Marcus Anthony Eriz, the 24-year-old Costa Mesa man accused of killing 6-year-old Aiden Leos in a fit of road rage, had a penchant for firearms and Mazda Miatas, his beloved “Yatas.”
He also could be, at times, optimistic and empathetic, traits seen among the myriad postings on his Instagram page.
• For the latest, see: Gunman who killed 6-year-old in road-rage shooting on 55 freeway found guilty
The auto body technician who listed himself as a “welder/fabricator” posted videos of himself shooting a rifle and what appears to be an assault weapon, accompanied by the words “pew pew,” his often used phrase for guns. Depicted in the photos are large bowls of ammunition and more firearms.
“R U ready?” he says in one gun post.
The words become unsettling when juxtaposed with the charges against him, murder and shooting at an occupied vehicle, carrying a maximum sentence of 40 years to life.
“Can’t take me anywhere without actin’ a fool,” Eriz writes in another post.
See also: Wynne Lee, accused in Aiden Leos’ death, once conquered depression, looked to a brighter future
Eddie Eriz, Marcus’ cousin, said the public is exaggerating Marcus’ interest in guns.
“They’re trying to put a shooter’s persona on him, but that’s not him. That was not his lifestyle,” said Eddie Eriz, 23, from the state of Washington. “He was just the most outgoing kid you’d ever know. You’d never suspect nothing out of him. He was never the bad one.”
But one video depicts Marcus Eriz behind the wheel, commenting that a police patrol car is nearby. The video ends just as he begins to shout.
The caption: “When ur about to start yelling at the cop.”
According to his social media and former coworkers, Eriz worked at auto body shops around the region.
Tom Gregg, CEO of Platinum Collision Centers in Corona, told ABC7 that Eriz previously worked at the shop. His employment there ended in January.
Last week, Eriz sent Gregg a text message asking if any open positions were available, he told the station. “We don’t (condone) any of this,” Gregg told ABC. “He’s not an employee of ours. … Our heart goes out to this family, that little boy, this is horrible.”
The killing belies the other Instagram posts that show a kinder, more mature side to Marcus Eriz.
In one video, Eriz rescues a blue-bellied lizard from the shop where he worked, carrying the little reptile in the palm of his hand to the outdoors.
“Come on little buddy, we’re going to set you free,” he said as he placed the lizard on the ground and gave him a gentle nudge. “Run away, run away.”
One post shows Eriz helping to build a carport with his stepfather for his mother’s vehicle at Christmastime 2019. They finished just as it started raining, sending his mother into fits of laughter.
Evidence of a close family life also came with a picture of his pony-tailed father pitching horseshoes at a July 4, 2020 gathering. Dad “beat everybody,” he wrote.
In another post, Eriz tells his little brother, who is in the military studying to become a medic, how proud he is of him and how much he loves him.
Eriz considered himself goal-oriented, inking the words “Have Faith” on his neck. His Instagram motto: “Stay true.”
That’s the Marcus Eriz that his cousin knew.
“People judge and that’s what they’re doing to Marcus,” said Edward Eriz. “I’ve never seen him mad in my life.”
