Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

Aaron Saucedo.

The defendant in the Phoenix "Serial Street Shooter" case appeared in court for the first time Tuesday and told a judge that he is innocent. Phoenix police accuse Aaron Saucedo in a string of shootings and murders dating back to 2015.

In Saucedo’s case, 26 charges have been filed against him related to shootings from 2015 and 2016, where nine people died and two were injured.

A document is typically filed and made public after police after a suspect is booked into jail. It details things like arrest location, type of firearm used and other information about the case.

But, in Saucedo’s case, that document was sealed by a judge.

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery says it was to avoid compromising an ongoing investigation.

“Given the nature of the crimes involved and the impact to the community, we want to be exceedingly careful in protecting the integrity of that investigation and the ability to hold the individual fully accountable," he said.

Montgomery says it's to make it easier for police to find any other potential crimes linked to the shootings. 

“This is out of an abundance of caution in what law enforcement has learned along the way that there may be yet more out there and to be able to submit to my office for us to be able to carry out a solid prosecution," he said.

Police connected Saucedo with the serial shootings after he was booked on a murder charge from 2015.