Bobby Phillips and Oscar Doster Prison Escape Murder

Bobby Phillips and Oscar Doster were sentenced to death by the State of Alabama for a murder following a prison escape

According to court documents Bobby Phillips and Oscar Doster would escape from Covington County Jail. They would later murder Paul LeMaster

Later Oscar Doster would escape again and murder Dennis Courtney in Fairfield, Texas

Bobby Phillips and Oscar Doster would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death

Bobby Phillips Photos

Oscar Doster Photos

Bobby Phillips And Oscar Doster FAQ

Bobby Phillips And Oscar Doster Case

In the early morning hours of November 4, 2002,7 inmates Bobby O’Lee Phillips, Oscar Roy Doster, Michael Barbaree, and Charles Meeks escaped from the Covington County Jail. The four inmates pried the door off a ventilation area in the jail, kicked out the louvers connected to the outside wall of the jail, and then climbed down the louvers to the ground.

In order to get over the inside perimeter razor-wire fence, the men went to the back of the jail and climbed up another set of louvers. They used a mattress pad to cover the razor-wire fence, and then they went over the fence. Once outside the fence, Phillips removed his jail coveralls-he had on clothes underneath the coveralls. To get over the outside perimeter razor-wire fence, the group scaled the communications tower, and then climbed down a guy wire, over the fence, to the outside.

After the men escaped, Barbaree split off from the group. Phillips, Doster, and Meeks traveled on foot through the woods, on back roads, and along a railroad track until they came to an abandoned shed. It was raining, so the three men stayed in the abandoned shed until the morning of November 4.

After leaving the shed around 9:00 a.m. that morning, the group continued to travel on foot along the railroad tracks. Although not clear from the record, eventually Doster and Phillips became separated from Meeks.

Phillips and Doster continued to travel on foot. Late in the afternoon of November 4, the pair ultimately arrived at the VFW Post 3454 “on the river.”8 Phillips and Doster waited until the club closed, and then Phillips pushed a small fan out of a back window of the building, and climbed inside. Once inside, Phillips opened the door and let Doster inside the building.

Phillips and Doster ransacked the premises. They ate food and drank beverages they found inside. They broke into gaming machines and took an undetermined amount of money. Phillips and Doster also stole a number of items, including whiskey, cigarettes, food, and pain relievers.

The next morning, the break-in was discovered and reported to law enforcement. The value of the items stolen from the VFW Post was greater than $250, but less than $1,000.

After ransacking the VFW Post, Phillips and Doster left the building. Outside, they found a boat, to which they attached a trolling motor. With the stolen items in tow, they got into the boat. The two men then traveled by boat along the river.

Doster knew of a residence where his brother had lived that was located on the river. They rode in the boat to an area near the Gantt Dam, where they abandoned the boat. Phillips and Doster then traveled by foot to the Whispering Pines trailer park, a remote trailer park located on a dirt road in Covington County and within walking distance of the river.

The trailer park was owned by Diane Pettie. At that time, there were only two trailers located in the park. Jason Pettie, Diane Pettie’s son, resided in one trailer, and Paul LeMaster resided in his “fifth-wheel” trailer in the park. Evidence elicited at trial established that at one point in time, Doster’s younger brother had lived with Jason Pettie in his trailer.

Phillips and Doster arrived at Jason Pettie’s mobile home around 1:00 a.m. on the morning of November 5. After discovering that Pettie was not home, they broke into Pettie’s trailer through the back door. Once inside, Phillips and Doster put on dry clothes, ate, slept, took showers, played cards, and consumed alcoholic beverages. At some point, Doster cut Phillips’s hair.

The two men rummaged through Jason Pettie’s gun cabinet, and found a Remington 30-06 rifle with a scope, a 16-gauge shotgun, a 12-gauge shotgun, and two .22-caliber rifles. The cabinet also contained ammunition for the guns, and various other hunting supplies.

While they were hiding out in the trailer, Doster and Phillips noticed that Paul LeMaster had a truck. They discussed various ways that they could get the truck. In Phillips’s confession, he said that Doster told him that they had to kill LeMaster in order to take his truck. Phillips claimed that he drank heavily after they decided they would kill LeMaster for his truck.

Late in the afternoon of November 5, Doster loaded the Remington 30-06 rifle and handed it to Phillips so that he could shoot LeMaster. Phillips went to the corner of LeMaster’s trailer and stretched out on the ground. LeMaster had the metal door on his trailer open, but the screen door was shut. Through the scope on the rifle, Phillips watched LeMaster moving about in his mobile home. LeMaster came to the screen door, and as LeMaster turned, Phillips shot him.

Doster and Phillips entered LeMaster’s residence. Phillips cut the pockets on LeMaster’s pants to get the keys to his truck. LeMaster had been cooking before he was shot, so Doster turned off the stove. Phillips told the investigators that Doster took a drawer full of change from LeMaster’s residence.

Phillips and Doster then left in LeMaster’s truck. They took with them Pettie’s 30-06 rifle, the two shotguns, a camouflage bucket with a swivel-seat cover-commonly referred to as a “dove bucket”-full of ammunition for the three firearms, some of Pettie’s camouflage clothing, hunting boots, and some of Pettie’s other clothing.

