Phillips' career was overshadowed by his inability to stay out of trouble off the field, a trend that dated back to his collegiate days. He was arrested several times from 1995 to 2005. In 2015, Phillips was charged with the murder of his former cellmate, Damion Soward, and arguably could have faced the death penalty. Phillips committed suicide on January 13, 2016 at Kern Valley State Prison in Delano, California, where he was serving a seven-year term for felony assault with a deadly weapon and was set to serve an additional twenty-five years once that sentence elapsed for domestic assault on his girlfriend.