After the charges against Leslie Merritt Jr., the man accused of the Phoenix Freeway shooting, were dismissed by a judge, his attorneys are seeking to have the records about the case unsealed. The attorneys argue that opening the documents will further prove that their client is not the person responsible of the shooting last year.
According to ABC News, the shootings caused panic on Phoenix-area freeways, where a total of 11 vehicles were hit in August and September of last year. One of the attorneys of Merritt, Jason Lamm, released a statement saying that the unsealing of the documents will open the public's eyes to what the I-10 freeway shooter case is all about.
The attorneys' motion also states that the documents should be unsealed in order to prevent the prosecutors from making false claims about why the case was dismissed. Accordingly, spokesman Jerry Cobb at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said recently that the case's latest developments, such as Merritt's charges being dropped, are the result of evidence uncovered by the prosecutors, The Glendale Star reported.
It is unclear what the sealed documents say, but Merritt's lawyer believe that the ballistic tests are in the records. They also argue that the ballistic tests cast doubt regarding the claim of the authorities that Merritt was behind the freeway shooting.
ABC 15 reported that Merritt was arrested in August and was indicted on 15 felony counts in connection with the shooting.
Merritt had to spend seven months in jail and ever since held his stance that the officials have the wrong guy, noting that he was not behind the shooting. He was released last week. He has filed a legal claim in March demanding $10 million from the state and the county. He alleged that authorities rushed to judgment and failed to provide any evidence to prove that he was present at any of the four freeway shooting.
