ATLANTA — It’s been over two months since anyone has seen what U.S. Marshals are now calling one of the most wanted fugitives in Atlanta, after he allegedly killed his mother and took off.
Disgraced attorney Richard Merritt was convicted of pocketing money from lawsuits he settled without his client’s knowledge. A Cobb County judge sentenced Merritt to 15 years in prison and ordered him to pay restitution of nearly $500,000. However, authorities said he never showed up on Feb. 1 - the day he was supposed to surrender to authorities after he “got his affairs in order.”
Instead, investigators say Merritt cut off his ankle monitor and went on the run. His mother, Shirley Merritt, was found stabbed to death inside her Dekalb County home a day later. Investigators believe he killed her.
He was seen on surveillance video in Cartersville around the time he's suspected of running, and, according to U.S Marshal Inspector Frank Lempka, there haven’t been any confirmed sightings of him since.
Marshals conducted interviews with his family and traced his past behaviors to try and pinpoint where he could be.
“Such as down in the Caribbean, Mexico, beach communities and fishing-type areas and communities, because we know he likes to do that and he’s been in those areas a few times in the past,” Lempka explained.
If he’s still in Georgia, he’s more than likely “camped out in the woods,” according to Lempka.
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The car he was last seen in, his mother’s silver Lexus SUV, also has not been spotted: “It’s likely he changed the license plate, but that vehicle has not been recovered.”
While Marshals believe he may be committing other petty crimes while he’s on the run, when captured, he likely won’t be charged with any additional crimes, unless he commits another serious offense.
“Charging with being a fugitive or something like that is so minor compared to what he’s been convicted of and what he’s being charged with in the murder,” Lempka explained.
A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest. Authorities said people should consider him armed and dangerous and should not approached him.
Lempka added, “He definitely is one of our most wanted fugitives out of Atlanta.”
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