Thread: Phoenix freeway shooting suspect in custody, Arizona governor announces

Phoenix freeway shooting suspect in custody, Arizona governor announces

Published September 18, 2015 FoxNews.com

DEVELOPING The suspect in the Phoenix-area freeway shootings has been caught, Arizona's governor announced late Friday.

Gov. Doug Ducey said the suspect was apprehended Friday night and is in the custody of the state's Department of Public Safety.

A spokesman for Ducey said the man was taken into custody around 7 p.m. local time at a Wal-Mart in Glendale, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix.

The suspect has not yet been identified by authorities.

Since Aug. 29, there have been 11 confirmed shootings of vehicles involving bullets or other projectiles, most of which along Interstate 10.

There have been no serious injuries reported, though a 13-year-old girl's ear was cut by glass after a bullet shattered a window of a vehicle she was riding in.

The shootings have prompted several school districts to keep their buses off freeways, and some motorists have altered their commutes to avoid driving I-10.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/09/18...nor-announces/

Police Arrest Suspect in String of Phoenix Freeway Shootings

• By PAUL DAVENPORT AND TERRY TANG, ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHOENIX — Sep 18, 2015, 11:22 PM ET


A suspect has been arrested in a string of shootings along Phoenix-area freeways that have kept drivers on edge for weeks, state officials said Friday night.

A spokesman for Gov. Doug Ducey said a man was taken into custody around 7 p.m. at a Wal-Mart in Glendale, a suburb west of Phoenix.

Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves confirmed that an arrest was made but declined to provide any details. A news conference was scheduled for late Friday.

"We got him!" Ducey tweeted. "Great work by Arizona DPS investigators and SWAT team."

However, it was unclear if authorities believe the suspect is responsible for all of the shootings.

Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead said last week that he believes there could be multiple shooters and has previously called the incidents "domestic terrorism crimes."

Since Aug. 29, there have been 11 confirmed shootings of vehicles in the Phoenix area involving bullets or other projectiles. Most occurred along Interstate 10, a major route through the city. The Wal-Mart where the suspect was arrested is 6 miles north of where some of the shootings on I-10 occurred.

There have been no serious injuries, though a 13-year-old girl's ear was cut by glass after a bullet shattered a window of a vehicle she was riding in.

There has not been a confirmed shooting in the case since Sept. 10.
The shootings have prompted several school districts to keep their buses off freeways, and some motorists have altered their commutes to avoid driving I-10.

Authorities offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. They distributed thousands of fliers in neighborhoods along I-10 to raise awareness about the shootings and the reward, but they have been tight-lipped about any details in the case.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety said state troopers have stepped up patrols, while other agencies assisting in the investigation have included Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa police as well as the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"I think it's fair to say since a week ago, we've made headway in this case," Graves said earlier Friday.

Meanwhile Friday, a judge ordered the release of a 19-year-old man who was detained at a convenience store on Sept. 11 and questioned regarding the shootings. Authorities have declined to explain why the man was questioned about the shootings, but they have said he was not a prime suspect.

He was arrested on an alleged probation violation stemming from marijuana found in the man's house during a Sept. 11 search based on a tip that he was violating probation by possessing a gun. The man had been sentenced to probation on an endangerment conviction for excessive speeding and fleeing from police.

Three young men were arrested and accused of hurling rocks at cars with slingshots in a case that authorities called a copycat to the shootings, but one of the young men denied in jail interviews that was the case.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/m...tings-33864489

Leslie Allen Merritt, the suspect in a series of Phoenix freeway shootings, was arrested Sept. 19 after trying to sell a gun at a pawn shop. Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

SEP 19 2015, 2:28 PM ET

Arizona Freeway Shooting Suspect Leslie Allen Merritt Held on $1 Million Bond

by PHIL HELSEL and ALASTAIR JAMIESON



Judge Sets Bond at $1M for Arizona Highway Shooting Suspect 3:24

A $1 million dollar bond was set Saturday for a suspect in a spree of highway shootings that rattled Arizona drivers for weeks.

Leslie Allen Merritt, 21, is charged with four counts each of drive-by shooting, intentional terrorism, discharging a firearm within city limits, aggravated assault, discharging a firearm, criminal damage and disorderly conduct.

Merritt was arrested Friday at a Walmart in Glendale, Arizona.

"I think the detectives really worked this," Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves said on MSNBC on Saturday, crediting "old-fashioned police work" and public tips for helping the investigation to come together over the past few days.

