Smith County commissioner’s son at large after running out of Winona courtroom

Editor’s note: The original version of this story stated that Derek Phillips tried to appear on behalf of Voss in court on Thursday. We have corrected it to say Lance Phillips.

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - The son of a Smith County commissioner fled on foot after a judge called for him to be arrested for contempt of court on Thursday, officials say.

Lance Phillips, 40, son of Smith County clerk Karen Phillips and County Commissioner Terry Phillips, was in a Winona courtroom on Thursday.

According to Constable Josh Joplin, Lance Phillips was in court in support of Cody Voss, who was with Derek Phillips, Lance’s brother, on the night of March 28 when officers initiated a traffic stop on Voss which ended in the arrest of Derek and Voss, as well as Karen Phillips. Voss had a pretrial hearing on Thursday, July 27, regarding a failure to identify charge.

However, Joplin said, Lance Phillips came to court instead of Voss on Thursday, saying he was going to stand in for Voss. Judge Curtis Wulf informed Phillips that he was not allowed to do that, as he is not an attorney and the event was only a pretrial hearing.

At this, Joplin said, Lance Phillips argued with Judge Wulf’s statement. Wulf told Lance to leave the courtroom because he continued to argue.

After being told to leave, Lance walked toward the door yelling, “Curtis Wulf is a criminal!” Wulf then ordered officers in the courtroom to take him in custody on contempt of court.

At that, Lance Philips ran away, went outside, and ran across Hwy 155, narrowly avoiding being hit by an 18-wheeler, Joplin said. Constable Joplin and Dep. Rogers pursued Phillips, but they believe he was picked up by someone in a vehicle who fled the scene with him.

Law enforcement officers are looking for Lance Phillips at this time, Joplin said. He is wanted on two warrants: evading arrest, and giving a false report inducing an emergency response. His bond amount totals $105,000.

If you see Lance Phillips, call local law enforcement.

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