Phillips and Doster had also intended to take some of the various items stolen from the VFW, as well as other items stolen from Pettie’s trailer. These items were placed inside a duffle bag that belonged to Pettie. However, they inadvertently left the bag some 20 feet from LeMaster’s trailer.

Inside the duffle bag were Tom’s brand cheese crackers, packs of cigarettes, packages of peanuts, a carton of Camel-brand cigarettes, “Slim Jim” brand meat-product snacks, packages of “Stanback” brand headache powder, packages of “Goodys” brand headache powder, packages of “Alka-Seltzer” brand antacid, and a bottle of Evan Williams brand whiskey, all of which had been stolen from the VFW Post. Two knives, a pair of binoculars, a flashlight, a sharpening stone, and a pair of socks filled with “silver” change were also found in the duffle bag, all of which were confirmed to belong to Pettie. The value of all the items stolen from Pettie exceeded $1,000.

Jason Pettie testified that he had been working out of town. When he returned to his mobile home in the late afternoon of November 6, he discovered that the door of his mobile home was unlocked. When Pettie entered the mobile home, he saw that it had been ransacked and that the back door to the mobile home was open. His gun cabinet had been emptied. Pennies were scattered on the floor, and two long guns were lying on the floor. Pettie discovered hair on his bathroom floor.

Pettie telephoned the authorities and reported the incident. When law-enforcement personnel arrived at Pettie’s residence, he told them that he was concerned about LeMaster because the lights were on at LeMaster’s residence, but his truck was not there.

Law-enforcement personnel went to LeMaster’s residence, where they discovered his body. An autopsy indicated that LeMaster died as a result of a single gunshot wound.

Pettie stated that he kept coins in a large jug, but that all the coins, except the pennies, had been stolen. He said that a deck of playing cards and a score sheet had been left on his kitchen table. A half-full bottle of Canadian Mist brand whiskey, which was later determined to bear Phillips’s fingerprints, was discovered on an entertainment center in Pettie’s residence. Phillips’s DNA was later recovered from a cigarette butt discovered on the kitchen counter of Pettie’s mobile home.

Phillips and Doster also left behind two sacks of wet clothes that were found on the floor in Pettie’s residence. These were the clothes that Phillips and Doster were wearing when they escaped. Inside one of the bags was a shirt that had the name “Bobby P.” written in the collar.

Immediately after shooting LeMaster, Phillips and Doster went to a convenience store and put gasoline in LeMaster’s truck. From there, they traveled to Laurel Hill, Florida, stopping once in Crestview, Florida, to get more gasoline and a case of beer. While still in Florida, they removed the camper-shell from LeMaster’s truck.

Phillips told the investigators that he and Doster then traveled west on Interstate 10 to Mississippi, where they rented a motel room under the name of “Michael Phillips.” They stayed until the following morning, which would have been the morning of November 6. At some point while they were in Mississippi, Phillips and Doster painted LeMaster’s truck black.

In his statement to the investigators, Phillips said that they then proceeded to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He stated that while they were in Baton Rouge, they paid a “crack-head” named “Waylon” $150 to pawn Pettie’s 30-06 rifle.

Phillips said that after leaving Baton Rouge, they traveled through Louisiana back to Mississippi, and then to Memphis, Tennessee, and from there to Arkansas.9 Phillips told the investigators that while they were in Memphis he telephoned his stepmother to ask for help, but she hung up on him when he told her that he thought he had killed a man. Phillips told the investigators that he and Doster spent the night in Brinkley, Arkansas, before returning to Alabama.

Doster and Phillips arrived back in Covington County in the late night hours of November 10 or early morning hours of the November 11. Phillips told the investigators that in the early morning hours of November 11, they drove LeMaster’s truck down a dirt road, into a wooded area in Covington County. They remained hidden in that area for the rest of the daylight hours. While they were parked there, they discarded LeMaster’s paperwork and belongings that were in the truck.

Sometime around dusk, Phillips and Doster drove out of the property. Around 8:00 p.m., they drove to the Florala City Yard, where Doster had worked while on work release. Doster told Phillips that the gates to the city yard were not locked.

Once inside the gated city yard, they parked the truck in a shed. They then broke into a locked building and stole numerous items, including various tools, a toolbox, a crow-bar, a tire-tool, flashlights, motor oil, and gasoline. They also siphoned gasoline out of the city work trucks. They put all the stolen items into LeMaster’s truck. The value of the items stolen was greater than $250, but less than $1,000.

Around 11:00 p.m., Phillips and Doster walked from the Florala City Yard to the nearby Florala High School. They entered the school by removing a window in the back of the building. Once inside the school, they broke into various offices and stole money and two pairs of tennis shoes. All the stolen items had a value of more that $250 but less than $1,000. They ripped the changers from the vending machines and took the money that was in the changers.

Phillips and Doster attempted to take a safe from the principal’s office. They pushed it to the back door, with the intention of driving the truck over and loading it into the truck. However, when they later returned to the school with the truck, they saw a police vehicle parked in the parking lot of the school. Phillips said that when they saw the police vehicle, they slowly made a U-turn and left the parking lot, and then they fled the area.

