A landscaper suspected in a series of Phoenix freeway shootings in the US told a judge on Saturday that authorities have “the wrong guy” and he has not had a gun for two months.
Leslie Allen Merritt Jr, 21, was charged with aggravated assault, criminal damage, disorderly conduct, carrying out a drive-by shooting and intentional acts of terrorism.
In a brief court appearance, a prosecutor said Merritt should face a high bail after drivers spent the last three weeks on edge.
Photo: AP
“The suspect presents a dramatic and profound threat to the community,” Maricopa County attorney’s office spokesperson Ed Leiter said.
US Superior Court Commissioner Lisa Roberts set bail at US$1 million and Merritt, who had remained quiet during the proceedings, asked in a soft-spoken voice to address the court.
“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.
Merritt was arrested on Friday evening after a SWAT team swarmed him at a Wal-Mart in the suburb of Glendale, Arizona. Minutes later, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey took to Twitter to proclaim “We got him!”
Arizona Department of Public Safety director Frank Milstead said at a news conference late on Friday that forensic evidence linked Merritt to the shootings of a tour bus, an SUV and two cars on Interstate 10 on Aug. 29 and 30.
Eleven cars in all were hit by bullets or other projectiles, such as BBs or pellets, while driving along Phoenix freeways between Aug. 29 and Sept. 10.
There have been no serious injuries, although a 13-year-old girl’s ear was cut by glass when a bullet shattered a car window.
Milstead said the investigation continues.
“Are there others out there? Are there copycats? That is possible,” he said.
In an interview with media, the suspect’s father was adamant that his son had nothing to do with the shooting and that anyone who says he was involved is a “moron.”
Leslie Merritt Sr said he believes his son is being made a scapegoat by police who were desperate to make an arrest under immense public pressure.
“He has way too much value for human life to even take the slightest or remotest risk of actually injuring someone,” he said of his son.
Merritt Jr’s Facebook page, confirmed by his father, has two video clips that show him firing guns into the desert toward a palm tree, exclaiming “whoo” after squeezing off a round.
Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio, who received updates about the arrest from police, said the suspect tried to pawn the gun used in the shootings.
A Mo-Money Pawn manager declined to comment on Saturday beyond a post on a Facebook page that said detectives contacted the shop on Wednesday last week looking for a certain caliber and make of handgun and examined several weapons.
The Wal-Mart where Merritt Jr was arrested on Friday is 9.6km north of where some of the shootings occurred along the freeway, a major route through the city.
The shootings prompted several school districts to keep their buses off freeways and some commuters altered their routes.
Phoenix resident Sarah Madder said she would stay off the I-10 for a few more days despite the arrest.
“It seems like there had to have been more than one person,” Madder said on Saturday.
“If it calms down for a while, I’ll get back on,” she said.
Phoenix resident Dustin Ramirez, who was getting fuel at a gas station, said there are still a lot of open questions if Merritt is suspected of only four of the 11 confirmed shootings.
“It’s a little unnerving, but you got to admire their ability to catch the guy in the first place,” Ramirez said.
Meanwhile, on Friday, a judge ordered the release of a 19-year-old man who was arrested on an alleged probation violation on Sept. 11 and questioned regarding the shootings. Authorities have declined to explain the man’s connection to the case, but said he was not a prime suspect.
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