday’s filing that bail should be revoked.
“Eriz is an extreme danger to the community,” Bokosky wrote. “There is no more serious crime than murder and murder of a child is one of the most egregious crimes one can think of.”
Eriz’s alleged public instagram profile shows him shooting multiple guns.
(Instagram / marcus_eriz13a)
Eriz’s alleged public instagram profile includes this picture of a rifle and two handguns.
(Instagram / marcus_eriz13a)
Bokosky also referenced Eriz’s alleged public Instagram profile, which shows him firing multiple guns, including a rifle, shotgun, and handgun.
Lee, who is facing charges of accessory after the fact and carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, had her bail provisionally set at $500,000. Bokosky requested that her permanent bail be set on Friday.
Attorneys for Eriz and Lee did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Source: Read Full Article