The Dallas attorney representing accused serial killer Billy Chemirmir was arrested last week after being accused of soliciting prostitution in Smith County.
According to county jail records, Phillip Hayes was arrested on Nov. 5 after being accused of solicitation. Hayes was released the same day after posting a $2,000 bond.
An arrest warrant affidavit obtained by NBC 5 said an undercover multi-agency operation in Smith County posted advertisements on websites used for trafficking and prostitution. Police said Hayes responded to one of those ads when he exchanged text messages with undercover officers between 3:13 p.m. and 5:59 p.m. on Oct. 5. Investigators said Hayes arranged to spend an hour with a person for $110 and to wear a condom.
Police said he requested the location and arrived at about 6 p.m. When officers saw his 2020 black Land Rover Defender arrive at the location he was taken into custody by an arrest team and interviewed.
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According to the arrest document, Hayes made statements in an interview that was "against his penal interest," or those that put him at risk of prosecution. The arrest warrant did not specify what those statements were.
“Things aren’t always as they seem,” Hayes told The Dallas Morning News. “When it is all said and done we can sit and talk about it but I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize Mr. Chemirmir at this point.”
Hayes declined to comment on the specifics of the allegations to both the paper and NBC 5.
Hayes is part of a team representing Billy Chemirmir, a man accused of smothering more than a dozen women living in North Texas retirement homes and robbing them of their jewelry. Chemirmir has been indicted on 18 total capital murder charges. Chemirmir maintains his innocence on all charges and remains in the Dallas County Jail on an $11 million bail.
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Jury selection began in the Chemirmir case Wednesday. Hayes was not present in the courtroom. Opening statements are expected Monday.
Hayes was recently part of another high-profile case, that of William George Davis, a former Tyler nurse sentenced to death last month for killing four patients by injecting them with air after heart surgeries. According to The Tyler Morning Telegraph, the Davis case was underway when Hayes is alleged to have solicited a prostitute in the undercover operation.
It's not clear what impact Hayes' arrest may have on either case.
