Woman involved in fatal road rage shooting of young OC boy released on bail
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - The alleged driver in the road rage shooting death of 6-year-old Aiden Leos on a Costa Mesa freeway was released on bail Saturday afternoon.
Orange County jail records indicate that Wynne Lee, 23, of Costa Mesa was released at 2:44 p.m. Saturday.
Lee's bail had been reduced by a judge on Friday from $500,000 to $100,000. She will be required to surrender her passport and will be barred from leaving the state without permission. She will also be banned from driving, will have to submit to GPS monitoring and will be barred from having any
contact with co-defendant Marcus Anthony Eriz or the family of victim Aiden Leos.
Her 24-year-old boyfriend remains jailed without bail. Eriz is alleged to have fired the fatal shot from Lee's vehicle while she was driving on the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway in Orange on May 21.
Authorities allege the pair got into a road-rage confrontation with Aiden's mother on the freeway, which led to Eriz firing a shot into the rear of her vehicle. The bullet traveled through the trunk and struck Aiden, who was in a car seat on the rear passenger side of his mother's car.
The boy's mother and teenage sister were in court Friday morning.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Whitney Bokosky said they were concerned about their safety if Lee made bail.
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In agreeing to reduce bail, Orange County Superior Court Judge Larry Yellin noted Lee is not personally accused of committing any type of violent act and has no criminal history. 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.''
"Allowing that gun and that person back in her car and committing what appears to be another crime ... that is concerning when I consider the danger to the public and to the victim,'' Yellin said.
Lee's attorney, Tom Nocella, had asked that bail be reduced to $50,000. But Yellin said the additional road rage allegation was a factor in setting it at double that amount.
Lee will be restricted to the home of her parents, but she would be allowed to go to counseling appointments. Yellin told her that she would not be allowed to drive because ``both of the most concerning acts of this case were when you were behind the wheel of the car.''
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Yellin also extended his condolences to the family of the victim.
"You have our sympathies,'' Yellin said. "What a tragic and horrible thing.''
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Last week, Eriz and Lee both pleaded not guilty to the charges stemming from the shooting, and a pretrial hearing was set for Aug. 27.
Eriz is charged with second-degree 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.
Lee faces up to four years behind bars if convicted of a felony count of being an accessory after the fact and a misdemeanor count of having a concealed firearm in a vehicle. Three of those years would be in prison and one in jail.