IRVINE, Calif. (TCD) — Police recently arrested a 46-year-old man on suspicion of fatally shooting a UPS driver multiple times within seconds while he was sitting in his delivery truck.
According to the Irvine Police Department, on May 16 at approximately 3 p.m., officers responded to a report of shots fired and found a UPS driver, 50-year-old Expedito Cuesta De Leon, “slumped over in the driver’s seat of his delivery truck” with multiple gunshot wounds. Officers attempted lifesaving measures, but De Leon succumbed to his injuries.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office alleges 46-year-old Rhean Fontanoza tracked down De Leon, his “longtime friend and co-worker,” and fatally shot him. Fontanoza, who also works for UPS, allegedly asked another delivery driver about De Leon’s route on May 16 at around 12:30 p.m. The driver said the victim had another delivery line, so Fontanoza reportedly accessed a UPS computer to track De Leon.
According to the district attorney’s office, Fontanoza had been on disability leave and wasn’t set to go back to work until June 1.
On May 16 shortly before 3 p.m., prosecutors said Fontanoza drove past De Leon in a new car, “which De Leon wouldn’t recognize.” When the victim returned to his truck after making a delivery, Fontanoza allegedly “drove next to De Leon’s delivery truck and shot him 14 times in 19 seconds.” Fontanoza then drove away.
According to police, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office located the suspect’s car shortly before 4 p.m. Fontanoza allegedly “refused to exit his vehicle,” but officials later took him into custody after deploying a police K-9 and tear gas.
The district attorney’s office charged Fontanoza with special circumstance murder and said he is eligible for the death penalty if convicted. Fontanoza remains held without bail.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said, “The depravity involved to plot and carry out a plan to execute someone you shared a lifetime of memories is not something anyone of us can wrap our heads around. No life should have to end like this and it is a tragedy that should have never happened.”
According to KTLA-TV, De Leon, a father of two, started working for UPS after serving in the Army for several years. His ex-wife reportedly said, “He had a good heart” and that “his biggest joy was for his children.”
MORE:
