KTBB News, Weather, Talk

BROWNSBORO – The death of two persons in a fire near Brownsboro Wednesday morning appears to be a murder/suicide. According to Henderson County officials, Robbie Timmerman, 47, shot and killed Cheryl Timmerman, 42. It appears as if he then set the house on fire, went into a closet and shot himself. It took place at a home on Farm Road 317 south of Brownsboro.

TYLER – Tyler police have identified the man killed in a Thursday accident as a student at Tyler Junior College. He is Randy DeShawn Smith, 19, of Groveton Texas. The accident happened shortly after 4:15 Thursday afternoon at the intersection of University Boulevard and Patriot Drive.

Witnesses tell investigators a GMC SUV and a Ford SUV, driven by Smith, were westbound on University with the Ford in the inside lane and the GMC in the outside lane. According to investigators, Smith attempted to turn right onto Patriot and turned into the path of the GMC. The vehicles collided and the Ford overturned and caught fire. Two bystanders tried to rescue the driver of the burning vehicle but were unable to before the vehicle was engulfed with flames.

Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. The occupants of the GMC SUV were treated for minor injuries. The two witnesses that attempted the rescue were burned.

TYLER – Tyler police have taken a kidnapping suspect into custody. Around 6:00 Friday morning a woman told officers she had been grabbed in front of her residence and forced into a vehicle. She identified the suspect as Kelly Jeton key, 43. She said Key took her to a location in north Tyler where he sexually assaulted her and held her against her will for most the night. The woman said she had a past relationship with Key but evidence collected supported that she was held against her will and sexually assaulted.

Officers went to Key’s home on Maplewood Street and found the suspect hiding in a closet. Investigators located crack cocaine on the suspect at the time of arrest. He has been booked into the smith county jail on charges of aggravated kidnapping and possession of a controlled substance.

QUITMAN — An ex school teacher has pleaded guilty in a Quitman courtroom to one count of improper relationship with a student. All other charges against Jo Ann Stephens, 43, have been dropped. Stephens is the former Mineola teacher who faced charges for an alleged sexual relationship with a student who was 15 at the time. Earlier, the judge dismissed lawyer Thad Davidson’s motion to dismiss the prosecuting lawyer from Stephens’s case. The judge also sanctioned Davidson. He has been fined $1,000. The judge says he ruled against Davidson’s motion because he didn’t have “civil standing.”

When asked why he filed the motion, Davidson said: “I can comment about when an attorney approaches a witness who is adverse and hostile, and pays for that witness’s dinner and drinks… and then during that dinner lets it be known that a certain type of proposed testimony would — I don’t think I should say anymore.” Davidson also says he does not regret his decision to file the motion.

LONGVIEW — Police in Longview say a major operation has brought in five suspects in local gang activity. On Tuesday at approximately 10 a.m., local authorities, along with the Longview Police Department’s Special Investigative Unit, SWAT, County Organized Drug Enforcement Officers, and Agents from the DEA conducted raids at six locations throughout Longview. Police say the raids were a culmination of a long investigation targeting a criminal street gang. During the raids, officers were able to seize approximately 10 pounds of marijuana, 3000 hydrocodone pills, 8 handguns, and an undisclosed amount of currency. Police say the narcotics seized had a combined street value of approximately $35,000.

The suspects were arrested and booked in to the Gregg County Jail. The United States Attorney’s Office has elected to adopt this case for federal prosecution. Police say all arrested individuals claimed to be members of the “Get Money Clique.”

TYLER — Staffers with the Smith County Red Cross chapter are relaying information related to the Japan earthquake and resulting tsunami. They say at this time the Red Cross is unable to accept inquiries to contact or locate family and friends in Japan. However, there are several resources available as follows:

Inquiries concerning U.S. citizens living or traveling in Japan should be referred to the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services at 1-888-407-4747 or 202-647-5225.

For inquiries about relatives living in Japan who are not U.S. citizens, the Red Cross encourages you to keep calling or to try contacting other family members who live in the region. Even though communication networks are overloaded right now, staffers say the situation may change, and access to mobile networks and the Internet may improve.

