KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — Tyler Police are investigating an early Thursday morning aggravated robbery. Officials said they received the report of a robbery at the Lavanderia Express laundromat on south Vine Avenue around 5:20. The employee told police that a black male, armed with a knife, wearing all black clothing and a mask, entered the business and demanded money. The suspect reportedly left the business on foot with an undetermined amount of cash. No injuries were reported. Continue reading Armed Suspect Sought in Early Morning Robbery

HAWKINS – Police in Hawkins are looking for a registered sex offender who disappeared with his son. The suspect is Tucker Maxson, 37, who was last seen on Tuesday running into a wooded area with his three-year-old son in his arms. The boy has been found and returned to his mother. The search for his dad is continuing. There is currently an active warrant for Maxson for assault causing bodily injury and family violence. According to the Wood County Crime Stoppers Facebook page, if you spot Maxson, contact the Hawkins Police Department or the Wood County Sheriff’s Department.

WHITEHOUSE – Two new officials will be taking duties in Whitehouse as city manager and school superintendent. Aaron Smith will assume duties as Whitehouse City manager between April 30th and May 2nd. A graduate from Tyler’s Robert E. Lee High School, Smith brings managerial experience from Ogallala, Nebraska and Tulia, Texas. He will be succeeding Kevin Huckabee who was embroiled in controversy last year. Continue reading Two Positions in Whitehouse Will Soon Be Filled

TYLER – The principal at John Tyler High School, Dr. Kenneth Gay, has been named a Texas Principal of the Year for the Tyler area by the Texas Alliance of Black School Educators. Dr. Gay will compete for a National Alliance of Black School Educators Principal of the Year award this fall. With Dr. Gay at the helm, John Tyler has seen improvements in student performance in all student groups receiving the rating of “Met Standard” on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness for the past two years. The school has also received national, state and local recognition for the campus, students, and staff members. Dr. Gay was associate principal at Nimitz High School in Aldine when he was named the John Tyler Principal in 2013. He came to a campus that had seen seven principals and two interim principals since 2002.

TYLER — Three have been arrested in Smith County on drug and weapon charges, according to Sheriff Larry Smith. The arrests came Monday after deputies conducted a vehicle stop at Loop 323 and Highway 110 North in Tyler. The suspects are named as Victor Alfonso Borja, 24, of Tyler (pictured); Bradley Mark Roberts, 34, of Dublin; and Amanda Carol Tucker, 29, of Cleburne. All three are charged with manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance with a bond of $250,000. Sheriff Larry Smith says the controlled substance was methamphetamine. Continue reading Three Suspects Arrested for Drug and Weapons Violations

LONGVIEW – Police are investigating the deaths of two men in Longview. A Union Pacific employee found the bodies shortly before 8:45 Wednesday morning along a section of railroad tracks near the intersection of Estes Parkway and South Eastman Road. Justice of the Peace James Mathis said both men died from gunshot wounds. At last report, the victims had not been identified.

TYLER – Two people thought to have been involved in a high speed chase in Smith County are in custody after police surrounded the South Tyler Residence Inn. Authorities received a tip that the car involved in the chase northwest of Tyler Monday night was in the hotel parking lot. During the chase, shots were fired at pursuing sheriff’s deputies, but no one was injured. At the hotel, officers took a man and a woman into custody. The two were taken to the sheriff’s department for questioning. The man has been identified as Jeremy Robinson, 31, Hutchins. He’s charged with aggravated assault on a public servant with bond set at $2,000,000. The woman has not been identified. Officers searched two vehicles at the hotel, one thought to be the car involved in the chase. In one vehicle they found assault weapons and meth.

KAUFMAN (AP/Staff) – Authorities say one person was killed and the gunman wounded in a shooting inside a Kaufman Wal-Mart store, and both were from Henderson County. Kaufman police say 55-year-old Donald Ray Coleman shot 59-year-old Wal-Mart employee John Morgan multiple times Tuesday morning in the garden center of the store. Coleman, who then shot himself in the head, is hospitalized in critical condition. Police Capt. Ed Black says the men had an ongoing dispute over Coleman’s estranged wife, who it’s believed Morgan was seeing. Both men were from Gun Barrel City, located about 25 miles southeast of Kaufman. The store was evacuated and no other injuries were reported. Kaufman County sheriff’s Capt. Fred Klingelberger initially said the gunman died but later said police subsequently told him the gunman survived.

