TYLER, Texas — Editor's Note: The above video is from May 18.
A lawyer who defended William George Davis, an East Texas former nurse sentenced to death for killing four patients, pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to seeking out sex for payment during the trial last October.
Phillip Wayne Hayes, 48, of Dallas, entered his guilty plea to a solicitation of prostitution charge during a hearing in the 7th District Court.
While prostitution is considered a state jail felony, an agreement was reached to make the punishment range equal to a Class A misdemeanor.
Billy Byrd, Upshur County district attorney, said that the suggested plea agreement would be for Hayes to serve one-year probation and pay a $1,000 fine. An official sentencing hearing is currently scheduled for June 16, records show.
Smith County District Attorney Jacob Putman said in January he recused himself and his office from prosecuting the case to "protect the record on the (William) Davis case."
Putman said Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd served as prosecutor for the case.
Hayes was arrested Nov. 5 last year and released the same day on a $2,000 bond, according to Smith County Jail records.
According to an arrest affidavit, Smith County undercover officers posted ads on a website commonly used for human trafficking and prostitution.
The document states Hayes began exchanging texts with the undercover officer on Oct. 5 for roughly two hours that afternoon. Investigators identified Hayes using his phone number and law enforcement database searches.
Oct. 5 was the sixth day of the Davis trial, in which Hayes and fellow attorney Douglas Parks worked on the defense team.
The trial began Sept. 28 and ended Oct. 27. Davis was ultimately sentenced to death for injecting air into patients’ arterial systems while he was a nurse at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital in Tyler, causing them to have brain damage and later die.
Another search determined Hayes' vehicle. The affidavit reads Hayes asked for an hour of time for him to pay $110 for sex. After Hayes requested, the undercover officer gave him a location to meet around 6 p.m.
An arrest team saw Hayes’ vehicle come to the location, and he was arrested and transported for an interview, the affidavit stated.
Because of Hayes’ involvement as counsel in the Davis trial, officers made the decision to get a warrant at another time.
According to the Texas Bar Association, Hayes, who's practice is based out of Dallas, has been licensed to practice law since 1999. His law firm website states the office focuses entirely on criminal defense in Texas state and federal courts.