Man wanted for crimes against children takes own life on East Valley highway

PHOENIX – A man wanted for crimes against children apparently took his own life after police stopped him on an East Valley highway Tuesday, authorities said.

Justin Meritt, 42, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on US 60 in Apache Junction, according to the Mesa Police Department.

The death investigation disrupted US 60 traffic for several hours, with closures in both directions near Silly Mountain Road at times.

Meritt became a suspect after police investigated an incident in east Mesa on Monday afternoon and developed probable cause to arrest him for crimes against children.

The next day, Mesa detectives spotted the suspect driving on US 60 near Silly Mountain Road and pulled him over around 2:30 p.m., but he didn’t respond to commands to exit the vehicle.

After a SWAT team was called to the scene, detectives removed Merritt from his vehicle. He was already dead of a gunshot wound to the head, police said.

No other details about the case were made available.

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