People v. Phillips CA4/2

FACTS

Phillips and the victim, Charles, were close friends for over 20 years who viewed

each other as family. On January 16, 2019, Charles was staying at Phillips’s cousin

Breanna’s apartment when Phillips brutally attacked him with a hammer while he was

sleeping. Charles was able to escape after several blows and get to the hospital, but his

face was badly injured and his left eye had to be removed.

At trial, Charles and Breanna were uncooperative witnesses and claimed not to

remember anything about the incident. As a result, the prosecution presented evidence

that they both identified Phillips as the attacker in their police interviews at the hospital

shortly after the incident. Charles said he’d gone to sleep on Breanna’s couch, and the

next thing he knew, Phillips was hitting him in the face with a hammer and screaming

“get the fuck out.” Breanna said when she had arrived home that evening Phillips was in

the kitchen cleaning the CPAP machine Charles used for his sleep apnea. She said there

was blood on the walls and Phillips made a punching motion with his hand when she

asked what had happened. She saw him leave her apartment with a bloodstained

pillowcase and…