KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — Today’s the day of the Tyler Area Chamber’s annual Business Expo, from 9 to 5 at Harvey Convention Center, featuring some 150 exhibitors. The Chamber’s Henry Bell says the expo offers “a lot of different variety this year.” He says the free event offers a chance to network and learn about the local business environment. Bell said the business climate in Tyler is quite positive right now, and that should help spur interest in the expo.

BEAUMONT – A 44-year-old Lufkin man pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges related to a double homicide which took place in Nacogdoches in August 2007. Carl Carver pleaded guilty to committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity before U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone in Beaumont. Specifically, Carver admitted that he had participated in the murder of David Mitchamore.

According to information presented in court, Carver was a general of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT), a powerful race-based state-wide organization that operates inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout Texas and the United States. Authorities say the ABT enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects, and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, assault, robbery, and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise. Authorities say members, and often associates, are required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members, often referred to as “direct orders.”

According to court documents, David Mitchamore, aka “Super Dave,” an ABT member, and his girlfriend, Christie Rochelle Brown, were murdered as a result of a “direct order” issued by Carver against Mitchamore because of Mitchamore’s failure to repay an outstanding debt he allegedly owed to Carver. The bodies of Mitchamore and Brown were discovered in Nacogdoches County on Aug. 10, 2007. Carver faces life in prison at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.

LONGVIEW — A retirement reception will be held for Longview Chief of Police J.B. McCaleb from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. today. The recognition presentation will occur at 4:30 p.m. The event is open to the public and will be held at the Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Complex, 100 Grand Blvd. Chief McCaleb has served in law enforcement for 35 years, including 32 years with the Longview Police Department. He has served as Chief of Police since 2003.

TYLER — Tyler Assistant Fire Marshal Brandon Davis says a house has been destroyed by fire on the 300 block of West Cedar. KETK reports the blaze started on the east side of the house, although investigators still aren’t sure how. The flames spread quickly into the attic, causing a partial roof collapse. No one was hurt.

HENDERSON (AP) – A Fort Worth man who reported to investigators he accidentally shot and killed a deer hunter has been charged in the death. The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office says 54-year-old Rodney Connally turned himself in Wednesday. Connally was named in a Jan. 13 warrant for criminal negligent homicide. The case involves the Jan. 1 death of 41-year-old Louis Conner Jr. of Overton. Connally was arraigned Wednesday, with bond set at $50,000. He previously was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm. Connally notified officers of the shooting, saying he mistook Conner for a deer. Sgt. Viki Penny says there’s no indication that the men knew each other. She had no information Wednesday on an attorney for Connally.

MARSHALL — Many Texas residents, including some East Texans, have a new cable provider. St. Louis-based Cobridge Communications has recently purchased seven territories across the state from Charter Communications. Cobridge executive Paul Belle Isle says the company’s installing fiber-optic technology where possible. He says Cobridge is working to improve reliability, picture quality, and Internet speed to provide faster, better, smarter, higher-tech service. According to Belle Isle, Cobridge is now serving Marshall, Carthage, Atlanta, Rockport, Colorado city, Slaton, and Levelland.

EAST TEXAS — Research now shows the life-span of East Texans is shorter than other areas across the state and that reputation is giving East Texas a new nickname. “The stroke belt.” Experts say after years of neglecting healthy food and exercise, we’ve earned that title. Neurologist, Alison Hennigan says another reason why the stroke rate is so high in East Texas is because of smoking. East Texans also have the shortage life-span in the state.

LINDALE — A Lindale teen, Dakota Lee Dawson, has been arrested for filing a false report. A Smith County Sheriff’s Deputy says Dawson sent a text message to a friend claiming he found his girlfriend with another man. He reportedly told his friend he shot the man and put him in a wood chipper. The friend called police. Dawson was arrested and charged with filing a false report. He was released on $1,000 bond.

TYLER — A 62-year-old Tyler man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations Wednesday. William Robert Pate pleaded guilty on Aug. 16 to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison. According to information presented in court, on Mar. 26, law enforcement investigators executed a search warrant at Pate’s home for suspected child pornography after images were reported as being uploaded to an Internet website from Pate’s IP address. During the investigation, Pate admitted to downloading child pornography over the internet and gave permission for the search of his computers. A forensic analysis of the computer revealed approximately 97 images and 7 videos of child pornography, some of which depicted children less than 12 years of age engaged in sadistic or masochistic conduct. Pate was indicted by a federal grand jury on Apr. 8, 2010.

