Rhean Jalipa Fontanoza, left inset, faces charges in the death of Expedito Cuesta De Leon, right inset. (Crime scene screenshot from KTLA; Mug shot from Irvine Police Department; Victim’s photo from GoFundMe)
A UPS employee is accused of shooting and killing a colleague as the man sat in his delivery truck on a Southern California street.
Rhean Jalipa Fontanoza, 46, faces a murder charge in the death of Expedito Cuesta De Leon, 50. He also faces special circumstance allegations of firing from a vehicle and murder by lying in wait and a gun sentencing enhancement, prosecutors said.
He was shot Thursday at Chrysler and Fleming in the Orange County city of Irvine, about an hour southwest of downtown Los Angeles. Police responded to the area at 3 p.m. on multiple reports that gunshots were heard, police said on X.
Melton Garcia told Los Angeles CBS affiliate KCAL he heard five shots.
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!” he told the station. “Then there was like a pause. Maybe like a minute or something like that. Then you hear another two or three shots more — Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Authorities found the victim slumped in the driver’s seat of his delivery truck. They tried lifesaving measures, but the victim died from multiple gunshot wounds.
Surveillance footage captured the suspect, wearing a dark-colored baseball cap and a face mask, in a silver Honda Ridgeline truck pulling alongside the UPS truck before driving off, police said.
Police put out a countywide broadcast, and authorities found the truck an hour later. A standoff ensued, a SWAT team was called, and the suspect eventually surrendered. Los Angeles Fox affiliate KTTV reported police were seen firing tear gas into the truck and using a police dog to get the suspect out of the truck at 6:15 p.m.
Authorities said the men were acquaintances, but a motive for the killing remained unknown.
The victim’s sister said on GoFundMe that her brother was wonderful, caring, and funny. He was “gunned down in broad daylight by a co-worker,” she wrote.
Friends of De Leon gathered to mourn the victim near where he was killed, KCAL reported. Albert Alba, who worked with the victim for 30 years, said the family man was an avid mountain biker and was well-loved.
“Awesome worker, great guy. Everybody loved him,” Alba told the station. “Just all-around good guy. This senseless killing just shocked me. I don’t understand.”
In a statement, UPS said: “Our hearts are heavy tonight with the news of the loss of one of our drivers in Irvine, CA. We are assisting authorities however we can to understand what happened. As a result of the ongoing investigation to find those responsible, we are deferring any additional questions to authorities. The safety and well-being of our employees is our top priority, and we are providing support and counseling services to our employees affected by this tragedy.”
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