DALLAS — An attorney for suspected serial killer Billy Chemirmir, whose jury selection was set to begin Wednesday in Dallas, was arrested on suspicion of solicitation of prostitution last week in Smith County, according to jail records.
KYTX reported that Phillip Wayne Hayes, 48, of Dallas, was accused of seeking out sex for payment while a trial he was involved with was ongoing, according to an arrest warrant.
Hayes was arrested Friday and released the same day on a $2,000 bond, according to Smith County Jail records.
It was not immediately clear how or if Hayes' arrest would impact the Chemirmir trial. Chemirmir's defense team did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Hayes is among the attorneys representing Chemirmir, who is accused of killing at least 18 women who lived at senior living facilities in Dallas and Collin counties. He lived in independent living facilities where detectives say he robbed the victims of their jewelry and then suffocated them.
In Tyler, Hayes represented William Davis, a former nurse who was convicted of killing four patients by injecting air into their arterial systems. Davis' trial ran from Sept. 28 through Oct. 27.
According to an arrest affidavit, Smith County undercover officers posted ads on a website commonly used for human trafficking and prostitution.
The document states Hayes began exchanging texts with the undercover officer on Oct. 5, six days into Davis’ capital murder trial. The exchange lasted for approximately two hours that afternoon. Investigators identified Hayes using his phone number and law enforcement database searches.
Another search showed Hayes owned a 2020 black Land Rover Defender. Police documentation shows Hayes asked for an hour of time for him to pay $110 for sex. After the request, the undercover officer gave him a location to meet around 6 p.m. An arrest team saw Hayes’ vehicle come to the location, and he was arrested and transported for an interview.
Because of Hayes’ involvement as counsel in the ongoing trial, officers made the decision to get a warrant at a later date, KYTX reported.
