A judge ruled Tuesday that a sheriff’s deputy didn’t break the law when he entered the home of well-known Lawrence businessman Rob Phillips earlier this year – an incident that led to Phillips’ arrest on accusations he threatened and battered the deputy.

Judge Jack Murphy said that when Douglas County Sheriff’s Corporal Clark Rials entered Phillips’ home the night of Jan. 23, he believed it was an emergency and “had a legitimate reason to be there.” Phillips’ attorney had argued the entry into the home was illegal and that evidence from it shouldn’t be used at Phillips’ upcoming trial.

Rials was dispatched to Phillips’ home after Phillips’ wife called 911 saying she thought her husband was suicidal. In an earlier court hearing, Phillips could be heard on a videotape shouting obscenities and threatening to shoot Rials.

Phillips, 60, the former owner of the Eldridge Hotel, was charged with making a criminal threat and battery on a law enforcement officer. He’s scheduled to stand trial Nov. 16.