TYLER, Texas — Lance Phillips, one of the sons of Smith County Pct. 3 Commissioner Terry Phillips and Smith County Clerk Karen Phillips, was sentenced to 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to evading arrest Wednesday.
Lance Phillips, 40, was set to go to trial Wednesday in connection with charges of disrupting a meeting, evading arrest and three counts of legal process stimulating; however, court records show he decided to take a plea deal.
He pleaded guilty to evading arrest in Smith County Court At Law No. 3 and the remaining charges have been dismissed, according to judicial records.
Lance Phillips was then sentenced to 30 days in the Smith County Jail. He has been transferred to Gregg County Jail to serve his sentence, records show.
At a previous hearing in October, the case was set for trial on Nov. 29 and Smith County Court At Law No. 3 Judge Clay White made the case number one on the docket.
Lance Phillips' criminal charges began after he shouted during the public comment portion of the May 9 Smith County Commissioners Court meeting. A video showed he refused to leave, went limp and was forcibly removed by law enforcement.
The week prior, he signed 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.
He was referring to the arrest of his mother Karen Phillips and his brother Derek Phillips, who were both charged with interfering with public duties in April.
In August, Lance Phillips was arrested on accusations of filing subpoenas for his upcoming trial without the proper authority.
Karen Phillips and his brother Derek Phillips charges stem from Derek Phillips' arrest for accusations of interfering with a March 28 traffic stop when deputies tried to pull another man, Cody Voss, over for his tail lights being out, according to the Smith County 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 March 28, while Karen Phillips was charged on April 4. Both bonded out of jail. Voss and Karen and Derek Phillips have also filed multimillion-dollar lawsuits against Smith County.
Both Karen and Derek Phillips are now facing indictments in connection with the traffic stop. On Nov. 2, they were officially charged with interfering with public duties (class B misdemeanor), and Derek Phillips was also indicted on resisting arrest (class A misdemeanor) and evading arrest (class A misdemeanor) charges, according to Smith County judicial records.
Derek Phillips has an arraignment hearing set for Dec. 14. No court dates have been set for Karen Phillips at this time.