Gov. Doug Ducey will not be deposed in I-10 shooting false-arrest lawsuit

PHOENIX – Gov. Doug Ducey will not be deposed in a false-arrest lawsuit filed by a man imprisoned for months as the main suspect in a string of freeway shootings in the Phoenix area three years ago.

The night Leslie Merritt Jr. was taken into custody by a Arizona Department of Public Safety SWAT team, Ducey tweeted “We got him!” within minutes of the Sept. 18, 2015 arrest.

Charges against the West Valley landscaper were dismissed April 25, 2016.

Merritt pleaded not guilty to drive-by-shooting, aggravated assault and other charges in four of the nearly dozen summertime shootings along Interstate 10 that terrified the Valley.

His lawyers argued that Ducey inserted himself in the criminal case with the tweet. They wanted to question the governor about his calls with DPS Director Frank Milstead around the time of the arrest hoping to get information on the agency chief’s demeanor.

Merritt’s attorneys also said Ducey and his staff had meetings with law enforcement officials about the case and provided funding to investigate the 11 shootings.

“The circumstances of how the governor became aware of the arrest are most certainly at issue,” Merritt attorney Jason Lamm wrote in court records.

U.S. District Judge David Campbell ruled Wednesday in a discovery conference that Merritt’s lawyers weren’t likely to get valuable information about Milstead’s demeanor from the calls.

Merritt insisted he was innocent and was freed after spending 222 days in jail.

No one was seriously hurt in the shootings, even though eight cars were struck by bullets and three others hit by what authorities said were projectiles.

No one else has been arrested; the investigation remained open.

Merritt appeared on TV’s “Dr. Phil” in May 2016, maintaining his innocence.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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