PHOENIX (AP) — In a rare legal development, a judge has declared that a landscaper once charged in metro Phoenix's 2015 freeway shootings has been officially cleared of the allegations.
The clearance order issued last week came four years after prosecutors dismissed charges against Leslie Merritt Jr. after ballistic evidence in the case came under heavy criticism.
Merritt steadfastly insisted he was innocent.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety, which investigated the case, declined to comment on the order.
The freeway shootings sparked so much fear that people avoided driving the freeways, school buses took different routes and signs were posted telling people to be careful.
