http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2016/04/19/phoenix-freeway-shooter-bond-reduced/83235012/

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has ordered that bond be eliminated for the suspect accused in a string of freeway shootings last summer, effectively releasing him from custody immediately.

Leslie Allen Merritt Jr. could be out of custody by Tuesday evening on pretrial release. Superior Court Judge Warren Granville ordered Merritt to wear an electronic monitor.

The Tuesday morning ruling came in response to a sealed motion filed by Merritt's defense attorneys. The motion was based in part on an independent review of the ballistics, Merritt's attorneys said, which called into question some of the evidence tying their client to the shootings.

"There’s no evidence against him," defense attorney Jason Lamm told Granville at the hearing. “He’s no more the I-10 shooter than you are."

There have been no other arrests tied to the shootings. Merritt, 21, still faces 15 charges, including drive-by shooting and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

good

That case just keeps getting stranger. First they have enough evidence to convict, now ballistics are garbage. The gun was supposedly getting repaired while the shootings were going on.

What a mess ... I see lawsuits in the future. Hope they got it right

If he has been in jail all this time for something he didn't do and was clearly innocent with a cursory look at the evidence I'd approve his lawsuit.

I've had my doubts from the beginning that this was the guy.  The changing timeline when they found out it was in pawn kinda rubbed me the wrong way.  Saying "Well the car has runflat tires, so he didn't notice for 3 days" or whatever had me going .  If you have a high end car with runflat tires, there's going to be lights and audible notifications that you would notice immediately.  

He still might be.  DPS has been sort of hush on whether or not they have additional evidence.  It's possible that the gun was not the only evidence, and they had no reason to reveal it until trial.  We'll find out if/when Merritt's defense files a motion to dismiss for lack of evidence.  If DPS has more, or has nothing else, we'll find out then.

Az Rep article I read the other day says he has already filed a wrongful arrest lawsuit...

We'll see where this lands.....sadly many here had him strung up long ago...

The judge has seen more evidence than we have regarding these allegations of violent crimes and he has released the suspect...that does not bode well for the States case.

I want more info on them testing pawned/sold guns....and what kind of blanket warrant allowed for that

and seems all sides are under a gag order on this....typical

I thought they had him on the ballistic evidence . Now they don't ? Something smells funny here. And it seams that the shootings have stopped since he has been in jail. I don't know what to think now . This is a gigantic mess ,and I see a very costly settlement coming at the expense of the tax payers .

this guy's getting paid.

Fixed



 

What a cluster.

I have to say... something just didn't smell right about it from the every beging.
Lots of conflicting information

IF, and that's a big 'if' he's truly not guilty, I hope those responsible for wrongful prosecution get a lot more than an administrative slap on the wrist

The governor lead the way with that.

well.. in better news... the shootings atleast stopped? hahah

The State has now moved, on their own, to drop all charges.

Somebody is about to get paid.

And...all charges dropped (but can be "re-filed"). 10 million lawsuit filed. I wonder if the "charges can be re-filed" was a last-ditch threat to ward off a lawsuit?

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2016/04/22/accused-phoenix-freeway-shooter-charges-dismissed/83415724/

naa...thats SOP,  the defense may file a motion to dismiss WITH prejudice so they cannot refile....but I doubt it will be granted seeing as they are allegedly still investigating.....unless the judge is sitting on some glaring evidence of misconduct that is....

He needs to be on his best behavior and be wary of future entrapments for even the tiniest thing....   .gov hates being wrong.

I'm not suggesting anything, but I find it interesting that he's wearing tactical/police style boots in his release photos

Thanks for the hot link

What a cluster fuck.  Good job DPS.  Now we as taxpayers are probably gonna get stuck with a huge payout from a lawsuit.

LOL at the last thread that we had on this, you know, when some of us were chastised for saying innocent until proven guilty.....

 
Yep, the states newest millionaire.  Oh well, at least he'll have the money to get his Glock out of pawn.

Fixed,  but now he will have the cash to get a Glock or 2.





 

He was a neckbeard. He was obviously guilty of something.

They will settle ... I don't know about millions tho .

As a "neckbeard" we know for sure he was one of the Walmart/.22 ammo zombies.  That alone should earn him 10-20 in a state pen.
Bastard.

Although with his soon-to-be-new-found-AZ-bestowed-wealth he will be able to BUY .22 for $80/brick and sleep in.

Funny thing was, just before he was arrested, AZ police arrested another neckbeard or two for the same crime, then let them go shortly after. I have a suspicion there was video evidence of a neckbeard doing the deed, but they haven't yet caught the right one (unless they have, but for another offense).

 
7+ months in prison, job lost, reputation destroyed, huge lawyers costs, hardship of both himself and his family, etc, etc.


Considering how badly the case was botched I think the judge will fall on the defendants like an old building.  He may not get the whole 10 million, but I bet he gets 3-5.  The state would be smart to try to settle for 1-2.  They fucked up bad.


And we should all be equally pissed because the real shooter will never be caught now unless he's stupid enough to start it up again.  He got a real break and was smart enough to stop when the cops hauled off the wrong guy.

If it comes out that the dude was actually innocent and he doesn't have charges refiled, then I hope he takes it to trial and gets $10M.

1) No one deserves to be railroaded like he was, if he's innocent.
2) Want the truth to come out about how the Manitowoc MCSO / DPS / whoever ended up botching this.

unless DPS has an ace up their sleeve they will settle and he will take it....taking it to trial will take too long and eat up too many resources on his side.

Those DPS guys are really good at speed citations and filling out Arizona Crash Reports though.

