2023-03-17
Man extradited from Kansas to Amarillo month after deadly hit and run
Excerpt
The suspect in a deadly hit and run was extradited to Amarillo a month after the crime.Bobby Lee Phelan, 39, was booked into the Randall County Jail on Friday.H
The Department of Public Safety investigating a hit and run after a body was found on Washington Street near the intersection of SW 58th in Amarillo (Ash Albright/KVII)
AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) — The suspect in a deadly hit and run was extradited to Amarillo a month after the crime.
Bobby Lee Phelan, 39, was booked into the Randall County Jail on Friday.
He was released Saturday on a $60,000 bond.
The Department of Public Safety said Phelan hit Murphy Maynard, 27, with a flatbed pickup on Feb. 14 near the intersection of Washington Street and SW 58th Avenue.
The crash happened down the street from Affiliated Foods where Murphy worked for the past five years.
Phelan was arrested Feb. 18 in Dodge City, Kansas.
His truck was found on Feb. 20.
According to the criminal complaint, Phelan "admitted committing this offense (accident involving death)" to his mother.
# Suspect to face 2nd degree felony for Washington Street hit and run
Published: Mar. 20, 2023 at 10:11 PM CDT|Updated: Mar. 21, 2023 at 1:07 PM CDT
AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - The man who is facing charges for the deadly hit-and-run on Washington street, back in the middle of February has been released on bond.
According to Jail Records, 39-year-old Bobby Lee Phelan was booked into the Randall County Jail on Friday, March 17.
He was then released Saturday, March 18, on a $60,000 bond.
The case is still ongoing with the help of Randall County Sheriffs Office, the Texas Rangers and the Department of Public Safety.
Randall County District Attorney Robert Love says, without all of these agencies working together, the man responsible for Murphy Maynard’s death probably would have never been found.
With the help of surveillance video from businesses, private residences, and even his mother, Phelan was located in Dodge City, Kansas.
“She gave information indicating that he had been in the accident, that he had admitted to her that he had done this. So it was her information that led us to the warrant, we were able to file charges at that point,” says Love.
Love says Phelan is facing the charge of an accident involving death, a second degree felony.
According to Love, under Texas law, every person involved in an accident has to stop and provide insurance. If there is an injury, they are required to stop and render aide, if possible. If not, assistance must be requested from emergency medical services.
“In this case, Mr. Phelan is accused of not doing that, that he was involved in the accident, and then immediately left the scene without providing the assistance to the deceased,” said Love.
According to the complaint from the district court, Phelan is guilty due to a confession.
The complaint read: “And further, affiant, after being duly sworn, states that affiant has good reason to believe that the defendant committed this offence because affiant has learned from police reports and his own investigation the defendant admitted committing this offence to Susan Annette Cole, the mother of the defendant.”
As for what happens next, the case will be presented to the Randall County Grand Jury, and if they determine sufficient evidence to go forward, they will officially charge him with a second degree felony.
“If they do indict Mr. Phelan for that charge, it’ll be placed in one of the three district courts,” continues Love.
When asked how long the process would take, Love couldn’t give a specific time line.
“We were closed for a long time during covid and we’re trying to catch up. We have a backlog of cases from the covid period. His case will be down at the bottom of the list once it is indicted,” says Love.