Defense attorney in former nurse murder case charged with soliciting prostitute

TYLER — The lead defense attorney for William Davis, the former CHRISTUS nurse who was sentenced to death for killing several patients, was allegedly caught trying to solicit a prostitute during the month-long trial. According to our news partner KETK, Phillip Hayes was arrested Friday, Nov. 5, and released after posting a $2,000 bond. However, an arrest warrant obtained by KETK News reveals that an undercover deputy for the Smith County’s Sheriff’s Office posing as a prostitute made contact with Hayes in a text message. The warrant says that the sheriff’s office “posted advertisements on a website commonly used for human trafficking and prostitution.” Hayes began to text the undercover officer on Oct. 5, the sixth day of testimony for the prosecution. Detectives identified Hayes by searching his telephone number through law enforcement databases. The warrant alleges that Hayes texted the officer to meet at a predetermined location at 6 p.m. and agreed to pay $110. Deputies took Hayes into custody and took him away for an interview. The department decided that since Hayes was in the middle of the trial, an arrest warrant would be issued at a later date. Davis was convicted of capital murder by a Smith County jury on Oct. 19 and he was sentenced to death on Oct. 27.