UPS driver killed in Southern California was shot 14 times by childhood friend

(KTLA) – New details released Tuesday about the fatal ambush attack on a UPS driver in Orange County, California, revealed that he was allegedly stalked and killed by a childhood friend.

The shooting occurred on May 16 as the victim, Expedito Cuesta De Leon, 50, of Aliso Viejo, was sitting in his van after dropping off a package around 3 p.m.

According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, a masked gunman pulled up to De Leon’s van and shot him 14 times in 19 seconds.

Police responded to the area in Irvine where De Leon was found in his van with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect, Rhean Jalipa Fontanoza, 46, fled the area at a high rate of speed, authorities said. He was located about an hour later and arrested after a standoff with a SWAT team.

The DA’s office said the two men, both UPS workers, were childhood friends. They were also neighbors who lived in the same Aliso Viejo community.

At about 12:30 p.m. on May 16, Fontanoza allegedly stopped another UPS driver to ask him if a particular route belonged to the victim, police said.

The driver indicated that the victim had a different route, prosecutors said, and then allegedly directed Fontanoza to go to the Aliso Viejo UPS substation to access a computer that displayed the drivers’ routes and the Taking photos of information with his cell phone.

At the time, Fontanoza was on disability leave and was scheduled to return to work on June 1.

Fontanoza is accused of tracking De Leon along his route shortly before 3 p.m. Prosecutors said he initially drove past De Leon several times in a new vehicle that the victim did not recognize, then waited for De Leon to make a delivery and return to his truck. According to court documents, he then pulled up next to the UPS truck and opened fire.

“(De Leon) still had his UPS scanner in hand and was wearing his seatbelt when Fontanoza drove alongside De Leon’s van and shot him 14 times in 19 seconds,” the DA’s office said.

Fontanoza was later found by police in Orange. After he refused to get out of his truck, tear gas was fired and a police K9 was deployed. The suspect was eventually pulled from the truck and arrested, helicopter footage showed.

The motive behind the fatal shooting and details of the men’s relationship remain unclear.

“I was in shock,” said Rosanna McClanahan, the victim’s neighbor. “He was just a really nice guy. He made friends with everyone.”

Family members who knew De Leon are devastated as they remember him as a kind soul and loving father of two children.

“He had a good heart,” said Kimberly Sudan, De Leon’s ex-wife. “His greatest joy was his children. They both graduated and it was one of the proudest moments of his life – seeing his son and daughter at the graduation ceremony. We love and miss him very much.”

After serving in the Army for four years, De Leon began working for UPS to provide better healthcare to Sudan, who suffered from type 1 diabetes.

Fontanoza was charged with one count of murder and special circumstances, including a drive-by shooting and lying in wait. He is being held without bail. If convicted on all charges, he would face the death penalty, prosecutors said.

“Mr. “De Leon was simply going about his day doing his job, unaware that his longtime friend was stalking him with the intent to kill him,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “The depravity involved in planning and executing a plan to execute someone with whom you shared lifelong memories is beyond any of us to imagine. No life should have to end this way and it is a tragedy that should never have happened.”

De Leon is survived by his wife and children.