SANTA ANA, Calif. (CNS) -- Days after the killing of 6-year-old Aiden Leos in a road-rage shooting on the 55 Freeway, the suspects got into another traffic altercation in which the alleged shooter waved a gun at another motorist, prosecutors said in court papers filed Wednesday.
Marcus Anthony Eriz, 24, and Wynne Lee, 23, are scheduled to be arraigned on Friday when Orange County Superior Court Judge Larry Yellin will consider a request from prosecutors to set bails at higher-than-usual levels.
The victim, Aiden Leos, was fatally shot May 21 as his mother, Joanna Cloonan, was driving him to kindergarten in her Chevrolet Sonic on the freeway.
About 8 a.m. that day, the two were cut off by the defendants, who were in a Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen, according to prosecutors.
Lee was behind Cloonan in the diamond lane before swinging over to the fast lane and then accelerating at an "extremely high rate of speed" to get in front of Cloonan, prosecutors said in the motion.
"Wynne Lee motioned to the victim vehicle a 'peace sign' with her hand and continued driving," prosecutors said in the motion for higher bail.
A few miles later as Cloonan was attempting to merge over to the 91 Freeway east she passed the defendants and was still angry about being cut off and she put up her middle finger at the two as she passed,'' prosecutors said.
"She then heard a loud bang to the rear of her vehicle and heard her little boy in the backseat say, 'Ow,'" prosecutors said.
Cloonan immediately pulled over and saw Aiden suffered a chest wound, prosecutors said. Aiden was pronounced dead at 8:39 a.m. at Children's Hospital Orange County.
Eriz is charged with murder and a felony count of discharge of a firearm at an inhabited dwelling, with sentencing enhancements for discharge of a firearm causing death. He faces up to 40 years to life in prison if convicted at trial.
Lee is charged with a felony count of being an accessory after the fact and a misdemeanor count of having a concealed firearm in a vehicle. Lee faces up to four years behind bars if convicted at trial of all charges. Three of those years would be prison and one in jail.
Both defendants were originally being held on $1 million bail, but Yellin tentatively increased Eriz's bail to $2 million, and dropped Lee's bail to $500,000.
Those bail amounts, which were requested by prosecutors, will remain in place until Friday's arraignment, when attorneys will present their arguments to keep the bails at $2 million and $500,000.
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