Jul. 4—A bond hearing for a Priceville man charged with the murder of his wife in October has been scheduled for Aug. 25, according to a motion filed in Morgan County District Court on Tuesday.
Zachary Allen Merriman, 34, faces a charge of felony murder for allegedly shooting and killing his ex-wife, Kimberly Shaun Ricks, on Oct. 20. He was taken into custody Oct. 23 after the Priceville Police Department obtained a felony arrest warrant. His attorney, Phoenix Iverson of Decatur, waived his preliminary hearing in November and Morgan County District Judge Shelly Waters bound the case over to a grand jury.
In a motion to reconsider bond also filed on Tuesday, Iverson said Merriman has been incarcerated in the Morgan County Jail since Oct. 29. An Aniah’s Law hearing was held on Nov. 1 and former District Judge Brent Craig ordered he be held without bond.
According to testimony at the Aniah’s Law hearing, Merriman called 911 around 4:56 a.m. on Oct. 20 and told dispatchers his ex-wife had pulled a gun on him and that he shot her three times.
Assistant Priceville Police Chief Jason Wilbanks testified that investigators believe Merriman grabbed Ricks by the hair as she attempted to leave and shot her at close range. An autopsy found Ricks had been shot in the left forearm and in the head, with the fatal wound described as a “loose full contact” shot, meaning the barrel of the gun was touching or nearly touching her head when it was fired.
Police said the shooting occurred outside Ricks’ vehicle at 28 Langley Private Drive, behind Merriman’s grandmother’s residence, where he lived in a camper. Officers recovered two firearms, shell casings, and cellphones belonging to both Merriman and Ricks during a search of the property later that morning.
— wesley.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.