SMITH COUNTY, Texas — **EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above is from the May 9 arrest of Lance Phillips.
Arrest documents allege Lance Phillips, the son of a Smith County commissioner and recently arrested Smith County clerk, attempted to order three subpoenas when he doesn't have the authority.
Lance Phillips, 40, of Tyler, was taken into custody Monday, Aug. 7, on three counts of legal process simulating for crimes that allegedly occurred Friday, Aug. 4. His bonds total $550,000, according to Smith County judicial records.
An arrest warrant affidavit states Lance Phillips called Bobby Garmon on July 23 to serve three subpoenas, also known as court summons (one for Smith County Judge Neal Franklin, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith and one for Court Security Lieutenant Matthew Lazarine). Garmon said Lance Phillips told him to stand by because the documents weren't ready yet, but two days later he emailed Garmon the three subpoenas.
Garmon said he served the subpoenas on July 27. Smith County Sheriff's Office Chief Gary Pinkerton accepted the subpoena on Smith's behalf, Sergeant India Samuels accepted Lazarine's subpoena on his behalf and Franklin received his subpoena, the affidavit read.
An investigator looked at the subpoenas that Garmon was hired to deliver and saw there was no signature from the county clerk. Based on the Texas Code of Criminal Procedures, Lance Phillips is not authorized to issue these subpoenas, the affidavit stated.
The subpoenas were all connected to Lance Phillips' criminal case in which he is accused of disrupting a Smith County Commissioner's Court meeting earlier this year. The subpoenas sought to command those who received them to testify before Smith County Court at Law No. 3 Judge Clay White on Aug. 16, which is Lance Phillips' trial date and location for the disruption of a meeting charge.
PREVIOUS INCIDENTS
According to Smith County Justice of the Peace Pct. 4 Curtis Wulf, Lance Phillips attended a hearing on Thursday, July 27, 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 was also 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, July 29, and was booked into the Smith County Jail. He was released Thursday, Aug. 3.
He is facing additional legal issues with a trial date scheduled for Aug. 16 in relation to another 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.
