Suspected Phoenix freeway shooter Leslie Allen Merritt Jr. pleads not guilty
The suspect in several of the Interstate 10 shootings in Phoenix, Leslie Allen Merritt Jr., entered a plea of not guilty as he was was arraigned in Maricopa County Superior Court on Thursday morning.
Merritt had previously declared his innocence, telling a court commissioner at his initial appearance in September, "I'm the wrong guy."
The suspect, a 21-year-old Glendale landscaper, has been charged with drive-by shooting and discharging a firearm within city limits. He also faces criminal damage, endangerment and disorderly conduct charges.
Merritt could face up to 100 years in prison if convicted, according to prosecutors.
Merritt's newly appointed criminal defense attorneys, Jason Lamm and Ulises Ferragut, proclaimed him innocent and said they are ready to fight for their client.
"We’re just going work hard for our client," Ferragut said after Merritt's arraignment. "That’s our job. We’re going do everything we can to defend him, protect his rights. That’s all we're focused on, is being good, solid attorneys and representing our client’s interest."
The shootings sparked weeks of fear in the Valley and drew national attention, even from Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who went viral by tweeting, 'We got him!" after Merritt's arrest Sept. 18.
"As criminal defense attorneys, you know, we're disappointed," Lamm said of Ducey's tweet. "But at the same time, I think it speaks to the emotion that has gripped this community over the past weeks. "I think it’s a rush to judgment," Ferragut said in response to the governor. "We all obviously are interested in who is the I-10 shooter, but the reality here is that this is a rush to judgment. This is a long investigation. As I’ve seen so far preliminarily, the DPS investigation does not place our client at the scene."
"It shows that even someone of his stature has been captivated by the emotion and the fear of this case, and that anyone is susceptible to it."
Ferragut continued, "We’re going to work diligently to make sure that we investigate this fully, and we believe in his (Merritt's) innocence."
"We’re going to try it on the facts and the evidence," Lamm added, "and it’s going to happen in that courthouse behind us."
"We want everyone to keep an open mind, and we don’t want anybody to rush to judgment on this," Ferragut said.
When he appeared in court Thursday morning, Merritt was clean-shaven and his hair cropped close, unlike his bearded appearance when he was arrested.
Prosecutors left the courthouse without commenting about the case to reporters.
The shooting spree began in late August and continued sporadically through Sept. 10. Most of the attacks took place along a stretch of I-10 between 32nd Street and 83rd Avenue, with the majority occurring in the early morning or late at night. Five of the incidents happened on weekends and one more may have occurred during a weekend. Merritt is a suspect in the first four shootings, which occurred between Aug. 22 and Aug. 29, according to court documents.
Multiple vehicles were struck, most by bullets, but some by what were described by authorities as "projectiles." Only one person was reported hurt, a 13-year-old girl cut by shattered glass.
The charges against Merritt stem from shootings on I-10 that struck a Cadillac Escalade, a bus, a Kia Sorrento and a BMW, according to court records.
Investigators tied Merritt to those shootings through ballistics testing from bullets and bullet fragments, the records say. The bullets were fired by a handgun Merritt owned and pawned to a local pawnshop, according to authorities.
“We received a CD of police reports, which we’ll have an opportunity to go through," Lamm said. "That is our first look at the evidence and information against our client."
When asked about the forensic evidence against Merritt, Lamm said, "Forensic evidence is susceptible to interpretation -- it’s such a vague term.
"I think everybody’s been watching a little bit too much 'CSI' here. We need to see what this is really about, and like I said, investigate the investigation."
Merritt is not charged with any of the other seven incidents under investigation as potentially linked to the spree and often attributed to potential copycats.
The defense attorneys said they have evidence of another potential suspect acknowledging he could be responsible.
"That’s a lead that we're tracking down," Lamm said. "But it’s very, very early in the game to give hard confirmation on that, but that’s something that Ulises and I are looking at very seriously."
The state Department of Public Safety has said its investigation continues despite Merritt's arrest.
"This piece of the pie has been solved, but we are working on all of the loose ends," DPS spokesman Bart Graves said last month, adding, "This case is still ongoing. Nothing has been wrapped up."
Merritt remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail.
In response to Merritt's bail Lamm said, "I think that initially, it was set based on information that was presented. If new evidence is developed, a material change in circumstance, which is what is required by the rules of criminal procedure, we will revisit that at an appropriate time."
"He’s going to get a fair trial," Ferragut said, "and we’re going to make sure that he gets a fair trial.”
“Would you expect anything less from us?” Lamm added.
Merritt's next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 18.
Reporters Paul Giblin and Jim Walsh contributed to this article.
