Two men bound over to grand jury on first-degree murder charges

Published 3:40 pm Tuesday, January 31, 2023

A preliminary hearing this week offered insights into the December 2022 shooting death of a Carter County man and resulted in two men being bound over to the grand jury on first-degree murder charges.

Brandon Lee Blackwell, 34, and Cody Alan Miller, 23, have been charged in the death of Phillip Glass, who was found early on the morning of Dec. 1 inside a crashed Honda Accord on Oakmont Street.

During a hearing on Monday, Carter County General Sessions Court Judge Keith Bowers Jr. ruled that sufficient probable cause had been presented to bind the pair over to the grand jury.

Kimberly Thomas, who was a passenger in Glass’ vehicle as the incident began, testified about the events that led to his death and the relationship between the victim and the suspects. She told the judge she and Glass were the parents of a two-year-old child, and testified that the pair had a strained relationship as Glass had spent the prior year in jail. Moreover, she said, Glass and Miller did not like each other.

The pair were together the night of the shooting, attending a party at a residence at the end of Oakmont Drive. Thomas testified that she and Glass were arguing so she began to call friends to come and pick her up. Blackwell agreed to come and get her, so when Glass told her to go to his car, she assumed he was going to drive her to the end of Oakmont so she could meet Blackwell. She also testified that Glass had placed his pistol in his back pocket.

As the Honda Accord neared the intersection, Glass saw Miller’s Chevrolet Tahoe ahead and put his car in reverse. At the same time, Thomas was attempting to jump out of Glass’ vehicle, but her backpack was caught in the car door and she was knocked on the ground. She said she saw Glass reaching for his pistol as she was lying on the pavement and trying to get up.

Thomas said Glass then began driving rapidly toward Miller’s vehicle and several shots were fired before the crash. She told the judge, Miller was standing above her as the shots were fired. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents, six casings were recovered from a .380-caliber and two casings and one unspent round were recovered from a 9 mm pistol.

Blackwell was taken into custody several hours later after another report of shots being fired in the Hampton community. Upon responding, Lt. Mike Carlock testified he found Blackwell armed with a Remington 9 mm pistol, which he had been using to shoot at a target.

Blackwell was released from pretrial custody after posting bond. Miller’s bond remains at $500,000.