An investigation has revealed that a man who had been living under the identity of his brother for 17 years, committed suicide this past week in Ocala.
Ocala police had been called at 4:40 p.m. March 24 to 2014 SE 3rd Ave. where a man believed to be 41-year-old Edgar Curtis Phillips Jr., had shot himself in the head in front of his girlfriend. He had been arrested the previous day on a charge of domestic battery.
While there investigating the apparent suicide, police officers noticed drug-related items in plain view, along with the weapon Phillips had used to shoot himself, according to a news release from police.
The police officers also discovered what they believed to be a methamphetamine lab in the basement. The Unified Drug Enforcement Strike Team was called in. Agents from this unit obtained a search warrant for the residence and further investigation revealed that this was not a methamphetamine lab, but that MDMA was being produced in the form commonly referred to as “Molly.” Agents were assisted by Ocala Fire Rescue and the Marion County Fire Rescue HAZMAT Team. In addition to the items located to produce the drug, there were packaging items and other weapons found.
As Detective Mark Fisher continued his investigation into the death of Phillips, information concerning his identity came to light. Det. Fisher was informed that the deceased person was not actually Edgar Phillips; that he was Edgar’s younger brother John Phillips. Det. Fisher found that Edgar Phillips had died in a boating accident in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland in 1993.
A criminal history check revealed that John Phillips had an active warrant for his arrest for desertion by the U.S. Marine Corps that had been issued in 1998. The FBI provided the fingerprints of John Phillips for comparison with those of the deceased.
Latent Fingerprint Examiner Richard Pickell was able to positively identify the person who shot himself as John Thomas Phillips and not Edgar Phillips Jr.
