DPS: Phoenix freeway shootings began 2 days earlier

UPDATE: Suspect in Phoenix freeway shootings, Leslie Allen Merritt Jr., charged

Investigators adjusted their timeline for the spate of metro Phoenix freeway shootings on Tuesday, after a pawnshop manager said the suspect’s gun was under lock and key at the time given for one of the incidents.

The string of 11 freeway shootings that have kept the Valley on edge probably started two days earlier than law-enforcement officers previously believed, Arizona Department of Public Safety Director Frank Milstead told The Arizona Republic.

Milstead said Tuesday that investigators now believe the shootings occurred Aug. 27 through Sept. 10, a change from the previous estimate of Aug. 29 through Sept. 10.

The timeline update came after Mo Money Pawn General Manager Byron Vaughn told reporters that the gun linked to Leslie Allen Merritt Jr., 21, the suspect in the first four shootings, was at the pawn shop on Aug. 30.

A BMW believed to be targeted on that day was actually struck Aug. 27, Milstead said.

For weeks, DPS officials said the vehicle’s tire was shot around 9:45 p.m. Aug. 30 as the motorist traveled west on Interstate 10 between Sky Harbor Boulevard and State Route 51. That timeline also is included in the probable-cause document released Saturday night after Merritt’s arrest.

Merritt said during his initial appearance Saturday that authorities had arrested the wrong man.

“My gun’s been at the pawn shop for the last two months,” Merritt said — an exaggeration, according to the shop.

Authorities now believe the BMW was shot while en route to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport days earlier, Milstead said. The driver left the car in an airport parking lot for days and didn’t discover the flat until returning on Aug. 30, Milstead said.

The BMW was equipped with run-flat tires that would have enabled the motorist to drive despite a bullet hole. He discovered his tire had been shot when he had it changed days later, Milstead said.

“To the best of his recollection and according to his parking ticket, he parked on the 27th and left on the 30th. We think he was actually probably the first one and he just didn’t realize it, because he didn’t ever hear a noise or anything,” Milstead said.