| April 22,
2006 |
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| Additional Charges Filed Against Phillips |
| Man now facing attempted murder, kidnapping
charges |
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Burke County
investigators, after a meeting with the District Attorney's Office, have filed
additional charges against Dennis Edward Phillips (right), who is accused of beating a handicapped man and
putting him inside a closet.
Phillips, 50, was charged Friday with the
attempted murder of Robert Lee Robinson, 53. Warrants for first degree
kidnapping, and assault on a handicapped person were also served on
Phillips. |
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| Phillps was charged on April 13th with assault
with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury to Robinson, and communicating
threats to his wife. |
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| Robinson had resided with Phillips at his 3803
Laurel Heights, Morganton home for around ten years, according to
officials. |
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| On April 13th, investigators acted on
information from Phillips' wife, Nina and converged on the Phillips home,
according the Sheriff John T. McDevitt. Phillips reportedly refused to
open the door when officers arrived, but finally relented thirty minutes
later. |
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| Officers stormed the three-story house to look
for Robinson and found a closet on the ground floor, McDevitt said. |
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| "When we opened the closet door, we had to move
a mountain of clothing and other items," said the sheriff. "At the bottom of
the pile was Mr. Robinson. It was a sad sight." |
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| The man, who is believed to be both mentally and
physically handicapped with limited mobility in his legs, was bleeding from
facial wounds and had numerous contusions and bruises on his body, according to
investigators. Blood spots were reportedly found in several different
places throughout the residence. |
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| McDevitt said the man was not responsive at
first, but began talking some as officers waited for an ambulance. |
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| Investigators also discovered a large hole
beside the house, McDevitt said. According to family members of Phillips, the
man planned to kill Robinson and bury him inside the hole. |
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| Robinson was treated at Grace Hospital, and
released a few days later. This past Monday, he came by the Burke County
Sheriff's Office to thank McDevitt and detectives for their actions. |
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| "I wanted to thank them, and I have a lot to
tell them," Robinson said while being wheeled through the criminal
investigations division by a family member. |
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| "I know if they hadn't come, I would be
dead." |
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| Phillips will be back in court on April 24th for
a first appearance on the additional charges. He remains in jail under a
$125,000 secured bond. |
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| ************************************************************** |
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