Aiden Leos case: Bail reduced for woman involved in fatal road rage shooting
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - Bail has been reduced from $500,000 to $100,000 for Wynne Lee, the woman charged as an accessory in the alleged road-rage shooting death of 6-year-old Aiden Leos on an Orange County freeway.
If she posts bail, she will be required to surrender her passport, must not leave the state without
permission, cannot drive, must be under GPS monitoring and cannot have any contact with co-defendant Marcus Anthony Eriz, who is alleged to have fired the fatal shot from Lee's vehicle.
In agreeing to reduce bail, Orange County Superior Court Judge Larry Yellin noted that Lee is not personally accused of committing any type of violent act. However, he noted that even after the fatal shooting, she allowed Eriz to continue riding in her car with a gun, which he allegedly brandished at another motorist days after Aiden's death. Yellin called her actions "absolutely concerning.''
Eriz remains jailed without bail. Judge Yellin said his alleged actions during and after the shooting are "alarming." Eriz was initially being held on $2 million bail.
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Last week, the couple pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. A pretrial hearing is set for Aug. 27.
Marcus Eriz, 24, and Wynne Lee, 23, were arrested outside of their Costa Mesa apartment on June 6. Eriz was charged with murder and shooting at an occupied vehicle and with enhancements. Lee faces the accessory charge and a charge of illegally carrying a concealed firearm.
Leos was fatally shot May 21 as his mother, Joanna Cloonan, was driving him to kindergarten in her Chevrolet Sonic on the 55 freeway.
Lee was behind their car 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.
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"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 Riverside (91) Freeway east she passed the defendants and was "still angry about being cutoff 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.
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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.
In an interview with investigators on June 6, Eriz said he "was angry after being 'flipped off' by Ms. Cloonan, so he grabbed his loaded Glock 17 9mm and racked a round," according to the motion.
"He then rolled the passenger window down and took a shot at her vehicle. After shooting the victim, the defendants continued on to the 91 eastbound and on to work in the city of Highland."
They worked a full day and the couple returned home. During the week of May 24-28, the two got into another "altercation on the freeway," prosecutors said.
RELATED: Couple arrested in Aiden Leos shooting got into different freeway altercation, prosecutors say
"As Wynne Lee was driving on the 91 eastbound on the way to work with defendant Eriz as her front passenger, a driver in a blue Tesla did something to make defendant Eriz angry, acting aggressively,'' prosecutors alleged.
"Defendant Eriz again took out his gun and brandished it to the driver of the Tesla. That driver told the defendants that he had called the police and then he drove away.''
A co-worker of Eriz told him on May 28 that it looked like their car was the suspect vehicle police were seeking, prosecutors said.
Eriz "claims that at that time, he looked on the Internet and saw the story about Aiden Leos' death,'' prosecutors alleged. "He said he `immediately' knew he was responsible for the boy's death. He then told Wynne Lee about his revelation.''
Prosecutors allege that after May 28 Eriz hid the Volkswagen at a family member's garage and did not drive it again, instead driving his red truck to and from work.
Eriz shaved his "substantial beard'' on June 3 and "started to wear his long hair back in a tie,'' prosecutors said. The couple also applied for a new job after May 28, prosecutors said.