LUFKIN — Lufkin Police want to identify a man who used a fraudulent check. On June 14, 2010, a suspect passed a fraudulent check at a Lufkin-area grocery store and, although the suspect’s image was captured by security cameras, investigators have not yet identify him. The check was made to appear as a payroll check from another Lufkin-area business, and was cashed for several hundred dollars. According to witnesses and the security camera-captured images, the suspect is a 30 to 40-year-old black male with short-cut hair, receding hairline, moustache, and goatee. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (936) 639-TIPS.

WOOD COUNTY — A 16-year-old boy was found shot to death early Tuesday in Wood County. About 1:30 a.m., Wood County Sheriff’s deputies found Loren Wayne Saunders, 16, dead of a gunshot wound to his chest. Officers were responding to a call about a person shot at County Road 1590, Chaney Point RV Park #2 in Alba. Saunders was a student at the Alba/Golden Independent School District. Detectives are investigating.

RUSK COUNTY — The grandfather of a 2-year-old boy killed by the family’s pit bull was no-billed by a Rusk County grand jury, district attorney Micheal Jimerson said Tuesday, meaning he won’t face charges in the death. “Unless new evidence comes to light, we won’t be investigating this matter any further or considering any additional charges,” Jimerson said. He said he could not speculate on why the grand jury declined to indict Kelvin Muckleroy because the proceedings are confidential.

Muckleroy’s grandson, Kaden Muckleroy, died Nov. 10 at East Texas Medical Center-Henderson as the result of dog bites from a pit bull attack. Investigators with the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office determined the dog that attacked the child belonged to his grandfather, and the older Muckleroy had the dog chained to a tree in the yard of his home, where the attack occurred.

Muckleroy consented to the release of the dog who killed his grandson, as well as about 30 additional kennel-kept dogs, to the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office. The dog that attacked Kaden was euthanized, and several other dogs owned by the older Muckleroy also were euthanized because of their poor medical conditions or because they were too aggressive. However, some of the healthier, friendlier dogs were adopted. After the dogs were seized, Muckleroy demolished the kennels and pens on his property.

LONGVIEW — LeTourneau University is ranked by http://www.TheBestColleges.org as the number one Online Christian College and University of 2011. The website also ranked LETU 22nd among all secular and private colleges and universities that offer online programs in the nation, such as top-ranked Penn State. The ranking website reviews publicly available data to produce its independent assessment of colleges and universities, basing its rankings on a variety of disciplines for prospective students to use as a guide when choosing a college. LETU’S online degree programs include business, psychology, leadership, education and management.

The ranking criteria include graduation, retention, and acceptance rates; student-teacher ratios, tuition per undergraduate credit hour; and percent of students receiving financial aid. Ranking criteria for the Christian schools included schools which were “explicit about seeking to provide a biblically rooted, Christ-centered online education experience for their students,” according to the website. “We have a very strong online program at LETU, and it’s exciting when that fact is validated by an objective outside agency,” said Carol Green, vice president for the School of Graduate and Professional Studies.

LUFKIN – An Angelina County man was killed in a morning fire outside Lufkin Tuesday. According to KETK, sheriff’s investigators say the blaze started in a subdivision near Twin Oaks Road just before 7 a.m. Authorities have withheld the man’s name until his family is notified. But investigators tell the Lufkin Daily News his pet was with him at the time of the fire. It was a neighbor who first noticed the blaze. Officials say the man tried to get inside the home, but his jacket caught fire at the front door. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but officials say the mobile home was reduced to a charred shell. Because of the extent of the damage, fire investigators say it will be difficult to figure out what caused it.

TYLER — Tyler Police have arrested several suspects for allegedly stealing copper tubing and scrap metal from local businesses and home owners over the past month. Officers responded to an apartment building at 1806 W. Oakwood around 8:00 a.m. Tuesday on a possible burglary in progress. Officers spotted the suspect, who they say jumped from a second floor window to escape the area. 28-year-old Deketus Lamarlo Goodwyn of Tyler reportedly fought with officers before being arrested. Police say Goodwyn had entered the apartment building with the intent to steal copper tubing from the walls and fixtures. Several cases of copper theft have been reported to police over the past month at this location.

In another investigation, Tyler Radiator, located at 108 S. Palace, has reported up to 100 radiators stolen from their property that were sold as scrap metal. The investigation into the multiple thefts led to the arrest of 60-year-old Billy Charles Andrews at his residence in Tyler Tuesday. Also, 38-year-old Gary Todd Williams was arrested on January 6 for two thefts – one of copper from an air conditioning unit valued at $10,000 from the Salvation Army and another involving theft of copper from an air conditioning unit at Centro Cristiano De Mi Lagros Church at 700 N. Bois D’Arc.