On September 19, Phoenix freeway shooting suspect Leslie Allen Merritt, Jr., made his first court appearance and told the judge that police arrested the wrong guy.
Merritt said, “I’m the wrong guy” and claimed that his gun is in a pawn shop and has been since before the shootings began.
According to AZ Central, Merritt told Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Lisa Roberts that he could not be the guy because he allegedly sold his gun “to a pawn shop two months ago.” But Roberts cited “sufficient probable cause” to keep Merritt in custody and set the bond at $1 million.
With “a quivering voice,” Merritt responded, “I could never afford that bond.”
The Mo Money Pawn shop in Phoenix said DPS Troopers contacted them on September 16 with questions about “a certain caliber and make of handgun.” Mo Money Pawn said, “DPS examined several weapons and after further ballistics testing found the weapon they thought to be the match of the weapon used in several of the I-10 shootings.” Breitbart News previously reported that DPS Director Colonel Frank Milstead told reporters that Merritt owns a gun that “is forensically linked to the first four shootings” in the string of 11 shootings that began August 29.
ABC 15 reports that Merritt’s next court date is 8:30 a.m. on September 25.
Merritt’s Facebook page reveals a man who likes guns and is anti-cop, pro-pot, and pro-conspiracy theory. He makes clear that he does not identify with Democrats or Republicans, and he mocks both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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