Actual investigations.... LOL, not so much.

If he is innocent and gets 3 mill  he hit the jackpot . He would be set for life . That is $85714.29 tax free dollars per year for 35 years . He could never had earned that much the way he was going . So that is a very good deal for him and more than compensates him . But if he is innocent we still have a nut on the loose ,and have  to pay for a big fuck up . Any way you look at it the tax payer is the real victim  here. We need to find out who fucked this up and fire him/her ,them ASAP B4 it happens again. If in fact he is guilty and gets off on it due to incompetence   we loose all the way around . This needs to be resolved , and we need to Know one way or the other .

They arrest the guy and the shootings stop, guilty as charged, or maybe it was because they seized the gun.

Except they didn't stop.

http://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/30-questions-have-we-seen-new-freeway-shootings-in-phoenix-since-leslie-merritt-jr-was-in-jail

DPS just started calling every incident "Road Debris".

How many times have you heard of a BACK WINDOW being broken by road debris whilst traveling 60-70mph on a freeway?  How is such a thing even possible?

]

Must be JFK road debris.

On a serious note, I wasn't aware they were still going on. Looks like they tried to pin that guy to appease the media whores/public panic.

Lol.  I am just going to say this.  The ballistics guy the prosecution hired waffled.  Our guys were rock solid.  This case is solid.  Prosecution did the defenses job for them.  Not over.

 

There are broken windows on the highway on a daily basis.  Rarely is it a projectile.  The times it is, we investigate.  The news just got bored reporting it.  

 

I know there are.  I'm not trying to beat up on you as a person or as a Trooper.  I know that from your end, there's probably stuff you know that you wish you could tell, but you can't.  

From what we, as regular joes are allowed to see, it looks like mickey mouse shit.  All "we" know is that this guy owned a gun that was maybe, maybe not, ballistically linked.  We haven't been told whether there's anything else.  Even IF it is the right gun, if that's all there is, it's still difficult to prove that he did the shooting.  

As to the back windows being broken out by road debris, how does that happen?  I can see a front window, maybe even a sunroof..  Side windows are stretching it.

 
Well, sorry that the only thing that is heard about this case or any case is what the "5 minute media" tells everyone.  Frustrating as all get out.  




As far as broken windows, in my experience, side windows are usually by "non-penetrating debris".   From what, it is usually not found.  The window is shattered, but intact, you can see the strike location, but no hole.  Probably happens several times a month.  Usually it is road debris.  Old car parts, bolts, screws, tools, wood, rocks, bricks, construction materials, garbage, you name it.  Gets caught in a tire, and can be ejected out of the tire at the same speed the vehicle is traveling or faster.  and up, sideways, bouncing, who knows the trajectory.  


Then we have the once in a while freeway shooting.  A majority of these are road rage incidents, very rarely are they totally "innocent" people who have been shot at.  Someone cut some gangbanger off, or there were words, someone brandished a weapon (which is usually twice a day reported occurrence), and it got WAY out of hand, and shots got fired.  This "Freeway Shooter" situation was unique in that is was random people getting shot, with no precursor incidents.  A few of the incidents in the timeline were copycats, some were drive-bys, and some just could not be linked to the case due to absolutely no evidence other that a bullet hole and a general location.  


You would not believe how many man hours were spent on that case.  While DPS was working hard to solve it, there was no "rush to arrest."  The shootings had basically stopped due to the suspect realizing he would eventually get caught.  And he did by good, basic Detective work.  Based on the striations on the bullets recovered, we knew what type of weapon.  Most criminals would bury the gun, drop it in Tempe town lake, etc, and that would be that.  Some are dumb enough to pawn the same gun many times over to the same pawn shop.  And the "run flat" timeline is good.  The guy was driving to the airport on I-10, tire got hit, he parked at the airport, was gone for several days, and when he drove out again on the freeway, the flat tire indicator came on. So it was initially though it was hit after the trip, not before.  


This is all public record, look it up.  Not giving any case secrets here.  All was disclosed to the defense.  Ask them what their ballistics guy said.  Bet they wont.  So the suspects Obama phone was in a different place, and they say that proves he was at home at the time of the shooting.  Seriously?  Who was using the phone?  His mom, him?  The defense case...

Interesting. Isn't it fun how the media tries people before they get arrested? The guy's violent-felon father said he's innocent though.

What lead them to the pawn shop or did they go to numerous pawn shops and test numerous guns?

I had a side window break one time, I was passing a semi and I figured a stone got flicked up by his tire and it broke the window.

If they do have another card up their sleeve, it will be a hard row to ho...the media beat them up, which is what the media likes to do; one day, you're their darling, the next, a jackbooted thug!

Back in the day, it would drive me nuts with forensics and document examiners...these would be the handwriting experts. If the case merited it...forgeries (documents, checks, receipts, scrips, etc) required an insane number of exemplars (handwriting samples) written by the suspect (either voluntarily, or by court order). I would usually look at signatures, and known handwriting and make acetate overlays, to show exact matches with letters, slants, size, spacing...only to be shot down by the experts (someone with glasses, a briefcase and more than 50 miles from their hometown). If the state expert said it was a match (which happened about 1 in a hundred plus cases) and defense expert said it wasnt, rather than call in another expert or battle it out in court, more often than not, the state tossed the forgery aspect of the case.

They seized his car too didn't they?
He deserves a payday.
Anyone remember Richard Jewell?

Tested a bunch of guns from many.  It was a hunch.

 

wow....seems like an overly broad warrant would be required....

What warrant?   Consent is all you need.  

They can ask, and if the pawn shop says yes, then why would they need a warrant?