Another motion has been filed in the legal battle over possession of Leslie Merritt Jr.'s gun.
Merritt Jr. is accused of violating an order of protection when he allegedly went to the apartment of a woman and threatened her and her family. As part of his release orders, a judge ordered that he not be in possession of any guns.
Prosecutors cited this and the on-going investigation into the 'freeway shootings case' as a reason not to return Merritt Jr.'s gun to him.
Attorneys for Merritt Jr. have now filed a response saying the multiple examinations on the weapon are complete and charges against him have been dropped so there is no need to restrict him from getting his gun back.
As far as him being a 'prohibited possessor' they say, possessing a weapon is not the same as ownership, and he has requested that DPS release the gun to his attorney.
Merritt spent months behind bars facing charges connected to a series of shootings along Phoenix-area freeways that caused Valley-wide panic.
