A man accused of sexually assaulting a woman before barricading himself in a house and having an armed stand-off with police appeared through video conference for his preliminary hearing on Wednesday.
Services in Monongalia County Magistrate Court were limited to essential and legally required hearings on Monday by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. The court also encouraged technology be used to reduce in-person contact because of COVID-19.
Felony preliminary hearings, in which a magistrate listens to evidence from the prosecution and defense to determine if there is probable cause to move the case forward, is one such legally mandated type hearing.
Christopher Scott Phillips, 37, waived his preliminary hearing, which means his case will be presented to a grand jury as if probable cause had been found. The next term of the Monongalia County grand jury is scheduled for May.
Phillips is charged with first-degree sexual assault and prohibited person in possession of a firearm.
The Morgantown Police Department was called to North Willey Street on March 10 for a domestic dispute.
When officers arrived on scene, Phillips’ wife, from whom he is separated, told officers Phillips held her at gunpoint and made her perform sex acts, according to a criminal complaint.
Phillips surrendered to police after a short stand-off. After Phillips’ surrender, police found a loaded gun inside the apartment, the complaint said.
Magistrate Tim Pocius denied a motion to reduce Phillips’ bond made by his attorney, Lance Rollo.
Rollo said Phillips, who is being held in North Central Regional Jail, did not have the means to post his current $55,000 bond and requested it be lowered to $25,000.
Assistant Prosecutor Brandon Benchoff objected to the request.
“We believe he is a danger risk,” Benchoff said, adding that considering the circumstances, $55,000 was fair and maybe even low.
He cited Phillips’ five felony convictions in 2002 and five domestic dispute calls to the address where the standoff took place as reasons to not grant the bond reduction.
Phillips was convicted of three counts of third-degree sexual assault and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse in Taylor County. He is a registered sex offender for life and spent 12 years and 7 months in a correctional facility according to the West Virginia State Police’s sex offender registry.
