Leslie Merritt Jr., the Phoenix landscaper who spent 222 days in jail as the wrongly accused 2015 Interstate 10 freeway shooter, recovered $100,000 in a 2018 settlement with Maricopa County. That deal resolved his claims against the county prosecutor’s office. His separate lawsuit against the state of Arizona and the Department of Public Safety went to a jury in 2020 and produced no additional money. A defamation suit he filed in 2024 against the former DPS director remains open.1KTAR News. Maricopa County Settles Lawsuit With Former Freeway Shooting Suspect
Why Merritt Was Suing in the First Place
DPS arrested Merritt, then 26, in September 2015. The case rested almost entirely on a ballistics analysis purporting to match his Hi-Point 9mm handgun to bullets recovered from four freeway shooting scenes. Governor Doug Ducey tweeted “We got him!” after the arrest. Merritt was charged with aggravated assault and drive-by shooting and held in solitary confinement.1KTAR News. Maricopa County Settles Lawsuit With Former Freeway Shooting Suspect212 News. Court Docs Claim DPS Missed Evidence Linking Accused Serial Killer to Valley Freeway Shootings
The ballistics evidence did not hold up. Outside experts concluded the recovered bullets could not be “excluded or identified” as coming from Merritt’s gun, and the state’s own expert later called the original test “inconclusive.” A DPS investigator testified in a deposition that “there was pressure to find a match.”3Legal News. Maricopa County Settles Lawsuit With Former Freeway Shooting Suspect4WTHR. Court Docs Claim DPS Had Little Evidence Linking Merritt to I-10 Shootings Prosecutors dismissed all charges on April 19, 2016. In the summer of 2020, a judge issued an order formally clearing Merritt and sealing the public records.5ABC15. Leslie Merritt Jr. Takes Polygraph Test to Clear Name6Fox 10 Phoenix. Civil Trial Brought on by Man Accused of Being the Freeway Shooter Continues
In early 2016, Merritt filed a $10 million notice of claim against the state of Arizona, Maricopa County, Governor Ducey, and County Attorney Bill Montgomery. The notice alleged investigators had rushed to judgment and sought compensation for lost wages, legal fees, and emotional distress. It was a required precursor to the two civil lawsuits that followed: one against the county and Montgomery’s office, and a separate one against DPS and the state.7ABC15. Leslie Merritt Jr. Files $10 Million Claim Against Arizona, Doug Ducey
The $100,000 Maricopa County Settlement
In late 2018, Maricopa County agreed to pay Merritt $100,000 to end the claims against the county attorney’s office. His lawsuit had alleged that prosecutors misled grand jurors about the reliability of the ballistic evidence, and that a DPS criminologist’s flawed conclusion was the only evidence linking him to the shootings. Attorneys for Montgomery’s office denied the misconduct allegations. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors had to approve the payout.1KTAR News. Maricopa County Settles Lawsuit With Former Freeway Shooting Suspect
The settlement was narrow. It covered only the prosecution side of the case and left Merritt’s claims against DPS and the state of Arizona intact.1KTAR News. Maricopa County Settles Lawsuit With Former Freeway Shooting Suspect
Why the State Case Ended With Nothing
Merritt’s remaining claims against DPS and the state shrank considerably before trial. In late 2019, a judge dismissed most of the federal civil rights claims and allowed only false arrest and false imprisonment to move forward, and only for the six-day window between the initial arrest and the grand jury indictment. The judge reasoned that a jury could find police lacked probable cause during that stretch, while the indictment itself carried a legal presumption of probable cause covering the months of jail time that followed.8KOLD News 13. Civil Trial to Begin Over Arrest in Phoenix Freeway Shootings
The case went to a Maricopa County Superior Court jury in the fall of 2020 after pandemic-related delays. On November 6, 2020, the jury found the state not liable on both counts. No damages were awarded.9Fox 10 Phoenix. Jury Rules Against Man Cleared of Phoenix Freeway Shootings The verdict left the $100,000 county settlement as Merritt’s only recovery from the criminal case itself.
The 2024 Defamation Lawsuit Against Frank Milstead
The dispute reopened four years later. On June 23, 2024, Frank Milstead, the former DPS director who oversaw the arrest, appeared on the local program “Sunday Square Off” while campaigning as a Republican candidate for Maricopa County sheriff. Milstead said on air: “Leslie Merritt, in my opinion, is still the freeway shooter, we had the right guy in custody.”10Arizona Republic. Man Cleared of Charges in Interstate 10 Shootings Files Claim Against Sheriff Candidate
On July 2, 2024, Merritt filed a defamation and emotional distress complaint against Milstead in Maricopa County court. The complaint alleged that Milstead knowingly made false statements despite the 2020 court order clearing Merritt of all allegations. His attorney, Jason Lamm, said the legal team is seeking compensation for emotional damage and legal costs, with the specific monetary damages to be determined at trial.11KJZZ. Maricopa County Sheriff Candidate Sued for Defamation Over Freeway Shootings Case
The defamation case was still pending as of the most recent reporting in the file. Any recovery from it would be separate from, and in addition to, the $100,000 Merritt received from Maricopa County in 2018.11KJZZ. Maricopa County Sheriff Candidate Sued for Defamation Over Freeway Shootings Case