Gunman Arrested at Phoenix Comicon Claimed He’s The Punisher and Wanted to Kill Jason David Frank
Friday, May 26, 2017 at 4:50 p.m.
By Benjamin Leatherman
More details are emerging regarding Matthew Sterling, the Valley resident arrested at Phoenix Comicon on Thursday, May 25, with a cache of weapons.
And the information is both surreal and disturbing, to say the least.
According to court documents, the 31-year-old Mesa resident told Phoenix Police detectives that he was a real-life version of famed Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher. He also stated that he would kill “bad police officers” if need be to protect himself or his friends.
Both revelations were included in court documents, specifically a lengthy probable cause statement written by detectives who interviewed Sterling after his arrest. The statement also detailed how he slipped past security and was apprehended by police.
New Times has also learned that Sterling allegedly wanted to kill Mighty Morphin Power Rangers actor Jason David Frank (a special guest at this year’s Phoenix Comicon) and claimed he had a vendetta against the star.
Phoenix P.D. arrested Sterling at the Phoenix Convention Center. He was in possession of three handguns, a shotgun, a combat knife, pepper spray, and throwing stars.
According to the probable cause statement, Sterling (who was wearing black tactical pants, a red bandanna, black face paint, and a shotgun bandolier) entered the convention center and avoided the venue’s security, as well as one of of the peace-bonding stations for inspecting prop weapons. He then proceeded to the second floor.
Sterling was reportedly in contact with a female acquaintance from Hawthorne, California, via text message and Facebook.
After learning of Sterling’s alleged intent to have a “showdown” with cops and seeing that Sterling had posted on Facebook photos of officers at Comicon, she alerted law enforcement of the situation.
Police located Sterling sitting on a bench while reading Comicon’s programming guide. A struggle ensued as cops “immediately began to control [his] hands due to the numerous weapons they saw he had on his person.”
Sterling reportedly resisted, tore off one officer’s Phoenix P.D. patch, and “pushed his full body weight against the bench he was sitting on so he could not be moved.”
A number of officers eventually subdued Sterling, who was taken to police headquarters to be interviewed by detectives.
According to prosecutor Ed Leiter of the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, who was present at Sterling's initial court appearance on Friday, the 31-year-old suspect allegedly fessed up about his plans.
Sterling offered “numerous fantastical stories” to detectives, Leiter says, including tales of “bad police officers” and an alleged history with Frank.