On the morning of November 12, a Florala City employee discovered the burglary and theft at the city yard, and he contacted the police. On that same morning, the principal of the Florala High School discovered the burglary, thefts, and vandalism at the school, and he contacted the police. The safe that Phillips and Doster tried to remove was still sitting by the doorway.

On November 13, Austin Sholt noticed an open gate on some land that he had leased for hunting purposes off Pete McGhee road. When he entered the gate, he discovered discarded paperwork that had Paul LeMaster’s name on it. Sholt took a sportsman’s license and a fraternal organization card with him to turn over to the police.

On November 14, Sholt came in contact with Jeremy Douglas, who was at that time the chief of police of the town of Lockhart, in Covington County. Chief Douglas was in the process of arresting a subject for driving under the influence, when Sholt approached him and handed him the documents that Sholt had found on the hunting property. Chief Douglas wrote down Sholt’s telephone number, and then Chief Douglas put the papers in his pocket.

On the night of November 15, Chief Douglas was at a convenience store, when he saw a newspaper article about the LeMaster murder in the Gantt area. When he realized that was the name on the papers Sholt had given him, Chief Douglas contacted Covington County Sheriff’s investigator Walter Inabinett. Chief Douglas also contacted Sholt, who gave him directions to the hunting property where he had found the papers.

That same night, Chief Douglas, Investigator Inabinett, and several other law-enforcement personnel traveled to the hunting property off Pete McGhee Road. They found discarded paperwork bearing Paul LeMaster’s name, a briefcase, a Ford truck mirror, gun racks, oil bottles, a 30-06 empty shell casing, and various other items. Several days later, Chief Douglas returned to the area and collected two additional bags of items, which he turned over to Investigator Inabinett.

In the meantime, after leaving the Florala High School in the early morning hours of November 12, Doster and Phillips drove to Crestview, Florida, where they rented a motel room. Phillips told the investigators that after leaving Crestview, they drove to New Orleans, Louisiana, where Phillips claimed he intended to seek employment.

Phillips told the investigators that while he and Doster were in New Orleans, they traded the two remaining guns that they had stolen from Pettie for some heroin. Phillips claimed that he then tried to commit suicide by injecting heroin into himself. Phillips said that he was not successful in his suicide attempt because Doster revived him.

Phillips stated that he and Doster left New Orleans and traveled to Baton Rouge, where they stayed in a motel. They returned to Covington County, Alabama, in the late night hours of November 16 or early morning hours of November 17.

When they returned to Covington County, Phillips and Doster traveled down a dirt road to the Conecuh River Baptist Church. They parked LeMaster’s truck behind the church. They broke into the church through a back window.

Once inside the church, the men rummaged through the pulpit. They tore open a small, wooden replica of the church, which served as an offering box, and took the change from the box. They also stole a role of duct tape. Phillips and Doster left behind a single leather glove. The mate of that glove was later discovered in LeMaster’s truck.

Phillips and Doster then broke into the fellowship hall of the church, which was in a separate building. They stole a plastic jar of coins from the fellowship hall that some of the children in the church had collected. The value of the items stolen from the church did not exceed $250.

After leaving the church, Phillips and Doster made their way to Pleasant Home Valley School. They broke out a window in the back of the school and went in. Once inside, they broke some windows to the offices using a crowbar from the truck. They used duct tape that had presumably been taken from the church to keep some of the glass from fragmenting when they shattered the windows. Phillips and Doster stole some keys to the vending machines. The value of the keys did not exceed $250. In addition, they removed the money changers from the vending machines in order to get the money in the machines. The damage to the vending machines did not exceed $250.

Once again, Phillips and Doster fled Covington County in LeMaster’s truck. On November 18, a Texas state trooper stopped Phillips and Doster as they were traveling west on Interstate 10 in LeMaster’s truck. They were arrested on outstanding Alabama felony-arrest warrants.10

Phillips and Doster were apprised of their Miranda11 rights at the scene of the arrest. Phillips had a hand-made identification card bearing a recently made photograph of himself with the name “Michael Phillips” listed on the card. Phillips was wearing a pair of tennis shoes that he had stolen from Florala High School.

Covington County investigators Walter Inabinett and Scott Conner traveled to Texas to interview Phillips. As noted above, Phillips gave a detailed confession to the investigators.12

Before speaking with Phillips, the investigators inventoried LeMaster’s truck, which had been towed to the Crockett County, Texas, Sheriff’s Department and stored. They discovered items that had been taken from each crime scene.

On November 21, Conner and Inabinett recovered Pettie’s 30-06 rifle from John Windham of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Police Department. Windham had recovered the rifle from a pawnshop. A pawn ticket indicated that the rifle had been pawned for $150 to a Cash America Pawn shop by a Waylon Leach on November 13. Leach told Windham that he had pawned the rifle for two men from Alabama. The cartridge casing that was discovered with the other discarded material from LeMaster’s truck was subsequently determined to have been fired from the rifle.13

https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/al-court-of-criminal-appeals/1525933.html