Phillips trial struck here

The Jan. 23 trial date scheduled here for Tobin Phillips, 20, former Albion resident who has been charged here with second-degree child assault, was struck Jan. 13 in superior court. Phillips is in jail in Kern County, Calif., at Bakersfield, on a charge that he murdered an eight-month-old boy by suffocating him in Tehachapi, Calif.

A report of the Kern County arrest here led to issuance of an arrest warrant with a $500,000 bond for Phillips, who had been allowed release on his own recognizance after his arraignment on the charge of assaulting his infant daughter at Albion. The arrest warrant was issued here because Phillips violated terms of his release by leaving the state prior to his Jan. 23 trial and allegedly committing another crime.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Dan LeBeau told Judge Gary Libey Friday the prosecutor’s office expects Phillips to remain in custody at Bakersfield “indefinitely.” Phillips’ bail in Kern County has been set at $2 million.

He pleaded not guilty Jan. 13 at Bakersfield to the murder charge and has been scheduled for another court hearing Feb. 27. Phillips had originally been placed on the court docket here for a readiness hearing prior to his scheduled Jan. 23 trial.