William Phillips Sentenced to Life in Prison for Daytona Shooting

Palm Coast resident William Phillips, 33, was sentenced to life in prison this week for his role in the shooting of two individuals in Daytona Beach in 2023. Phillips was convicted in July of attempted first degree murder, attempted second degree murder, and possession of a firearm by a convicted in-state felon. According to prosecutors, Phillips was involved in a dispute at a bar in Daytona Beach in the early morning of March 18th, 2023. The dispute eventually escalated into physical confrontation. That conflict would later spill out into the nearby Bethune-Cookman University. Four B-CU students drove their vehicle back to the school campus following the incident, as did Phillips and others he was with at the time. He was then said to have confronted the other group, and eventually fired shots into their vehicle. A 21-year-old man was left paralyzed from the waist down, while a 24-year-old woman was hospitalized but fortunately recovered in full. The case was investigated by the Daytona Beach Police Department, who identified Phillips as their suspect two days after the shooting. He was later booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail on September 22nd, 2023.