HALLSVILLE – Hallsville school trustees have made it official, the new school superintendent is Jeff Collum. On February 25th, they named Collum the lone finalist for the post from over 50 candidates. Monday night, the Hallsville school board voted unanimously in favor of Collum, who will start his new duties July 1st. He will be succeeding Jim Dunlap who was named interim superintendent in 2011 and in 2012 was named permanent superintendent. Collum comes to Hallsville from Benton, Arkansas where he has been serving as school superintendent.

TYLER — More residents, including the ex-husband of the woman who accused Judge Joel Baker of inappropriate conduct, have called for him to step down from his position. KETK reports they spoke up during Tuesday’s commissioners court meeting. During the meeting, James (J.C.) Hardman, the ex-husband of Felisha Hardman (Felisha Smith), the woman accusing Baker of inappropriate conduct, spoke out against Baker. James Hardman began by saying, “You recognize my last name. You cannot cover up a lie with another lie.” He said he never saw any of the messages between his ex-wife and Baker, but claims to have seen the original friend request via Facebook. James Hardman referred to Felisha Hardman as “a victim.” However, Felisha Hardman has stated she also willingly sent lewd text messages to Baker. James Hardman abruptly left the courthouse before KETK reporters could speak with him following the meeting. Continue reading Judge Baker Remains Under Fire

EAST TEXAS — There’s a call to re-sentence an admitted East Texas arsonist who is serving life plus 20 years. Jason Bourque set a string of church fires in early 2010. His attorney Mike Snipes says Bourque is very sorry and says the sentence is way too long. He says some from the clergy have expressed forgiveness. Snipes, who presided as judge over the Kaufman County district attorney murder cases notes, “The getaway driver/accomplice and planner, that being the wife of Eric Williams, who slaughtered two district attorneys and then planned to kill others, got 40 years.” He asks how this case is more egregious than that case? Snipes said prescription drugs Bourque took led him to set the fires and says he is in no way a future danger.

KILGORE –Texas Mutual Insurance Company has awarded a $100,000 grant to Kilgore College to fund the KC Risk Management Institute. It provides workplace safety courses for community employers, workers and the general public. This is the ninth-straight year that Texas Mutual has given the $100,000 grant to KC to sustain the Risk Management Institute. The institute started in 2008. Since then, employees from more than 800 companies have traveled to KC from 79 Texas counties to take advantage of these free courses. More than half of these employees lived in KC’s four-county service area of Gregg, Harrison, Rusk and Upshur counties. The school sets course topics in response to the needs of area businesses and industries. Courses offered periodically at the Risk Management Institute include accident investigation, OSHA training, Spanish for safety supervisors, defensive driving, fleet safety management and small business safety, among others.

LINDALE – The Lindale High School Speech and Debate Team won first and second at the State UIL Debate Meet this past weekend. All four students that competed at the Meet placed in the final four round. Both Alec Ramsey (Senior) and Jonas Thrasher Evers (Junior) won gold. Sophomores Ronak Desai and Anthony Wyatt won silver. Jonas and Alec, who were undefeated for the entire tournament, are the first two-time debate state champions in Lindale history. Jonas is also the first two-time golden gavel winner in Lindale history. Jonas even stayed behind to help clean the debate auditorium after preliminary results were posted this past Friday.

LUFKIN – An Angelina County man has been arrested after being accused of trashing his motel room. Arrested Sunday at the Motel 6 on South Timberland Drive was 30 year old Jonathan Brian Winicki, of Huntington. Police were called when the man refused to leave his room at the noon checkout time. In his room, officers found almost all the electrical wires and light fixtures had been ripped out, the air conditioning unit had been dismantled, plumbing fixtures had been removed from the bathroom and the television had been broken. Winicki reportedly told officers he had taken a methamphetamine and thought there were spying devices in his room. It’s estimated he did around $5,000 worth of damage to the room.

MARSHALL – The Marshall Police Department is asking for the public’s help in solving a long standing missing person’s case. They are looking for any information related to the current location of Teresa Lanette Barnett, who went missing nearly 28 years ago. On August 7, 1987 Barnett’s husband, Wayne Barnett let his wife out around 10:30 that morning the 200 block of East End Boulevard, which at the time was the Eckerd Drug Store. He left the vehicle at the store for his wife to use to return home. When she didn’t return, he went back to the store. The car was where he left it, but there was no trace of his wife. Her purse was located days later at the intersection of South Washington and Lakeview Dr. South. Barnett was 30 years of age when she went missing. Continue reading Marshall Police Seek Missing Person

HOUSTON (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review an appeal from an Ore City man on death row for killing two men days apart during a crime trek across the state more than 14 years ago. The high court made no comment Monday in its decision on the appeal from 32-year-old Clinton Lee Young. The ruling upholds a federal appeals court’s rejection last summer of arguments that Young had deficient legal help at his 2002 trial in Midland and that prosecutors improperly withheld evidence. Young was convicted and condemned for the November 2001 fatal shootings of Doyle Douglas in Longview and then Samuel Petrey a day or two later in a Midland oilfield after carjacking him in Eastland, about 53 miles east of Abilene.

