Aiden Leos, Boy Killed In Road Rage Shooting, To Receive Memorial Plaque At Orange County Zoo
ORANGE (CBSLA) – A 6-year-old boy who was killed during a freeway road rage shooting last month will get a special memorial plaque in his honor at the Orange County Zoo.
The plaque for Aiden Leos, when its complete, will be placed in the zoo's new Large Mammal Exhibit, which is still under construction.
O.C. Supervisor Don Wagner held a briefing Monday morning at the zoo, with Aiden's family in attendance. His family brought pictures of Leos at the zoo. It was his favorite place to visit, his family said.
"Aiden lives on here at the zoo, in part because as people come here, bring their children here, remember the story, they will understand the importance of justice being done," Wagner told reporters.
Wagner said the plaque should be ready by early 2022.
On the morning of May 21, Aiden was in a booster seat in the back of his mother's Chevrolet Sonic, on his way to kindergarten in Yorba Linda, when the shooting incident occurred on the northbound 55 Freeway in the city of Orange.
Joanna Cloonan, Aiden's mother, was involved in a road rage incident with the occupants of a white Volkswagen station wagon over a perceived unsafe lane change, according to California Highway Patrol.
The suspects, 24-year-old Marcus Anthony Eriz and his girlfriend, 23-year-old Wynne Lee, were arrested outside their Costa Mesa apartment on June 6. Investigators believe Lee was driving the car that was involved in the road rage incident, while Eriz was in the front passenger seat and committed the shooting itself.
Eriz has been charged with murder, while Lee has been charged with being an accessory after the fact.
The small 8-acre O.C. Zoo is located within Irvine Regional Park in the city of Orange.