Phoenix freeway shooting suspect: I'm the wrong guy
<p>Leslie Allen Merritt Jr., waits to make his initial appearance before a judge at the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office on Saturday in Phoenix. The landscaper is the suspect in a series of Phoenix freeway shootings and was arrested Friday after trying to sell a gun at a pawn shop. </p>
PHOENIX (AP) - A landscaper arrested in a series of Phoenix freeway shootings told a judge Saturday that authorities have "the wrong guy" as investigators stood by their detective work that traced the gun to the suspect after he took it to a pawn shop.
Leslie Allen Merritt Jr. was charged with counts including 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 the 21-year-old should face a high bail after drivers spent the last three weeks on edge.
"The suspect presents a dramatic and profound threat to the community," said Ed Leiter of the Maricopa County attorney's office.
Superior Court Commissioner Lisa Roberts set bail at $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 Friday evening after a SWAT team swarmed him at a Wal-Mart in the suburb of Glendale. Minutes later, Gov. Doug Ducey proclaimed on Twitter, "We got him!"
Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves said the break in the case was the result of exhaustive investigative work in which weapons from local pawn shops were test-fired at the state crime lab.
Graves said evidence from shell casings and bullet fragments determined that a gun Merritt pawned was used in four of the shootings on Aug. 29 and 30. A tour bus, SUV and two cars were hit by bullets on Interstate 10 on those days.
"Today we are seeing the end result of some incredible police work," he said at a news conference.
Graves declined to comment on Merritt's statement in court that his gun was in the pawn shop at the time of the shootings and similar statements made by his family.
"The evidence as you'll see in the next couple of days speaks for itself," Graves said. "We're not going to get in a debate about that."