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Attorney leading Bexar County opioid litigation arrested, charged with harassment

Victim fled to Mexico in fear for her life, SAPD investigators say

Martin Phipps, image courtesy of the San Antonio Police Department. (Copyright 2020 by KSAT - All rights reserved.)

SAN ANTONIO – Prominent San Antonio attorney Martin Phipps was arrested Monday after investigators said he harassed a woman to the point that she fled to Mexico in fear for her life.

Phipps was taken into custody on a misdemeanor warrant for telephone harassment, according to charging documents obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders.

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The victim said she fled to Mexico a day after Christmas after Phipps confronted her “in an aggressive and agitated state,” the warrant states.

The woman believed Phipps was under the influence of drugs at the time of the incident, according to SAPD.

After the woman left, Phipps sent her approximately 40 electronic messages over the next two days to “demean, harass, alarm and torment” her, according to the warrant.

The woman returned to the United States last month and filed for annulment of her marriage to Phipps, the warrant states.

Phipps’ arrest is the latest gaffe for the attorney leading Bexar County’s opioid litigation.

His law partner, T.J. Mayes, resigned earlier this year as part of a mass exodus from the firm Phipps Mayes.

Phipps is also the subject of a pending complaint filed with the Texas State Bar, according to records reviewed in recent weeks by the Defenders.

Late last year, a bank repossessed Phipps’ private jet and sold it at auction for $2.8 million, according to federal court documents.

A lawsuit filed in Tarrant County late last month states that Phipps’ firm owes an Arlington-area marketing company more than $344,000 for unpaid invoices.

A Bexar County spokeswoman declined to comment last week on the issues surrounding Phipps’ law firm.


About the Author
Dillon Collier headshot

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.

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