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Lawyer: DPS is retaliating against Leslie Merritt Jr.

Attorneys for a man formerly suspected of being the I-10 Freeway Shooter said Friday they believe Leslie Merritt, Jr. is being retaliated against by law enforcement for filing a lawsuit against the Deparment of Public Safety.

PHOENIX - Attorneys for Leslie Merritt, Jr. said Friday they believe law enforcement is retaliating against their client for filing a lawsuit this week against the Department of Public Safety.

Merritt, Jr. was suspected in 2015's Interstate 10 freeway shootings and jailed for more than 200 days before all charges against him were dropped. No one else has ever been charged in connection with I-10 shootings.

Merritt Jr.'s attorney, Jason Lamm, said he was notified that DPS investigators had gone back to witnesses who vouched for Merritt Jr.'s alibi and tried to re-interview them.

Lamm said this happened within a day of his filing a lawsuit on Merritt Jr.'s behalf for wrongful arrest.

“Was it coincidence that we had just served the civil lawsuit?" Lamm asked "Well, we actually see it more as retaliation.”

12 News reached out to DPS but the agency did not return requests for comment.

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