Traffic Stop Finds Habitual Violator

         On February 16, 2024, Officer Blake Sanchez was on routine patrol when he noticed a car that had "blackout" (no visibility) window tint. Officer Sanchez made a traffic stop near the intersection of Clark and Katy Drive.

When Officer Sanchez spoke to the driver of the vehicle he was identified as William Tyrone Phillips. Phillips has been flagged by the State of Kansas as a habitual violator for driving without a driver's license. His status has been labeled as revoked.

Phillips has an extensive history of driving infractions and has been arrested by the Parsons Police Department approximately 12 times in the past 12 months. His adult criminal arrests in Parsons begin in 2020 and range from Aggravated Battery to his habitual violations for driving while suspended. Since 2020 Phillips has been arrested in Parsons 20 times ranging from felonies to misdemeanors. He was charged in 2023 with "swatting", an emergency phone call that dictates an armed police response, but that charge has since been dropped.

Phillips was arrested for Driving while Suspended, Habitual Violator, No Insurance, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Paraphernalia and charged with the window tint infraction, that when tested was zero percent visibility. These charges, even though misdemeanors, have been forwarded to the Labette County Attorney's Office for official charging due to his current status as being on Intensive Supervised Probation through Community Corrections for Aggravated Domestic Battery and Distribution of Marijuana.

Parsons Police Chief Robert Spinks said, "here is an individual who has been allowed to slip thought the judicial cracks. He continues to drive without proper licensing or insurance and has shown no remorse or intent to stop his illegal behavior. Citizens should be asking how the system can justify the rise in repeat offenders in Labette County, because the police department cannot arrest the city out of a high crime rate as long as the revolving door of justice is allowed to continue."

This continues to be an on-going investigation and citizens are encouraged to "See It, Hear It, Report It." All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If anyone has any further information on this incident or any other criminal activity, please contact the Parsons Police Department at 421-7060 or call the Tip Line at 421-7057 or email at tips@parsonspd.com.

# # # # #