TYLER — Authorities identify a pedestrian killed Sunday morning after being struck by a vehicle as Cuong Huy Nguyen, 42. According to KETK, Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer Jean Dark said the incident happened along Interstate 20 East in Smith County, just east of the Highway 110 exit. Dark said the call came in just before 5:00. Nguyen was pronounced dead at the scene. Further details have not been released.

LONGVIEW — You’ve most likely been seeing yellow pollen dust on your car windshield, and it’s making things hard on those suffering from allergies. Warm and windy weather is sending allergy symptoms into overdrive for many across the Lone Star State. Dr. Todd Holman is with a Longview allergy and asthma clinic and says that once your allergies begin affecting your quality of life, it’s time to see a doctor. Holman comments, “I think if you’re taking a lot of Benadryl and you’re groggy, and you feel drunk in the morning, you need to do something different, because there’s no reason to be miserable — not in today’s world.” And Holman says that the best way to control your allergies is avoidance, although that isn’t always the easiest option.

TATUM — Tatum ISD has accepted the resignation of a teacher who officials say is being investigated for multiple inappropriate relationships with students. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, district officials refused to release the name of the teacher, and it is not clear whether any criminal charges have been filed. Superintendent Dee Hartt said the district first was alerted to the inappropriate relationships Monday evening, and the district started an independent investigation beginning Tuesday morning. Hartt said it was then, during the investigation, that the educator in question resigned, effective immediately. Continue reading Tatum Teacher Resigns Amid Allegations

SMITH COUNTY — A Smith County man wanted for several outstanding warrants has been arrested by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force Friday. According to KETK, Jaaquan Colelyn Brown, 21, was wanted for two probation violations for burglary and assault of a public servant. In February of last year, Brown assaulted two Tyler Police Officers while being arrested. Authorities received information leading investigators to a house on Maxwell Street and while the deputies were approaching the residence, Brown ran into a nearby junkyard. He was apprehended a short time later. In addition to his current charges, Brown was also charged with evading arrest. He was booked into the Smith County jail.

LONGVIEW — A plane crash in Longview is under investigation. Injured was the plane’s pilot, Brian Mahan, 48, of Longview. He is said to have over 20 years flying experience. Mahan was taken to Good Shepherd Medical Center. His injuries were said to have been non-life threatening. The Longview Fire Department reported responding to the crash just after 8:00 Friday morning north of the 2200 block of East Marshall Avenue. Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Sylvia Jennings told the Longview News Journal, the pilot realized after taking off that heavy cloud cover would prevent him from flying so he turned around to land. Continue reading Longview Man Injured in Friday Morning Plane Crash

LONGVIEW – The family of Kristiana Coginard, 17, killed inside Longview Police Department in January, 2015, have settled a $10 million federal lawsuit with the city. According to city spokesman Sean Hara, a mediation agreement was made to settle the case for $15,000. The family had initially sought $10 million. The suit alleged the city failed to properly train officers. The Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool handled the case on behalf of the city. It’s expected that the formal documents will be finalized in a few weeks. Continue reading Dead Teen’s Family Settles Lawsuit with Longview

TYLER – Some area roads remain closed because of the heavy rains of last week. The Texas Department of Transportation reports Farm Road 1804 in Smith and Wood counties remains closed due to flood waters. With the opening of Farm Road 2087 in Longview Friday, Farm Road 1804 is the only road in the Tyler District still holding water. Crews will continue to monitor this location so that when the water recedes, it can be inspected for damage and opened to traffic. Continue reading Area Road Update

LUFKIN – A Lufkin man has been arrested after being accused of injuring his wheelchair-bound wife. James Michael Cook, 50, has been charged with injury to a disabled person. Lufkin police say the incident happened around 7:30 Thursday night in the parking lot of K-Mart. His wife told officers Cook got angry with her, accusing her of stealing his tablet. He is said to have first tried spinning her out of the chair. When that didn’t work he is said to have thrown her from the chair. She is said to have suffered injuries to her wrists, a knee and her back. At last report, her husband remained in the Angelina County Jail.