MONTICELLO, Ky. – A man wanted in connection with a May homicide in Tennessee has been captured in Kentucky after a months-long search involving law enforcement agencies in both states.
Jesse Wayne Phillips was arrested Sept. 17 in the 7700 block of KY-1546 in Monticello. He was wanted on a second-degree murder charge in the shooting death of Christopher Yates in Pickett County, Tennessee.
The case began May 27 when Pickett County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a reported shooting in the 1000 block of Parker Road in Pall Mall.
Deputies found Yates suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital, where he died.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation subsequently identified Phillips as the suspected shooter, and Pickett County authorities obtained a warrant charging him with second-degree murder. Phillips was also added to the TBI’s Most Wanted List.
The U.S. Marshals Service’s Middle District of Tennessee Nashville office took over the fugitive investigation June 10.
Investigators pursued leads over the following months with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Central Kentucky Fugitive Task Force, TBI, Kentucky State Police and sheriff’s offices in Clinton and Wayne counties.
Authorities said the investigation produced significant information about Phillips’ whereabouts during the week of Sept. 14.
On Sept. 17, members of the participating agencies, along with the Kentucky State Police Special Response Team, located Phillips in Monticello and took him into custody.
Following the arrest, investigators executed a search warrant at the location and seized multiple firearms. Authorities said the weapons were taken as part of the continuing criminal investigation but did not provide additional details about them.
Phillips was transported to the Pulaski County Detention Center, where he is being held pending extradition to Pickett County.
