The boy — whose final phrases have been “Mommy, my tummy hurts” — was shot after his mother flipped off the opposite driver.

On Thursday, the Orange County District Legal professional introduced {that a} jury discovered Marcus Anthony Eriz, 26, responsible of 1 felony depend of second-degree homicide, one felony depend of capturing into an occupied automobile, and two felony enhancements of the private discharge of a firearm inflicting nice bodily harm and dying within the case.

The incident went down again on Could 21, 2021 — whereas Aiden’s mom Joanna Cloonan was driving her son to kindergarten on the 55 freeway in Yorba Linda, California. The boy was within the backseat, in a booster seat on the time.

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She testified in courtroom this week {that a} Volkswagen Sportswagen being pushed by fellow suspect Wynne Lee reduce them off, earlier than Lee flashed a “peace” check in her route. As she tried to get away from the automobile, she stated she flipped them the center finger — claiming Eriz then “checked out me and smiled” earlier than she heard one thing that seemed like “an enormous rock hit” her automobile.

Cloonan stated she then heard her son say “ow” from the backseat, earlier than she pulled over. She beforehand stated throughout a press convention after the capturing that her son was “shedding plenty of blood” and his final phrases to his mom have been, “Mommy, my tummy hurts.” He later died at Youngsters’s Hospital of Orange County.

The kid’s dying sparked a manhunt for the driving force and passenger of the opposite automobile, Lee and Eriz, respectively, who weren’t arrested till Could 2021.

In interviews with police, Eriz reportedly admitted he “was offended after being ‘flipped off’ by Ms. Cloonan, so he grabbed his loaded Glock 17 9mm and racked a spherical,” prosecutors stated. “He then rolled the passenger window down and took a shot at her automobile. After capturing the sufferer, the defendants continued on to the 91 eastbound and on to work within the metropolis of Highland.”

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It was a co-worker of Eriz’s that informed him on Could 28 that his automobile appeared just like the one police have been in search of, prosecutors stated; Eriz “claims that at the moment, he appeared on the web and noticed the story about Aiden Leos’ dying. He stated he ‘instantly’ knew he was accountable for the boy’s dying. He then informed Wynne Lee about his revelation.”

Investigators additionally stated that very same day, Eriz hid the automobile in a member of the family’s storage and by no means drove it once more, utilizing a pink truck to get to and from work as a substitute. The couple each utilized for brand new jobs. Days later, they stated Eriz shaved his “substantial beard” and “began to put on his lengthy hair again in a tie.” He pleaded not responsible in courtroom.

Lee’s case remains to be pending, however she was charged with one felony depend of accent after the very fact and one misdemeanor depend of getting a hid firearm in a automobile. Eriz, in the meantime, faces a most of 40 years to life in jail; his sentencing is slated for April 12.

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“The heartbreak of a mother or father shedding a baby is so overwhelming that no phrase exists to explain it,” stated Orange County District Legal professional Todd Spitzer. “The brief, completely happy lifetime of Aiden Leos is a life interrupted, abruptly ended by a bullet that pierced Aiden’s coronary heart. The bullet not solely killed a bit 6-year-old boy; it ripped a gap within the coronary heart of all of Orange County.”

“Six-year-old boys ought to be taking part in outdoors within the sunshine, soaking in all of the magic and surprise that’s boyhood, not mendacity lifeless in a tiny, child-size coffin as a result of a person he by no means met determined to execute him for no conceivable motive,” he added.

“Whereas we are going to by no means know what Aiden would have grow to be, we all know that the pursuit of justice didn’t finish till his killer was captured and this youngster assassin was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the legislation.”

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