The man charged with murdering a Kentucky State Police trooper was in Warren County Circuit Court on Tuesday for arraignment. Fifty-one-year-old Emonnie Branch pleaded not guilty in the death of 28-year-old Hayden Phillips.
The man charged with fatally shooting a Kentucky State police trooper has entered a not guilty plea.
Emonnie Branch, 51, was in Warren County Circuit Court on Tuesday for arraignment.
Branch is charged in the death of 28-year-old Hayden Phillips, the KSP trooper who was shot during a traffic stop on I-65 in Warren County on Sept. 28.
Branch was living in Portland, Tennessee, at the time and had an outstanding warrant for parole violation in the Volunteer State. According to prosecutors, he has an extensive criminal history, including assault, robbery, and drug trafficking.
Branch made his first court appearance since being indicted on murder of a first responder. The capital offense carries a punishment of life in prison without parole or the death penalty.
Branch is also charged with possession of a handgun by a convicted felon and tampering with physical evidence.
Branch's attorneys entered a not guilty plea on his behalf as some of Phillips’ family and law enforcement colleagues watched in the courtroom.
Warren Circuit Judge J.B. Hines scheduled Branch’s next court hearing for Feb. 12.
