Attorney says Houston County man did not intentionally run over and kill another man | WDHN

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ala. (WDHN) — The attorney for a Houston County man accused of running over another man in Rehobeth says his client did not intentionally kill the victim. He says there is evidence of manslaughter in the case, but not murder.

Phillip Deal was in court Friday for a preliminary hearing, charged with the murder of Michael Arriaga earlier this year.

Officers say the two men, who knew each other, got into a verbal argument outside the home of Arriaga’s child’s mother on Hadden Road in Rehobeth, an argument that Deal’s attorney said began over text messages Arriaga sent to Deal.

Investigators say Deal was in a relationship with the woman.

The exchange of words escalated into a fight away from the house on the road, where investigators say Deal threw a wooden stick at Arriaga, then Arriaga ran to Deal’s SUV and struck him multiple times with an aluminum bat.

Authorities said Deal began to flee before making a U-turn on the road and hitting Arriaga. The impact broke Arriaga’s neck and later killed him.

After the incident, Deal allegedly went to the home where the argument began and apologized to the woman twice before fleeing the scene.

Deal was later arrested by Houston County deputies and is being held on $1.5 million bail at the Houston County Jail.

Deal’s attorney says the $1.5 million bail is too high for his client and should not exceed $150,000 because he believes the facts and circumstances do not warrant bail higher than $1 million and that this should be a manslaughter case.

The judge in that case said the fact that the car turned toward Arriaga and allegedly struck him constituted probable cause for murder, so he sent the case to a Houston County grand jury.

The grand jury will decide whether to formally indict Deal.

Deal is also charged with possession of child pornography after investigators said they found a photo of a young girl on his phone. A preliminary hearing in that case has been adjourned until August.