A disabled and unemployed UPS driver is facing felony murder charges after authorities say he shot and killed a co-worker during a delivery route in Southern California last week.
Leanne Jalipa Fontanoza, 46, is accused of chasing the driver while the victim was sitting in the driver’s seat of the truck, firing 14 times and hitting the driver 10 times with a projectile. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced in a press release Tuesday.
Fontanoza is from Aliso Viejo, a city in the San Joaquin Hills of southern Orange County, officials said.
In a news release from the office, prosecutors identified the victim as Expedito de Leon, 50, a UPS delivery driver, and that Fontanoza was working with the victim. He also said he was a longtime childhood friend of the man.
Officials said the motive for the shooting is currently under investigation.
On Wednesday, UPS issued the following statement to USA TODAY:
“We are shocked and saddened by the events in Irvine. This is a highly unusual situation and does not reflect our culture or the camaraderie of our employees around the world,” the statement said. . “Our current focus is on supporting our employees and their families during this extremely difficult time.”
Because the case was an ongoing public investigation Wednesday, UPS deferred further questioning of law enforcement officials.
USA TODAY has reached out to the District Attorney’s Office.
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UPS employee searches for co-worker using computer that shows driver’s route
According to a preliminary investigation, on Thursday around 12:30 p.m., Fontanoza stopped another UPS driver and asked if the route belonged to his childhood friend, De Leon.
When the driver told De Leon there was an alternative route, Fontanoza allegedly went to the UPS Aliso Viejo substation and “accessed a computer that displayed the driver’s route and took photos with his cell phone,” the complaint states.
At the time, Fontanoza was on disability leave but was scheduled to return to work June 1, prosecutors wrote.
Passing by the victim in a “new car that the victim does not recognize”
Release continues Shortly before 3 p.m., Fontanosa is accused of following de Leon along his route and driving past him in a newer vehicle that de Leon was “unrecognizable.”
De Leon then exited his truck to make his delivery, returned to his truck and buckled in his seat belt. The victim was holding a UPS scanner and buckled in his seat belt when Fontanoza drove next to De Leon’s delivery truck and fired 14 shots in 19 seconds, according to the prosecutor’s report.
After the shooting, the suspect fled in a car. Fontanoza was found by police in his car later that afternoon. Prosecutors said the man refused to exit the vehicle, but he was arrested after police deployed a K9 and tear gas inside the vehicle.
Prosecutors charged Fontanoza with special circumstances murder. Fontanoza was held without bail in Orange County on Wednesday, according to online records.
It was not immediately known whether Mr. Fontanoza had retained a lawyer in the case.
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“I just go about my day and do my job.
“Mr. De Leon was just going about his day and going about his business, completely unaware that his longtime friend was stalking him with the intent to kill him,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Tuesday. announced in a statement. “The depraved act of planning and carrying out the execution of someone with whom we have shared lifelong memories is beyond any of us to be able to wrap our heads around.”
Prosecutors said Fontanoza faces the death penalty if convicted of the felony charges.
Prosecutors have not said whether they plan to seek the death penalty if a jury finds him guilty in the case.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter at USA TODAY. Contact her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her at nalund@nataliealund.
