PHOENIX - Newly released court documents are revealing what if any evidence the Arizona Department of Public Safety had linking Leslie Merritt Jr. to the I-10 freeway shootings when they arrested and charged him with four of the 11 cases.
Merritt Jr., later vindicated when all charges were dismissed, is now suing the state for damages and these new documents, filed by his attorneys, tell us why.
The documents show DPS had and still has no evidence tying Merritt Jr. to the spree.
“This probably isn't a case that should have been brought forward but mistakes happen,” said Marc Victor.
Victor, a criminal defense attorney who is not affiliated with the case, spoke with 12 News about the documents.
“When it’s a high-profile case like this,” Victor said, “you don't always have maybe the same level of stringent evidence that you're looking for like in a typical case.
“Because there's so much pressure to get the guy and get him off the street.”
The latest filing includes depositions with several DPS investigators.
In one filing, Merritt Jr.'s attorney, Jason Lamm, asks if there's any ADOT video, eyewitness accounts or any physical evidence that puts Merritt Jr. at the scene of any of the four shootings.
The investigator repeatedly answers "no."
Lamm also brings up that inconclusive ballistics test which DPS initially claimed linked bullet fragments found at the scenes to Merritt Jr.’s gun.
The state's own expert later disputed that finding.
According to these new documents, when Lamm questioned another DPS investigator about the ballistics test, the investigator told him, “there was pressure to find a match."
The documents part of a bigger picture that Merritt Jr.’s attorneys are painting.
They say he's still under DPS surveillance and are asking for access to all evidence collected on him since the charges were dismissed as part of their civil case.
“I think it's (evidence) important when calculating damages on the case and ongoing surveillance that’s affecting this plaintiff's life,” Victor told 12 News.