CRIME

Judge orders release of man detained, questioned in Phoenix freeway shootings

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Colonel Frank Milstead, Director of the Department of Public Safety speaks during a press conference to announce the arrest of a suspect in the Phoenix freeway shootings, at DPS headquarters in Phoenix on Friday, Sept. 18, 2015. He is flanked by ATF Special Agent in Charge Tom Attteberry, left, and U.S Marshall for the District of Arizona David Gonzales. (David Wallace/The Arizona Republic via AP) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Sept. 10, 2015, file photo, a tip line for motorist hangs on a freeway sign along Interstate 10, in Phoenix. A suspect has been arrested in a string of shootings along Phoenix-area freeways that have kept drivers on edge, state officials said Friday, Sept. 18. (AP Photo/Matt York, File) (The Associated Press)

Colonel Frank Milstead, Director of Department of Public Safety speaks during a press conference to announce the arrest of a suspect in the Phoenix freeway shootings, at DPS headquarters in Phoenix on Friday, Sept.18, 2015. He is flanked, from left, by Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, ATF Special Agent in Charge Tom Attteberry and U.S Marshall for the District of Arizona David Gonzales. (David Wallace/The Arizona Republic via AP) (The Associated Press)

An Arizona judge has ordered the release of a 19-year-old man who was detained and questioned in a series of freeway shootings in Phoenix.

A judge Friday granted prosecutors' request to dismiss a petition to revoke the Avondale man's probation term.

The state Department of Public Safety detained him Sept. 11 at a convenience store.

The Associated Press is not naming the man because he was not arrested in the freeway shootings.

Authorities have declined to explain why the man was questioned about the shootings but have said he was not a prime suspect.

Maricopa County Attorney's Office spokesman Jerry Cobb said prosecutors had to drop the petition because the DPS did not submit a report explaining why the man's probation should be revoked.

The man was sentenced to probation on an endangerment conviction for excessive speeding and fleeing from police.