Suspect Charged in Arizona Freeway Shootings

Leslie Allen Merritt Jr. has been formerly charged in connection with a string of shootings on the Interstate 10 freeway in Arizona that terrorized a community and made drivers reluctant to hit the road, according to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

Merritt faces 16 felonies, including

five counts of aggravated assault, four counts of drive-by shooting and three counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm. Terrorism charges were dropped, authorities said.

Arizona Freeway Shootings Suspect Says 'I'm the Wrong Guy'

Father of Arizona Freeway Shootings Suspect Says Police 'Grasping at Straws'

Merritt was arrested Friday, according to a spokesman for Gov. Doug Ducey. At a news conference, director Frank Milstead of the Arizona Department of Public Safety said that Merritt, 21, was allegedly linked to four shootings that took place on Aug. 29 and 31 "because the weapon that he owned is forensically linked to these crimes."

Since Thursday, authorities had been investigating at least 11 separate shooting incidents along Arizona's heavily traveled I-10 as some terrified motorists said they were simply avoiding the highway.

Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves said Friday that Merritt is the suspect in at least four incidents.

Merritt was ordered held on $1 million cash bond, but protested his arrest to the judge, saying police have "the wrong guy."

Investigators checked pawn shops for guns matching the caliber of shell casings at the shootings, police said, and when a gun pawned by Merritt was test-fired it was determined to be a match, authorities said.

On Sunday, Merritt's father, Leslie Merritt Sr., told ABC News that police were looking for a scapegoat. He maintained that his son had purchased two guns and then pawned them for household needs.

"Do I believe my son had anything to do with it? Absolutely not. I will support my son and defend my son with every ounce of my being," he said. "[The police are] snatching anybody that's reported to have a 9 millimeter [handgun], might have pawned one and they're grasping at straws and they're looking -- for lack of a better term -- [for] a scapegoat."