Posted on 09/19/2015 4:00:41 PM PDT by Kaslin
The man who was arrested in connection with a spate of shootings along a major highway through Arizona made his initial court appearance on Saturday to face felony charges that include drive-by shooting and terrorism.
Wearing a gray and white striped prison uniform, Leslie Allen Merritt Jr., 21, said he was not the person responsible for the shootings. He was arrested on Friday and appeared in Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix.
"All I have to say is that I'm the wrong guy. I tried telling the detective that," said Merritt, who said he has two children. "My gun's been in the pawn shop for the last two months. I haven't even had access to a weapon," Merritt said.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Interesting if it has been “borrowed” by someone out of the pawn shop.
Somehow im inclined to give this guy the benefit of the doubt for now.
As I said in the last thread, this guy may be a dumb liar, or just possibly innocent. Hope he kept his pawn receipt or can show evidence of dispensation.
On another thread, someone said they had a glock with matched ballistics. Reuters did not metion. Anyone want to chime in?
I’m not completely convinced either. Until tried and convicted, stay alert...
Jeez...he said he “hocked” the gun at the pawnshop two months ago. That seems like it would be easy to check out. If so, it’s harder to understand how he could have used it in late August for the 4 shootings they claim they tied to that SPECIFIC weapon.
I guess we’ll see how this all pans out. But somebody is not being totally forthcoming with all the facts...that’s for sure. Perhaps he pawned it, redeemed it and then pawned it once again?
“Perhaps he pawned it, redeemed it and then pawned it once again?”
That would be easy enough to check, I’d think.
But how did they know it was that gun?
From what I’ve seen this guy doesn’t fit any profile. He has a job and two young children. And if his gun was indeed in a pawn shop for the past two months, well, I don’t know what to think.
Mo-Money Pawn Shop released this statement on Facebook late Friday night:
On Wednesday September 16th, 2015 management at Mo Money Pawn Shop were contacted by detectives from the Arizona Department of Public Safety asking for our cooperation in finding a certain caliber and make of handgun. Detectives and ballistic experts from AZ 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. Pawn Shops in the state of Arizona are required by law to keep detailed records of all transactions conducted, and in this case (as well as several in the past) our diligence has assisted law enforcement officials in apprehending their suspect.
About his facebook page...
Pictures and video on Merritt Jr.’s Facebook page shows him firing several weapons, including a 9 mm handgun, a .357 magnum, and a hunting rifle. A picture of a pump-action shotgun from 2013 is labeled “my baby.”
The Glendale man’s “about me” section also provides insight:
“im a white boy from Cashion AZ i used to be an idiot doing dumb s*** until i had my son im a laid back dude but if you f*** with me and or my fam you better watch your back for life because i will make sure you dont do it again i love my family” [expletives redacted]
The 21-year-old directly referenced the I-10 shootings in a meme posted Tuesday. The image shows actor John Goodman cocking a pistol with the caption, “I’M FROM THE WEST SIDE. I’M FINE RIDING ON THE I-10.”
Yes, this was from your linked article:
“....Graves wouldn’t comment on a statement Merritt made in court Saturday that his gun had been in a pawn shop for the past two months....”
I guess pawn shop records would easily pin down the date he pawned the weapon. If the perp didn’t pawn it until AFTER Aug 29th (the date the shootings began?) his statement that it was in a pawn shop “for the past two months” would be difficult to prove (and likely false). But nobody is saying WHEN he pawned it other than the potential perp himself.
Mo-Money Pawn at 16th Street and Indian School.
If we don’t hear a solid statement about the pawn shop records soon in response to his claim then something is fishy.
The gun was in the pawn shop at the time of the shootings, but let’s pretend this guy did it because he is a straight WASP and we need to prosecute more of those to get our equal outcome numbers up.
16th and Indian School? And he was taken down at a Wal-Mart at 57th (Ave?) and Glendale? Wonder where he lives, because those locations are pretty far apart...
Is a gun one of a kind where the one in the pawn shop is the only weapon it could be?
A little more than 8 miles. I know because ironically, from about 57th Ave to 16th St. was the “shooter’s corridor”. That is, that was where all the shootings happened.
I see. Okay, then.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.