STAFF REPORT
Glasgow News 1
The Tennessee man charged in the fatal shooting of Kentucky State Police Trooper Hayden Phillips has an extensive criminal history.
Emonnie Dion Branch, 51, of Portland, Tenn., made an initial court appearance Tuesday morning in Warren County, Kentucky. He is charged with murder after he allegedly shot and killed Trooper Phillips on Monday afternoon along Interstate 65 near Smiths Grove.
At the time of the shooting, Branch had an active warrant for parole violation, according to WSMV in Nashville.
The television station further reported that Branch’s criminal history includes firearm, fraud, robbery, assault and probation-related cases, according to Tennessee records.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation records show Branch was arrested multiple times on numerous charges, including:
April 2026: Violation of probation
December 2023: Violation of a no-contact order
November 2023: Domestic assault on a juvenile
October 2022: Capias related to felony theft and money laundering
September 2022: Capias related to theft allegations
December 2016: Public intoxication, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct
October 2015: Domestic assault causing bodily injury
2010: Probation violation related to a weapon-possession case
2007: Firearm possession
Sumner County court records show Branch pleaded guilty in 2009 to possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and received a three-year sentence, WSMV reported.
In 2025, Branch pleaded guilty to securities fraud in Sumner County. The 2022 indictment in that case alleged that Branch stole money from a woman and used stolen proceeds in a scheme to delay discovery of the theft.
In the death of Phillips, Branch faces a charge of murder of a first responder, which, according to Kentucky law, is a capital offense “and the person shall be sentenced to death or imprisonment for life without benefit of probation or parole” if he is found guilty.
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