Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is defending the controversial tweet he sent following the arrest of a suspect in the Phoenix-area freeway shooting case.
Within minutes of the Sept. 18 arrest of 21-year-old Leslie Merritt Jr., Ducey sent the message on Twitter, "We got him!"
Merritt has been formally charged in connection with four of the incidents, based on what the Department of Public Safety says is a ballistic match of bullet fragments from a gun he owns.
Asked about his tweet, Ducey told Capitol Media Services he was proud of DPS and the good police work it did in finding the suspect. Ducey was unapologetic about letting people know a suspect had been apprehended.
“Well, everywhere I was going, people were asking me about this, 'when we were going to find them, when we were going to catch them.' DPS caught him. So we announced the news," said Ducey.
Merritt has pleaded not guilty and his attorneys say police cannot place their client at the scene. No one has so far suggested Merritt would be unable to get a fair trial because of the governor’s tweet.
BREAKING: We got him! DPS SWAT team is in custody of the individual suspected of I-10 shootings. Apprehended moments ago.
— Doug Ducey (@DougDucey) September 19, 2015