Driver in OC road rage shooting that killed 6-year-old Aiden Leos pleads guilty

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Two weeks after her boyfriend, Marcus Eriz, was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for killing 6-year-old Aiden Leos during a road rage incident on the 55 Freeway in May 2021, his girlfriend pleaded guilty for her role in his murder.

Wynne Lee, 26, of Costa Mesa, pleaded guilty on Friday to one felony count of accessory after the fact and one misdemeanor count of having a concealed firearm in a vehicle.

The 26-year-old was behind the wheel of her car with Eriz in the passenger seat as he fired a single shot at Aiden's mom's car, hitting the boy.

Lee admitted to helping Eriz hide after the shooting with the intent he might avoid arrest, trial, conviction and punishment.

She received the maximum sentence of four years or 1,460 days in prison for both charges. However, under a current state law, defendants are allowed to accrue credit for court-ordered home confinement.

Since June 2021, Lee has been under home confinement and GPS monitoring. She has earned 2,106 days in credit time served, which means Lee has already served out her sentence.

"Under the present law the defendant gets credit for that, which is basically as if the defendant was incarcerated," Judge King said. "The defendant at this time has exceeded the maximum period of time that the court has imposed."

Lee will have to pay $670 in fines by next month. The judge also ordered Lee to pay restitution. An amount will be set at a later time.

Aiden's family was not in the courtroom during Lee's hearing.

Aiden was fatally shot on May 21, 2021, 10 days after his birthday. He was sitting in a booster seat and his mother, Joanna Cloonan, was driving him to kindergarten at the time of the shooting.

At about 8 a.m., she and her son were cut off by the Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen. Lee made a peace sign, which Cloonan took as sarcastic, and a few miles later as she was merging over to the 91 Freeway east, she passed the defendants and gave them a middle finger, Senior Deputy District Attorney Dan Feldman said during opening statements of Eriz's trial.

Lee then positioned their car behind Cloonan's, and Eriz fired a shot from a 9mm Glock that struck the Chevrolet, went into the passenger compartment and hit the boy. Eriz and Lee were arrested by CHP officers on June 6, 2021.

City News Service Inc. contributed to this report