Suspected Phoenix I-10 shooter serves $10M claim against Arizona, Ducey

The 21-year-old man awaiting trial in connection with a string of shootings on Interstate 10 last summer has served a $10 million notice of claim against a handful of state agencies, alleging he was wrongfully arrested.

Leslie Allen Merritt Jr. is asking for $2.5 million apiece from the state of Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey, Maricopa County and Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery for what his attorneys say was a rush to judgment in response to "intense political and financial pressure," according to the notice of claim.

Merritt was arrested Sept. 18 following a spate of freeway shootings that kept the Valley on edge late last summer. Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said they connected Merritt to four of the 11 incidents through ballistics testing, matching bullets and fragments to a gun he owned.

The notice of claim — a precursor to a lawsuit — was filed Friday as DPS released hundreds of pages of records related to the investigation.

Merritt's attorneys say scientific evidence and alibi witnesses prove his innocence, confirming that he was at or near work or home during at least three of the incidents.

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The claim alleges that county prosecutors deliberately failed to present cellphone and employment records to the grand jury in their zeal for an indictment and criticized Ducey for tweeting "We got him" during Merritt's arrest.

Merritt's defense attorneys have made similar allegations in his criminal pre-trial proceedings, but a judge denied their motion for remand to the grand jury.

The claim was served by Phoenix attorney David Don, as well as Merritt's criminal attorneys, Jason Lamm and Ulises Ferrigut.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Warren Granville issued a gag order on the criminal case, preventing attorneys on both sides from discussing it with the media.

Daniel Scarpinato, a spokesman for Ducey's office, said the filing was fairly routine.

In Arizona, individuals planning on filing a lawsuit against a public entity have 180 days from the alleged event to file a notice of claim. Failing to do so precludes legal action at a later time.

"The underlying case is at this point in the hands of the judicial branch," Scarpinato said. "The governor is confident that the suspect will receive a fair trial based on all the evidence."