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Officials said Monday that surveillance, investigation and guidance all played a role in identifying the suspects in the murder of 6-year-old Aiden Lewis.
After the May 21 shooting on Interstate 55 that left the Orange County community sad and shocked, California Highway Patrol investigators circulated a photo of a white vehicle said to belong to the suspects.
In the weeks that followed, they said, officials received hundreds of calls and emails. The reward for arrest and conviction — funded by family members, donations, county officials and local businesses — has risen to $500,000.
The effort led to the arrest of two suspects, Marcos Anthony Erez, 24, and Wayne Lee, 23, at their Costa Mesa home on Sunday.
On Monday, CHP officials said they had taken advice and worked to improve the car’s license plate photo, which led them to identify the couple. Then they began investigating the couple’s backgrounds and decided that they had moved along Corridor 91 to two workplaces in the Inland Empire.
Investigators were then able to determine that the couple were in the area of the shooting at the time.
A photo of 6-year-old Aiden Lewis covers his memorial program
(Gina Verazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Erez has also demonstrated his knowledge and ownership of firearms through purchases and on social media. Officials said one of the weapons he displayed in Instagram posts was capable of delivering the fatal shot.
At the time of the shooting, Lewis was riding a booster seat in the back of his mother’s car when he was shot in an apparent act of road rage. His mother carried him in her arms until paramedics arrived. Doctors could not save him.
More details about the investigation and possible charges of the suspects are expected to be revealed at a press conference on Monday afternoon. The status of the $500,000 bonus has not been confirmed.
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