Lance Phillips found guilty of assaulting peace officer

TYLER – According to our news partner KETK, Lance Phillips, the son of Smith County Clerk Karen Phillips and former Smith County Commissioner Terry Phillips, has been found guilty of assaulting a peace officer. Lance was found guilty by a jury verdict in the 7th District Court in front of Judge Kerry L. Russell at around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Lance told KETK that he plans to appeal this verdict.

Lance’s guilty verdict comes after he was arrested for multiple charges on April 2, 2024 for an incident during a Smith County commissioner’s court meeting.

“If I lose and then I will immediately file my appeal to the higher court and go as high as necessary to get the rule of law to be enforced,” Lance told KETK after he testified on Thursday. “And there will tons of case law that has Lance Phillips vs Neal Franklin of Smith County. And the result will help 35 million Texans who may want to speak in a public meeting.”

The May 2023 meeting was considering items like a resolution marking April 2024 as Sexual Assault Awareness Month and a Smith County Jail operations report when Lance got into a verbal exchange with Smith County Judge Neal Franklin. Phillips was then removed from the court by courtroom officers.

A sentencing hearing for Lance’s case has been scheduled for 9 a.m. on July 23.