From Fox News: “The man accused in a string of freeway shootings in Phoenix appeared in court Saturday and insisted to a judge that cops have ‘the wrong guy.’ Leslie Allen Merritt, 21, was arraigned on multiple charges, including four counts each of carrying out a drive- by shooting and intentional acts of terrorism. He was ordered held on $1 million cash bail.” That’s a lot of cash for a landscaper and “gun enthusiast”. Department of Public Safety Director Frank “Milstead said the suspect was arrested in the first four shootings, which took place on Aug. 29 and 30. Other charges Merritt faces include criminal endangerment, assault and unlawful discharge of a firearm. Police say bullets from Merritt’s weapon struck a tour bus, SUV and two cars on a stretch of Interstate 10 in Phoenix.” . . .
There were eleven shootings in all. As the report indicated, copycats are always a possibility. The Department of Public Safety indicates that the investigation is ongoing.
I detect the pungent odor of bovine feces. Again. Still.
We’ll find out if the shootings start again.
He tried to pawn the gun he used. Stupid.
This posting is missing a lot of information.
Agreed. I’m anxiously awaiting the ballistics results.
But when and where did he buy it? Maybe he purchased it off gun broker a few days before.
So other news sources say that his gun was already pawned DURING the time the shootings took place.
That’s his claim. Easy enough to check. No reason to comment until we have an answer.
Yeah there is. Its like internet betting. I’m betting he is innocent and the gun *was* pawned 2 months ago like he said. Police arrested a guy who has had no access to the gun, put a million dollar bond on him, and are destroying his family without even checking out the pawn shop itself.
He claims the gun in question was in hock for the past two months. The police went around to all the pawn shops to look for the gun. Attach tinfoil hats now;
When the police came to JoJos pawn shop and said “we need all the guns that have been pawned in the past 2 weeks,” Jo Jo began to sweat because he’s been taking customers out back for some unauthorized range time. Knowing that the only one of these “test fired” rifles left from two weeks ago is the defendants AR, he forges the ticket to make it look like it was just pawned recently. BOOM, the first four rounds are traced, and the police have a suspect who is not JoJo. To test this theory, first determine for certain the ballistic trajectory of the rounds (straight or severely arched, as rifles fired upwards have tremendous range) then find all of the rifles JoJo sold in the past two weeks and compare them to the rest of the recovered rounds.
You may remove the tinfoil now.
Soon enough, we’ll know if Merritt is a lying snake or not. But he’s only been charged with four shootings, in which he bagged a tour bus, an SUV and two cars. IIRC, there have been eleven of these shootings. So either he did ’em all, or he did none, or he did some. And let’s keep in mind that Merritt isn’t the first guy that the po-po busted for these shootings.
The shirtless guy answering the door is classy. The kid looks like your average 4chan poster.
No shirt is the father of the young guy the cops arrested. Interviewed this morning.
Color me skeptical. The cops “find” THE GUN at a pawn shop. Test it against bullets recovered at the first four shootings Shazam settled “science” proof positive that’s the gun and was formerly owned by Merritt. “We got him” (high fives donut time).
I can’t find a report of the caliber of model of gun in question. If (as speculated above) 5.56/.223 I don’t think you’d find ONE projectile that went thru a windshield/car body that would till you diddly.
The entire “matched a recovered projectile to a specific gun”, I think, is more police hokum. Like most of the TV cop show smoke and mirrors.
Assume a.5.56/.223 was used – what 30million barrels/uppers have been made in the last 30some years? Barrels drilled and rifled on not a huge # of plants. Some barrels worn out, some unfired. Various bolt groups made by many suppliers, assembled and fired or not. In all conditions. Hundreds of different projectiles of many designs made. Yet some low wage “lab” rat says he can conclusively identify recovered projectiles came from that there rifle the popo brought him. BS.
According to the TV news this morning the kid is a gun nut. Had a pro gun bumper sticker on his car. And Facebook BS firing guns. A crime for the pinheads in the media. And that is why you stay the hell of social disease/media and don’t wave flags/bumperstickers at the morons out there or talk about your arsenal.
I’d suggest they look for some illegal Mexican (Mexicans).
It’s a 9mm pistol. Whole thing smells fishy. Poor white landscaper with gun pics on Facebook, using a gun that he claims has been at the pawn shop, where the cops found it, for 2 months. Think they are taking a page from Waco and using the $1 mil bail to score a plea deal while his family slowly starves.
What was the accused person’s motive? If it was notoriety or terrorism, why isn’t he claiming credit now that police arrested him? If it was some sort of “revenge” or “payback” against society, where are his rants to support that idea?
And why would the accused person pawn the rifle? If he actually shot those vehicles and wanted to get rid of the evidence, why not take a short drive out to the desert and bury it somewhere?
I am having a really hard time believing that the suspect actually did anything that we hear in the news report. The police are portraying a person with no motive and utter stupidity.
Isn’t it a pistol?
$1MM bail?
Isn’t that the same bail you get if you’re arrested for witnessing LEO involved shootings in Waco?
Damn. People like this are giving white trash a bad name.