Family Reacts Following Jury Decision In Joshua Phillips Trial

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT)  A jury found a Blount County man guilty of manslaughter  Friday afternoon.

Joshua Phillips, 24, is convicted in the death of 45-year-old Albert Sanford in late 2010.

Both men were from Altoona in Blount County, but the incident occurred outside a home on Nixon Chapel Road near Douglas.

Deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call around 3 a.m. October 31, and found Sanford severely injured in the front yard.

Investigators said Phillips drove his car into Sanford and drove away.

Sanford died on the way to a hospital, and Phillips’ car is considered a deadly weapon.

“It’s not the norm, obviously it’s usually a gun or a knife that somebody uses,” Marshall County district attorney Steve Marshall said.

“Under the law this is just as critical for purposes of proving the nature of intent as any other weapon would be.”

Deputies found Phillips and the car in Blount County several hours after the collision.

WHNT News 19 has learned  that Joshua Phillips  bonded out of jail. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for September 24th.