Tennessee Man Enters Not Guilty Plea in Trooper’s Fatal Shooting
Emonnie Dion Branch, a Tennessee man accused of fatally shooting Kentucky State Trooper Hayden Phillips during a traffic stop on I-65 in Warren County, has entered a not guilty plea.
Lexington, KY, October 27, 2026 —
Emonnie Dion Branch, a Tennessee man accused of fatally shooting Kentucky State Trooper Hayden Phillips during a traffic stop on I-65 in Warren County, has entered a not guilty plea.
The information provided identifies Branch as the accused and Phillips as the trooper who was fatally shot. It places the traffic stop on I-65 in Warren County, Kentucky. No date for the shooting or the plea was provided, and the information does not identify the court where Branch entered his plea.
Details about the circumstances of the traffic stop, the allegations against Branch beyond the reported fatal shooting, and the evidence in the case were not included. The information also does not state whether Branch has legal representation, whether any other charges have been filed, or whether a trial date or future court hearing has been scheduled.
The not guilty plea is the only reported development in the case. No statement from Branch, his attorney, prosecutors, the Kentucky State Police or Phillips’s family was provided. The information does not specify what happens next in the court process.
Accordingly, the available account establishes that Branch has pleaded not guilty to an accusation connected to Phillips’s death, but it does not provide further procedural or investigative details. The allegation remains an accusation; no information about a case outcome or finding of guilt was provided.
Story summarized from the original created by WLEX Web Staff on www.lex18.com, see more information here.
