'No Empathy' For Couple In Road Rage Killing Of Kindergartner: DA

COSTA MESA, CA — Investigators said Monday they believe they recovered the gun used to 6-year-old Aiden Leos in a road rage shooting on the 55 Freeway last month.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the gun was recovered in a search stemming from the arrest of Marcus Anthony Eriz, 24, and Wynne Lee, 23. The pair is believed to be the man and woman who shot the child as his mother drove him to kindergarten on May 21, triggering an intense investigation that gripped Southern California for weeks.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer released the booking photos of Eriz and Lee Monday while hinting that the young couple lost any chance at mercy when they failed to turn themselves in.

At a news conference last month days after the May 21 shooting, Spitzer warned the defendants to turn themselves in and suggested that he might be more lenient in his filing decision, but "they did not take me up on that offer and at this point, I have absolutely no sympathy or empathy whatsoever."

At a news conference, Monday, Spitzer said his office is reviewing all of the evidence and will present the strictest penalties possible for the pair. Maximum penalties for both Eriz and Lee could reach 25 years to life in prison.

The pair will be arraigned Tuesday, within 48 hours of their arrest.

Eriz and Lee were arrested at their home in Costa Mesa Sunday afternoon after dining at a sushi restaurant, officials say.

California Highway Patrol officials said at the conference that they received a tip and were able to enhance the car's license plate, allowing them to identify the couple.

They learned that Eriz worked at an auto body shop in San Bernardino county and commuted along the 91 Freeway regularly in their Volkswagen Golf SportWagen SE. The 2018 model vehicle was found to be registered to Lee's parents, the LA Times reports.

CHP Border Division's assistant chief Donald Goodbrand discussed the investigation, saying, "we have recovered what we believe are the weapon and automobile used in the crime."

Officers refused to discuss the $500,000 reward leading to the capture and conviction of those responsible as of this report.

Social media accounts belonging to Eriz show that he had an affinity for firearms, shooting, and collecting during the quarantine. It is believed that Lee was driving while Eriz shot at Aiden's mother's Chevrolet as she left the Toll Roads into 91 Freeway traffic over a "perceived unsafe lane change."

CHP served multiple search warrants at their Costa Mesa apartment, officials say. LA Times reports that any of the weapons he advertised over Instagram could fire the deadly shot.

According to the CHP, the unique make and model of the car assisted in locating them so quickly," Goodbrand said. "If it had been a white Ford-F150, it could have taken much longer."