Former VP deputy marshal and Chataignier officer has trial reset

A former Ville Platte deputy city marshal and police officer for the Village of Chataignier had his trial date in Jefferson Davis Parish pushed back after he failed to appear for court.
Arthur Phillips, 50, was due to be in court on May 2 for a pre-trial plea date at the courthouse in Jennings; however, the matter was passed to his trial date because he had not appeared. According to the Jefferson Davis Parish Clerk of Court Office, no new court date has been set.
Phillips was arrested last May after being accused of, according to KPLC-TV in Lake Charles, “promoting prostitution by ordering a woman to perform sexual acts with other people for pay.”
It was further reported, “Phillips picked up the woman in Ville Platte in his unmarked Ville Platte City Marshal vehicle on Friday, May 5, and brought her to his home in Fenton, where they had consensual sex, said Chief Deputy Chris Ivey, Jeff Davis Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
‘Later, Friday evening Phillips took the female to another location in Fenton to offer her up for sex with another person,’ Ivey said. ‘She was ordered to perform sex acts with two individuals Friday evening, May 5, and Phillips received the money in the amount of one hundred and sixty dollars.’”
Last year’s incident was not Phillips’ first run-in with the law. According to KPLC, he “has a history that includes allegations of misconduct and a misdemeanor conviction for pulling a gun during a traffic incident in Beaumont, Texas.”
Phillips worked for the Vinton Police Department off-and-on from 1994 to 2002. “Mr. Phillips had a cloud hanging over him from the day that I took over [July 1, 2005] until the day he was terminated in 2008,” said Vinton Police Chief Ricky Fox who confirmed that Phillips was terminated around 2008, but declined to give KPLC specifics, citing personnel privacy rules.
As far as the incident in Beaumont, the Lake Charles station reported, “Phillips pleaded no contest in 2008 to a misdemeanor count of deadly conduct for a 2006 incident in Beaumont in which he pulled a gun during a traffic incident. He was sentenced to one-year probation and a $1,000 fine.”
Following that incident, Phillips worked as a Welsh police detective in 2010. It was reported that “he was accused of sexual battery and assault, using foul language while in the presence of minors and drinking alcohol in his patrol unit.”
Phillips’ original trial date on the prostitution charges in Jefferson Davis Parish was set for August 28, 2017.