On Friday, investigators had eyes on the suspect throughout the day, and also spotted him at a pawn shop selling a gun, reported NBC affiliate KPNX.

Leslie Allen Merritt, the suspect in a series of Phoenix freeway shootings, was arrested Sept. 19 after trying to sell a gun at a pawn shop. Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

At 6:45 p.m. local time, Merritt then entered the Walmart with a woman and a 5-year-old child, according to investigators.

Witnesses said he was no more than 10 feet inside the automatic doors when authorities swarmed in and tackled him. He gave himself up willingly, they added.

"Ten officers came out with the suspect, he didn't resist, they put him right in the car after checking him," witness Brandon Copeland told KPNX.

At a news conference Friday night, authorities said Merritt owned a weapon that was "forensically linked" to the first four shootings.

The first three shootings occurred on Aug. 29 and the fourth the following night, hitting a tour bus, SUV and two cars, all of them on Interstate 10. No one was injured.



Arizona Highway Shooting Suspect Arrested 0:19

Frank Milstead, director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, noted that others may have also been involved in the remaining shootings. "I believe we have some copycats that decided to participate," he said Friday.

Merritt's father told The Associated Press that his son had nothing to do with the shootings 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.

Merritt faces a range of charges that include criminal endangerment, assault and unlawful discharge of a firearm.

Eleven vehicles were shot at on or near the I-10 freeway running through Phoenix since Aug. 29, authorities have said, although some of those incidents involved bullets and others were what has been only described as projectiles.

Ducey praised the work of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and said the investigation remains ongoing.




Suspect arrested in Arizona freeway shootings, governor says 2:22

"Are there others out there? Are there copycats? That is possible," Milstead said.

The last confirmed shooting was on Sept. 10, when a bullet strike was found on a truck-tractor — although it wasn't clear when and where the vehicle was when it was shot. The only person injured in the shootings was a 13-year-old girl hurt by flying glass.




FROM SEPT. 12: Fear, Frustration as Phoenix Cops Continue Search in Highway Shooting Spree 2:29

Three of the shootings involved unspecified projectiles while eight involved bullets, the Arizona Department of Public Safety has said. One of the shootings involving bullets was preceded by a "road rage" incident, police said.

Some drivers told NBC News they were avoiding using the freeway over fear of being shot. A reward of $50,000 was offered for information leading to an arrest.

Officials said the investigation continues into potential suspects in the other shooting incidents.

"The overhead freeway signs will stay lit," Graves said Saturday. "We are asking for leads."

Earlier Friday, a local 19-year-old who had been described as a "person of interest" in the case was ordered released from jail. He was never named as a suspect in the shootings, and authorities never explained why he was considered a person of interest.

Prosecutors asked a judge to dismiss a petition to revoke the man's probation after police failed to provide a police report or investigation documents, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said. The 19-year was detained on Sept. 11 but was booked on a possession of marijuana charge.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...r-says-n430196

Leslie Merritt Jr. update: Phoenix freeway suspect's criminal history revealed

Nohelani Graf 9:31 PM, Sep 24, 2015
2 hours ago



PHOENIX - Court documents are revealing the full narrative on the criminal history of accused I-10 shooter Leslie Merritt Jr.

FULL COVERAGE: Phoenix freeway shootings

The first offense is a domestic violence case that centered on an attack on his own sister in February, 2013.

According to the police report, his sister's opinion of him might have led to their fight.

She told police she got in an argument with Merritt Jr.’s then girlfriend and then told her brother he, “Needs to stop chasing girls and take care of his son instead.”

Merritt Jr.’s other family members were there at the time and told police he then followed his sister into her room and punched her in the jaw, shoved her, destroyed furniture and then left the house.

When police found Merritt Jr., according to the report, he tells the same story and admits he has anger issues.

Merritt Jr. was arrested but the case was later dismissed.

A second case shows Merritt Jr. was arrested for assault and criminal damage after a hit-and-run crash that left two people with back pain.

The accident happened near 59th Avenue and Thomas Road in Phoenix in late 2013.

Police say Merritt Jr. rear-ended a stopped car and took off. His baby and now fiancé were also in the car at the time.

The report says the victim called 911 and followed Merritt Jr. until he pulled over where police caught up with him.

Merritt Jr. comes clean to police admitting he got distracted while driving but told the officer "I got scared because I don’t have a license," so he "tried to get away."

Police noted Merritt Jr. has never had a record of a having a driver’s license.

http://www.abc15.com/news/region-pho...story-revealed