ORANGE COUNTY, CA (TCD) — A 27-year-old man will be sentenced to 40 years in state prison for fatally shooting a 6-year-old boy while driving in a rage after the child's mother kicked out the defendant's girlfriend.
The Orange County District Attorney's Office said a judge sentenced Marcus Aries in January after a jury found him guilty of one count of second-degree murder, a felony, one count of shooting into a vehicle, and two counts of felonious assault with an enhancement. It was announced on April 12 that he was sentenced. In connection with the death of Aiden Leos, this is a case of personal discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and death.
On the morning of May 21, 2021, 26-year-old Wynne Lee allegedly drove her car into Leos' mother on Interstate 55 while dropping her son off at preschool. Leo's mother, identified as Joanna Cloonan, reportedly gave Lee her middle finger, according to KTTV-TV.
At the time, Aries was riding in the backseat of Mr. Lee's car. According to prosecutors, Aries loaded her firearm and opened fire at Cloonan's vehicle, striking her. The victim's mother was driving her car when she heard a loud noise and her son said “ouch.” She stopped the car on the highway, got her son out of the car and called 911. The son was taken to Children's Hospital of Orange County, where he died.
According to the district attorney's office, the California Highway Patrol began an “intense search” and later arrested Aries and Lee on June 6, 2021.
Leos' parents were not in court, but Aries spoke to the victim's mother. “Mr. Cloonan, I am so sorry that your beautiful son was taken from you. I am so sorry for the hurt and pain I caused him.” “It happened because of me,” KABC-TV reported.
Aries continued, “I pray for Aiden and your family every night. I know the burden and pain you carry will never change.”
“The pain of this mother is extreme as she desperately tries to find a way to help her dying young son,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
Lee is awaiting trial on charges of accessory after the fact and one misdemeanor charge after it was discovered he had a concealed firearm in his vehicle. If she is convicted, she faces up to three years in state prison and one year in Orange County Jail. She was posted $100,000 bond in July 2021 and continues to have her GPS monitored.
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