Shooting of officer 'was very quick, totally unexpected'

VIRGINIA BEACH

Detective Michael Smith Phillips sat in a pickup late Thursday night, trying to buy a half-pound of marijuana from the suspected drug dealer sitting next to him. Less than 100 yards away, fellow officers kept watch.

Suddenly, another man walked to the pickup and began firing, Virginia Beach Police Chief Jake Jacocks said Friday. Phillips, 37, armed but not wearing a bulletproof vest, took three shots to the torso and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police swarmed through the parking lot of Green Run Square Shopping Center, between the 7-Eleven and the Fat Mikes hot dog stand in the 3300 block of Holland Road, stopping one suspect who tried to drive off, Jacocks said.

According to the chief, the suspected shooter was arrested as he hovered over Phillips' body and attempted to steal the undercover officer's cash.

"It all went as it was planned to go up until the shots were fired. It was very quick, totally unexpected," Jacocks said.

Police said they arrested Ted Vincent Carter, 23, and Marshall Demetrius Moyd, 26, both of the 900 block of S. Club House Road. They were arraigned Friday in separate three-minute hearings before General District Court Judge Teresa N. McCrimmon on charges of first-degree murder, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and violation of the Drug Conspiracy Act.

Each declined a public defender and was ordered to appear in court Aug. 22 to say who would represent them. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 19. The suspects are being held without bond at Virginia Beach Correctional Center.

Moyd had been released from the Virginia Beach jail just hours before the shooting Thursday. He was arrested Tuesday on a charge of failing to appear in court, according to court and jail records. At 4:55 p.m. Thursday, he posted a $1,300 bond and walked out, sheriff's office spokeswoman Paula Miller said.

Moyd told an investigator, according to a search warrant affidavit, that he and Phillips spoke by phone to set up the marijuana deal.

Moyd said he picked Carter up at his house, on S. Club House Road, where he had the marijuana, a shotgun and a handgun.

The affidavit alleges that at 11:14 p.m. Carter fired the shots that killed Phillips. Court records show Moyd was convicted six years ago in Norfolk of firearm and marijuana possession charges.

Carter was convicted two years ago in Virginia Beach of carrying a concealed weapon. His father, Theodore V. Carter, is serving life in prison for the fatal shooting of a Wachovia Bank employee in 2005, according to court records and Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant.

The search warrant affidavit also says that after being arrested, Carter called his mother and asked her to get rid of a firearm he had at home.

Police searched the townhouse less than a half-mile from the shooting early Friday and seized what they believe to be crack cocaine, a 12-gauge shotgun, various types of ammunition, a bulletproof vest and computer equipment, according to police and court records.

No one answered the door of the unit Friday. Diane LeBray, who lives next door, said the shooting did not fit Carter's character.

"He was playful with all the kids," she said. "There's nothing bad I can say about him. This is not him."

She said Carter worked the night shift at an Oceanfront motel.

Jacocks said Phillips and other officers followed proper department policies and procedures, but officials are reviewing those standards.

It was the first time a Virginia Beach police officer has been killed in an undercover operation, police said. Phillips is survived by a wife and two sons, ages 7 and 10.

At Phillips' two-story home in Chesapeake, police from that city and Virginia Beach took turns patrolling the front of the house. They said family members were not ready to talk.

Neighbors also declined to be interviewed, citing the wishes of Phillips' widow, Terri.

Phillips served in the Air Force from 1990 until 1994. In 1999, he began working as a patrol officer with Hampton Police Division. Three years later, he joined the Virginia Beach department. He had spent two years in Special Investigations.

The last Beach police officer to die in the line of duty was Rodney F. Pocceschi, 33, who was killed five years ago on Dam Neck Road during a shootout that had begun as a traffic stop. On Friday, Virginia Beach police wore black bands across their badges, which will remain until after Phillips' funeral.

A celebration of life for Phillips is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday at Rock Church in Virginia Beach.

Pilot writers John Warren, Cindy Clayton and Duane Bourne, and news researchers Maureen Watts and Jakon Hays contributed to this report.

Shawn Day, (757) 222-5131, shawn.day@pilotonline.com

Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5555, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com