SMITH COUNTY, Texas — **EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from the May 9 arrest of Lance Phillips.
The son of a Smith County commissioner and recently arrested Smith County clerk has surrendered to authorities after a warrant was issued for his arrest Thursday afternoon.
According to Smith County Justice of the Peace Pct. 4 Curtis Wulf, Lance Phillips attended a hearing on Thursday to speak on behalf of defendant, Cody Voss, who did not show up to court.
Smith County Pct. 4 Constable Josh Joplin says the prosecutor who was present refused to speak to Lance Phillips because he was not the defendant's lawyer and the defendant didn't have a speech or interpretation issue. The constable says Cody Voss claimed anyone who would be "representing him" was there to peacefully protest.
The judge says he warned Lance Phillips several times not to interrupt or speak out. According to the constable, when Lance Phillips went to leave, before exiting the courtroom, he yelled, "Judge Wulf is a criminal." The judge then declared Lance Phillips was in contempt of court. When the judge ordered the bailiffs to take Lance Phillips into custody, the constable says he ran out of the courtroom and into oncoming traffic on Hwy. 155, almost getting hit by an 18-wheeler. He then took off in the woods and went live on Facebook.
Two warrants were issued for Lance Phillips' arrest on the following charges:
- Evading arrest
- Inducing emergency response
Judge Austin Reeve Jackson signed the order setting his bond at $105,000. He has also been ordered in contempt of court with a mandatory three-day hold.
Lance Phillips turned himself in to the Pct. 4 Constable's Office on Saturday and was booked into the Smith County Jail.
He faces additional legal issues with a trial date scheduled for Aug. 16 in relation to a previous incident.
Lance Phillips faces his own legal issues with a trial date scheduled for Aug. 16 in relation to a previous incident.
Lance Phillips is charged with disrupting a meeting or procession after allegedly shouting during the public comment portion of the May 9 Smith County Commissioners Court meeting. As seen in video of the incident below, he refused to leave, went limp and was forcibly removed by law enforcement.
That previous week, Lance Phillips had signed up for public comment in attempt to speak about what he called "slander" against his family. He signed up to talk about local county roads, but immediately started shifting the conversation toward his family.
Smith County Judge Neal Franklin then stopped Lance Phillips saying if he wasn't going to speak about replats on Smith County roads, he could not speak.
Lance Phillips gave his prepared comments on paper to commissioners court officials, asking for it to be put into the record.
After going back to the seating area, officials say Lance Phillips interrupted again and Judge Neal Franklin told him to not call out from the crowd.
On June 30, when Lance Phillips was in court for his arraignment regarding the previous charge, he was arrested again for contempt of court and disobedience of a court order.
Prior to these incidents, Lance Phillips' mother and Smith County Clerk Karen Phillips, 65, of Tyler, and his brother Derek Phillips were charged with interfering with public duties.
These charges stem from Derek Phillips' arrest for accusations of interfering with a Mar. 28 traffic stop when deputies tried to pull another man, Cody Voss, over for his tail lights being out, according to the sheriff's office.
Documents allege Derek Phillips interfered with Voss' traffic stop arrest several times. Officials also said Karen Phillips grabbed a sheriff's deputy and pushed another deputy as these officers tried to arrest Derek Phillips after he ran into her home.
Derek Phillips was arrested Mar. 28, while Karen Phillips was charged on April 4. Both have since been bonded out of jail.
Karen Phillips and Derek Phillips have since filed multimillion-dollar lawsuits against Smith County in connection with the traffic stop.
Karen Phillips filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of Texas on May 30 against Smith County, Sheriff Larry Smith, the detective who investigated the case and the two deputies involved in the traffic stop.
She claims that several of her constitutional rights, including her First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth and Ninth Amendment rights, were violated on Mar. 28. She also states that the detective wrote an official arrest affidavit with "many false statements."
Karen Phillips' lawsuit is seeking $10 million in damages.
On May 24, Derek Phillips and Voss filed a federal lawsuit in the Southern District of Texas against Smith County and the two deputies involved in the traffic stop. They are seeking $150.5 million in damages.
In the lawsuit, Cody Voss and Derek Phillips claim the deputies infringed on Voss' right to travel and assaulted Voss. The complaint also says Derek Phillips was peaceful and recorded the stop to "address unlawful government activity."
The lawsuit claims Cody Voss and Derek Phillips had their constitutional rights violated during the traffic stop. They also allege the deputies tried to kidnap each of them. Cody Voss and Derek Phillips also say a deputy struck Karen Phillips with blunt force while she was recording twice.