Current:Home > MyCalifornia man sentenced to 40 years to life for fatal freeway shooting of 6-year-old boy-LoTradeCoin
California man sentenced to 40 years to life for fatal freeway shooting of 6-year-old boy
View Date:2024-12-23 20:26:31
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A California man was sentenced Friday to 40 years to life for the fatal shooting of a 6-year-old boy who was riding in the back of his mother’s car on the freeway, prosecutors said.
Marcus Eriz, now 27, was sentenced in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana for killing Aiden Leos in May 2021 while the boy was on his way to kindergarten, the district attorney’s office said in a statement.
Eriz was convicted by a jury in January of second-degree murder and shooting at an occupied motor vehicle.
“What he took was the life of a little six-year-old boy and the sense of security of drivers everywhere who worry that driving on our freeways could be a death sentence, not because of a crash but because of a bullet,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in the statement.
An email message seeking comment was sent to Eriz’s attorney, Randall Bethune.
During the trial, authorities said Eriz and his girlfriend, Wynne Lee, were heading to work when Lee cut off a car driven by Leos’ mother, who responded with a rude gesture.
Eriz pulled out a gun, reached out of the window and fired a shot at the mother’s car that went through the trunk and pierced Leos’ heart, they said.
Eriz’s defense argued that he didn’t mean to kill anyone in what began as a road rage incident and said he didn’t know he had until days later when a co-worker commented that Lee’s car looked like the one authorities were searching for.
The shooting shocked the county of 3 million people, which relies heavily on a network of freeways to get to work and school, and drew international attention as authorities searched more than two weeks for the killer.
Authorities arrested Eriz and Lee outside their apartment in Costa Mesa after chasing leads to the white car Lee was driving. Lee has pleaded not guilty to being an accessory after the fact and is being tried separately.
veryGood! (68)
Related
- Why Suits' Gabriel Macht Needed Time Away From Harvey Specter After Finale
- Connecticut police dog killed in shooting after state troopers tried to serve an arrest warrant
- New York bill could interfere with Chick-fil-A’s long-standing policy to close Sundays
- This $299 Sparkly Kate Spade Bag is Now Just $69 & It's the Perfect Going Out Bag
- Stock market today: Asian stocks decline as China stimulus plan disappoints markets
- 3 Washington state police officers found not guilty in 2020 death of Black man who said 'I can't breathe'
- Cancer patients face frightening delays in treatment approvals
- A New Hampshire man pleads guilty to threats and vandalism targeting public radio journalists
- Jury awards Abu Ghraib detainees $42 million, holds contractor responsible
- Mentally disabled Indiana man wrongfully convicted in slaying reaches $11.7 million settlement
Ranking
- Jana Duggar Reveals She's Adjusting to City Life Amid Move Away From Farm
- How did a man born 2,000 years ago in Russia end up dead in the U.K.? DNA solves the mystery.
- TikToker Madeleine White Engaged to DJ Andrew Fedyk
- 3 Washington state police officers found not guilty in 2020 death of Black man who said 'I can't breathe'
- UConn, Kansas State among five women's college basketball games to watch this weekend
- Cambridge theater hosts world premiere of Real Women Have Curves: The Musical
- Ash from Indonesia’s Marapi volcano forces airport to close and stops flights
- How did a man born 2,000 years ago in Russia end up dead in the U.K.? DNA solves the mystery.
Recommendation
-
To Protect the Ozone Layer and Slow Global Warming, Fertilizers Must Be Deployed More Efficiently, UN Says
-
Still haven’t bought holiday gifts? Retailers have a sale for you
-
Luis Suárez reunites with Lionel Messi, joins Inter Miami on one-year deal
-
Five most heroic QB performances in NFL this season
-
Trump pledged to roll back protections for transgender students. They’re flooding crisis hotlines
-
Rules aimed at long-contaminated groundwater drive California farmers and residents to court
-
ICHCOIN Trading Center: Stablecoin Approaching $200 Billion
-
For more eco-friendly holiday wrapping, some turn to the Japanese art of furoshiki