Trial date set for fired Pierce County deputy. Here are new details from court papers
A Pierce County sheriff’s deputy who was fired last month and captured in California in connection to a felony charge is scheduled to face trial next month.
Pierce County prosecutors charged Michael A. Phipps, 49, with first-degree malicious mischief, a class B felony, in May for allegedly causing at least $50,000 in damage to his family home in Eatonville. He was on the run for about a month and fired by the Sheriff’s Department following his arrest in California in early June.
Phipps was arraigned at the end of last month on two additional charges of violating a no-contact order. Prosecutors allege he continued to text and call her after police served him with court papers, according to charging documents. Some of the texts included threats to share explicit photos.
Pierce County Superior Court pro tem Judge Brian Tollefson set bail at $200,000, according to court records. Phipps remains in the Pierce County Jail, and a jury trial is scheduled for Aug. 11.
Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Adam Faber said prosecutors aren’t able to predict whether the trial will go forward as planned. He said the prosecutors’ office does not comment on potential plea negotiations.
Charging documents show that the day Eatonville police say Phipps trashed his family home, officers were at the house attempting to serve him with a court order not to contact his wife. They had been trying to serve him with a temporary protection order since early March 2022.
In an attempt to avoid a potential standoff, Police Chief Jason Laliberte and another officer were parked out of view of the home in hopes of contacting Phipps as he left the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Phipps’ wife provided updates about his whereabouts from security cameras.
It appeared Phipps was loading things into a car, but then his wife reported he destroyed a security camera. She also said she thought she saw water leaking from the garage ceiling. He left about 15 minutes later and police found him in a church parking lot.
Laliberte, a former Pierce County sheriff’s detective, wrote in a police report he has known Phipps for more than 20 years and shared “words of encouragement” with him before serving him with the protection order. Phipps said he was at the lowest point in his life.
Eatonville police went back to Phipps’ house about two hours later after his wife reported more concerns about a water leak. They discovered the smoke alarms were going off and water was pouring out of light fixtures and vents, among other damage.
Phipps’ wife reported he continued to contact her during the next several days despite the court order, according to charging documents. He told coworkers that he had fled to California.
Corona, California, police arrested Phipps at a hotel on June 1 after Laliberte learned where he was staying. Charging documents do not specify how Laliberte got the information.
Phipps had been a deputy since November 2000 and was granted a leave of absence in June 2021, according to spokesperson Sgt. Darren Moss. The department notified him in May that he would be put on desk duty if he returned to work.
Moss would not disclose whether Phipps was paid during his leave of absence, citing privacy laws.
