Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced that two people had been arrested in connection with the shooting death of 6-year-old Aiden Leos during a press conference on Monday, just hours after the boy's burial.
"I do want to promise today, when Aiden was put below ground, that we will get justice for him," Spitzer said. "We have to promise him that."
An official announcement from the California Highway Patrol was posted to Twitter on Sunday, and Spitzer wrote, "Arrests made in shooting death of 6-year-old Aiden Leos".
Arrests made in shooting death of 6 year old Aiden Leos pic.twitter.com/tUGjp0ZfPC
— OCDA Todd Spitzer (@OCDAToddSpitzer) June 7, 2021
The press release detailed the names of the suspects, and noted: "they are expected to be charged with murder." It also included a message from the CHP Commissioner to Aiden's family, as well as thanking the investigators of the case.
"On behalf of Border Division Chief Omar Watson, and the Santa Ana area, we are deeply grateful for the professionalism and tireless commitment of our investigators who have worked on this case from day one to find those responsible for Aiden's death," said CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray.
"While these arrests will not ease the pain of a mother's loss, my hope is for the Leos family to have some peace of mind and to rest assured the CHP will work with the Orange County District Attorney to bring justice for Aiden."
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.
A Southern California man was charged Tuesday with murder in a road rage shooting that killed a 6-year-old boy on a local freeway last month.
Prosecutors in Orange County, California charged Marcus Anthony Eriz, 24, with murder in the death of Aiden Leos. Eriz was also charged with shooting at an occupied vehicle and with sentencing enhancements.
Eriz's girlfriend, Wynne Lee, was charged with being an accessory after the fact and illegally carrying a concealed firearm.
Both were expected to appear in court on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether they had attorneys who could speak on their behalf.
Authorities said they believe Lee was driving the car and Eriz fired the shot that killed Leos while his mother was driving the boy to kindergarten on May 21 in Orange County, southeast of Los Angeles.
According to accounts from the mother and witnesses who stopped to help her, another car cut her off and she responded with a hand gesture. The car slipped in behind her and someone inside fired a shot through the rear of her car.
California Highway Patrol officials have said that the road rage violence stemmed from "a perceived unsafe lane change."
The case drew widespread outrage in the county of three million people. At least $500,000 in rewards had been offered from around the U.S. for information leading to an arrest in the case.
Authorities said they received hundreds of tips. The couple was arrested on Sunday in the city of Costa Mesa.
Authorities said the car, described as a white Volkswagen Golf SportWagen, was relatively rare and that helped investigators who examined surveillance footage. It was found at Eriz's grandmother's house in Whittier, but she is not implicated in the crime, the Orange County Register reported.
The gun was discovered at Eriz's workplace in San Bernardino County, officials said.
