Emonnie Branch was charged with murder of a first responder after Trooper Hayden Phillips was killed, and Judge Kimberly Geoghegan denied bond.

A charge of murder of a first responder is an accusation, and a bond denial is a custody decision. Neither is a conviction. KSP Col. Phillip Burnett Jr. said Branch was charged after Trooper Hayden Phillips was shot and killed during a traffic stop, and on Tuesday morning Warren District Court Judge Kimberly Geoghegan denied bond. Being held without bond until Friday's preliminary hearing is process, not a finding of guilt.

Trooper Hayden Phillips, 28, of Glasgow, was shot and killed during a traffic stop on Interstate 65 in Warren County, Kentucky, on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. Reporting placed the stop around 2 p.m. CT. Some alerts put it at about 2:47 p.m. Phillips worked at Post 3 in Bowling Green, was in Cadet Class 103, and had been with the Kentucky State Police about three years. He is survived by his wife and three young sons. A witness who was driving by called authorities. That account is what reporting described. It is not a finding of who fired.

Reporting described a suspect fleeing in a bluish-gray Honda Civic and a search that lasted hours from the Bowling Green area to Jefferson County and Louisville, about 125 miles. Emonnie Branch, 51, of Portland, Tennessee, was arrested Monday evening in the Jefferson County and Louisville area after Louisville Metro Police used a grappler to secure the car. An arrest at the end of a search is custody. It is not a conviction.

KSP Col. Phillip Burnett Jr. said Branch was charged with murder of a first responder / peace officer. Branch was booked into the Warren County Regional Jail at about 12:40 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. He was arraigned Tuesday morning in Warren District Court before Judge Kimberly Geoghegan. The judge denied bond. Branch is held without bond, and a preliminary hearing is set for Friday at 8:45 a.m. A charge, a jail booking, and a bond denial are not a conviction. Branch is presumed innocent.

WKYT reported that Branch was about one year into a five-year Tennessee probation term from a July 2025 fraud impersonation sentence, with probation set to run to July 2030. WKYT also reported an active Tennessee probation-violation warrant issued Aug. 21, and that the warrant was served. WKYT reported that the next court date is Friday and that extradition may be discussed. A served warrant and a possible extradition discussion are not a finding on the Kentucky charge.