KTBB News, Weather, Talk

NACOGDOCHES – The Nacogdoches Police Department is investigating the case of a 2-year-old child that reportedly shot themself in the head around 11:37 a.m. on Saturday, according to a press release. Our news partners at KETK report that Nacogdoches police and fire departments responded to a report of an accidental shooting at a residence in the 800 block of Texas Oak Street. According to Nacogdoches PD, when first responders arrived they discovered that a 2-year-old child had found a handgun inside the residence and accidentally fired the gun which critically injured them. Continue reading Nacogdoches police investigate accidental shooting of 2-year-old

PITTSBURG — Two minors were detained after an investigation into suspicious credit card charges in Pittsburg. According to the Pittsburg Police Department and our news partners at KETK, on Monday a citizen notified the Pittsburg Police Department that their credit card appeared to have a suspicious charge after a recent purchase at McDonald’s in Pittsburg. This happened at the McDonald’s at 101 S. Greer Blvd. Continue reading Juvenile McDonald’s employees accused of credit card fraud

TYLER – The Smith County Fire Marshal’s Office is encouraging citizens to postpone any outdoor burning as drought conditions worsen. Our news partners at KETK report that Officials said the county isn’t under a burn ban yet but the Keetch-Byram Drought Index is expected to rise daily. “While the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) remains in the low 500 range for Smith County, it is expected to rise daily if the area doesn’t receive significant rainfall. Historically, the County has implemented a burn ban when the KBDI reaches the mid-600 to 700 range. However, officials also monitor weather conditions and forecasts, along with the daily incident responses from fire departments throughout the county. Continue reading Smith County Fire Marshal’s Office discourages outdoor burning

TYLER — As East Texas experiences extreme heat, our news partners at KETK spoke with CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler where it’s critical to monitor its facilities’ temperatures around the clock. KETK asked: It’s easy to manage your AC at home, but what does it take to cool down more than one million square feet? Continue reading Local hospital on regulating facility temperature in extreme heat

LONGVIEW – Our news partners at KETK report that the Longview Fire Department responded to a structure fire at R&K Distributers on Wednesday. The first unit on the scene said they saw smoke coming from the west side of the building. According to authorities, an investigation showed that the fire was in a part of the building where several pallet jacks had been charging their batteries. Officials said that the building’s internal sprinklers were able to put out the fire and the firefighters helped clear out the smoke from the building. Continue reading Longview structure fire causes $250,000 in damage

LUFKIN – The U.S. Marshals Service on Monday arrested a fourth suspect wanted in relation to the April 3 fatal shooting of Richard Coutee, of Lufkin. Our news partners at KETK report that Jardon Castle, 18, of Jasper was arrested by Marshals around midnight in Lake Charles, La. Castle is expected to be taken back to Angelina County in the next few weeks, officials said. “We would like to thank the U.S. Marshals Service for all of their hard work in getting the last of these suspects into custody,” Lufkin Police Department spokeswoman Jessica Pebsworth said. Continue reading Fourth man in Lufkin murder arrested in Louisiana

TYLER – CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital and Louis and Peaches Owen Heart
Hospital have earned the American College of Cardiology’s National Cardiovascular Data
Registry Chest Pain MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2023.

CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital is one of just 262 hospitals nationwide to receive the award
and one of just 32 in Texas. Continue reading CHRISTUS earns national recognition for cardiac patient care

TYLER – The Tyler Transit bus stop at 106 Broadway Ave. and Elm St. near Downtown will be closed from Monday, July 24, through Friday, July 28, due to road construction. The northbound right lane of Broadway Avenue will be partially closed for construction to the Wilcox Lofts located at 230 S Broadway Ave. Temporary changes for July 24 through July 28 are below: Continue reading Tyler Transit bus stop closed July 24 through July 28

LONGVIEW – A fire at a mobile home in Longview left a person dead and injured a firefighter around 3:50 a.m. on Thursday near 4000 Burks Road.

Our news partners at KETK report that when firefighters arrived the mobile home was reportedly fully involved in the fire and flames were coming from the front of the residence, according to the Longview Fire Department. Officials said the first crew on the scene attempted to rescue the victim but were unsuccessful because of the “intense fire conditions” inside the home. Continue reading 1 dead, firefighter injured after Longview mobile home fire

Hawkins — Jarvis Christian University biology professor Dr. Shakhawat Bhuiyan is the principal investigator on a new $2.25 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant titled “Interdisciplinary Research Infusion into STEM Education Undergraduate Program.” The new NSF grant continues over the next five years, with a start date of August 1, 2023, and running through July 31, 2028. Each year, Jarvis will submit an annual project report in accordance with the award terms and conditions.

“This continuing grant gives students the opportunity to research plant-based bioactive compounds and nanoparticles to potentially develop new treatments for cancer,” Bhuiyan said. Continue reading Jarvis receives $2.25 million NSF grant for cancer research

ANGELINA COUNTY – Our news partners at KETK report that several East Texas counties have enacted burn bans due to dry conditions and fire risk. When a county issues a burn ban, all outdoor burning is prohibited in that county. Below is a list of burn bans across East Texas: Continue reading LIST: East Texas counties under burn bans

TYLER — A Tyler man was charged with murder, a first-degree felony, after allegedly shooting his brother. According to our news partner KETK, the shooting happened on McKenzie Drive in Tyler on July 15. Investigators were informed that the person found at the scene, who was later identified as Jaraine Johnson, had been shot in the backyard of the residence. The suspect, later identified as Lee Autrey Jodeci Morgan, who is known by his family as “Jody,” was not located at the scene when officers arrived on the scene. According to the affidavit, Johnson’s fiancé, who lived with Johnson, said Morgan came to the couple’s residence at 7 a.m. Morgan knocked on the door and she told Johnson that his bother was at their residence. Continue reading Affidavit: Tyler murder victim warned fiancé minutes before death

SMITH COUNTY — Two individuals have been arrested after a search warrant led to the seizure of large quantities of illegal narcotics and cash. On Tuesday, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office along with members of the East Texas Anti-Gang Center (TAG) and Smith County SWAT Team conducted a search warrant at 509 East Cedar Street. During the search, Smith County Public Information Officer Larry Christian said they seized the following illegal contraband, including approximately two pounds of cocaine, 13 grams of crack cocaine, one pound of marijuana, a handgun and over $10,000 in U.S. currency. Christian said that two traffic stops related to the residence were made during the operation on Interstate 20, in Canton, by Tyler and Canton Police Departments. The raid also resulted in two individuals being arrested on felony charges. No other information is available at this time as this is an ongoing investigation but Christian said other charges are expected. Continue reading Search warrant leads to major Tyler drug bust

RUSK COUNTY — Some county officials in East Texas are looking at the possibility of more burn bans being issued in the near future due to high temperatures and a lack of rain. “We know that the burn ban is coming,” said John Clary, Henderson Economic Development Corporation. Houston and Polk counties are now under a local state of disaster. Compared with 2022, 27 out of 28 East Texas counties were under a burn ban by mid-July. Rusk County Fire Marshal Patrick Dooley told our news partner KETK that conditions are relatively similar in the area compared to Houston County. Dooley said he and the rest of his team are watching the conditions daily to see what could happen next if things continue to get worse. Dooley said it’s something they don’t want to do but might have to do because of the conditions.

Dooley is expecting a burn ban to be put in place in Rusk County in the next couple of weeks. “I’ve already briefed our commissioners and the county judge on the possibility of having a burn ban here in effect in the next few weeks,” he said.