RSSLeslie Allen Merritt Jr. Arrested in Connection with Phoenix Freeway Shootings (VIDEO) (Update: Suspect Says, ‘I’m the wrong guy’)
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey tweets: ‘We got him!’…
21 year old Leslie Allen Merritt Jr. has been arrested in connection with the recent rash of Phoenix, Arizona highway shootings. Merritt has been named a suspect in at least four of the shootings. The authorities believe that other shootings may be that of copycats. Gov. Doug Ducey first broke the news about the arrest in a tweet just before 7 p.m Friday night., after SWAT team members closed in on the suspect at a Walmart near 59th and Northern avenues. Merritt has not been formally charged but is expected to face a range of charges, such as unlawful discharge of a firearm and aggravated assault, Graves said. Merritt is reported to have a previous had a criminal record. Merritt will be arraigned on Saturday.
With Friday’s arrest of Leslie Allen Merritt Jr., 21, law-enforcement officials said they had a suspect in at least four of the shootings in custody — news that brought relief but not necessarily closure.
Arizona Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead said Merritt had been linked to at least four of 11 shootings incidents through a gun he owned.
“The weapon and man we believe was responsible for starting this spree is in custody,” Milstead said late Friday at a hastily called news conference.
Milstead spoke only for a few minutes and would not divulge other details, such as a possible motive.
“Are there others out there? Are there copycats? That is possible,” Milstead said.
Leslie Allen Merritt Jr.
Suspected freeway shooter taken into custody.
Ballistics tests linked a weapon owned by the suspect to the first four of the 11 freeway shootings, on Aug. 29 and 31, Milstead said. Investigators had tracked down the weapon at a pawn shop in Phoenix.
Merritt’s Facebook page contains several links to stories about the freeway shootings, as well as several images supporting gun rights and video of him shooting a 9mm handgun.
Before the arrest, Milstead and Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery had labeled the shooter as a domestic terrorist.
Police arrest suspect in string of Phoenix freeway shootings
UPDATE I: Phoenix freeway shooting suspect Leslie Allen Merritt Jr. Says, ‘I’m the wrong guy’.
A landscaper arrested in a series of Phoenix freeway shootings told a judge that authorities have “the wrong guy” as investigators stood by their detective work that traced the gun to the suspect after he took it to a pawn shop.
Leslie Allen Merritt Jr. was charged Saturday with counts including aggravated assault, criminal damage, disorderly conduct, carrying out a drive-by shooting and intentional acts of terrorism.
“All I have to say is I’m the wrong guy. I tried telling the detectives that. My gun’s been in the pawn shop the last two months. I haven’t even had access to a weapon,” he said as he stood handcuffed in a black and white striped jail uniform.
But a charging document released late Saturday night by Maricopa Superior Court said that investigators determined Merritt had not pawned his gun at the time of the incidents.
Posted September 19, 2015 by Scared Monkeys Arrest, Attempted Murder, Crime, Domestic Terrorism, You Tube - VIDEO | one comment |
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[...] in the highway shootings. Authorities had called these shootings an act of domestic terrorism. Mettitt was arrested on September 18 at a Wal-Mart. Merritt remains in jail on a $1 million [...]