The Google Person Finder site is available at http://japan.person-finder.appspot.com/?lang=en

If you have the mobile phone number of your family member in the affected areas, you may utilize the following services to check whether he/she has registered his/her message(s) on this service. Services are available in English and Japanese.

DoCoMo: http://dengon.docomo.ne.jp/Einoticelist.cgi?es=0

SoftBanK: http://dengon.softbank.ne.jp/pc-e1.jsp

Please note that when you enter the mobile phone number for search on the web page, you should remove the country code 0081 and add 0 at the beginning. For example, phone number for example if you dial the number internationally as follows, 0081-90-8877-6655, enter it into the website as 090-8877-6655.

Staffers say the Red Cross is able to assist anyone who is trying to locate a loved one who is located in Quam or Hawaii or any of the affected Pacific Islands. To start the process, go to the American Red Cross web-site at http://www.redcross.org and look on the front page under “How to Help Victims of Disasters,” where there are several links. Click on the Safe and Well, for domestic disasters only, and follow the instructions. For those without computer access, staffers say if you contact the Red Cross office at 903-581-7981, you will be assisted.

The American Red Cross is currently in discussions with the Japanese Red Cross to assess their needs and see how to help. American Red Cross chapters in the Pacific islands of Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, as well as those on the west coast of the U.S., are on alert and ready to provide assistance as needed to their communities.

Those who want to help can go to http://www.redcross.org and donate to Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami. Gifts to the American Red Cross will support Red Cross disaster relief efforts to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific. People can make a $10 donation by texting REDCROSS to 90999. Their donation will go to support relief efforts for the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.

LONGVIEW — A Longview man is pronounced dead after he was reportedly runover by his tractor. According to Longview Police, Charles Elms, 77, was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Authorities were contacted by hospital staff after Elms was brought in. Officials said it appeared to have been run over by his tractor while he was attempting to repair it. According to one witness the tractor had jumped in to gear and traveled forward pinning Elms under the tires.

PALESTINE –The Anderson County Jail failed an inspection Wednesday based primarily on failing to properly document information on some inmate forms. Anderson County Sheriff Greg Taylor said Robert Green, an inspector with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, found several deficiencies in his agency’s maintenance of inmate records, with some of those based on failure to record times and other similar information. “Technical difficulties on our paperwork caused us to be in non-compliance until we show we’ve corrected them,” Taylor said late Wednesday afternoon. No deficiencies, however, were noted in the jail’s staffing and “life safety” operations, the sheriff stated.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A Texas man has pleaded guilty to conspiring with a New Orleans police captain to defraud the Federal Emergency Management Agency in a kickback scheme. Thirty-seven-year-old Joseph Branch faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine after Thursday’s guilty plea. His sentencing is set for June 16. Federal prosecutors say Branch, owner of Brownsboro, Texas-based Gladius Inc., negotiated a contract at inflated rates to provide armed guards to Entergy Services Inc. after a hurricane. The plot called for parts of the federally reimbursed contract to be kicked back to Branch and Capt. Michael Roussel. Roussel’s trial is scheduled to begin March 28.

LONGVIEW — A Longview man was charged with assault Thursday after police say he attacked family members. Vernon Lee Ahrenhoersterbaeumer, 35, was arrested shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday at the 300 Mobile Home Park, in the 5700 block of Gilmer Road. Ahrenhoersterbaeumer told authorities he was fighting with his brother and 16-year-old nephew when he grabbed a steel frying pan and hit his brother in the back. Ahrenhoersterbaeumer also grabbed his brother from behind in a choke hold, impeding his ability to breathe, arrest reports show.

When Ahrenhoersterbaeumer’s father tried to pull the brothers apart, Ahrenhoersterbaeumer grabbed the pan, and swung it at his brother and his father, reports showed. Ahrenhoersterbaeumer remained in the Gregg County Jail on $10,000 bond Thursday charged with two counts of aggravated assault/family violence with a deadly weapon.

TYLER – It took Tyler firemen about 15 minutes to bring an apartment fire under control. It was reported shortly after 4:00 Thursday afternoon at the Bullard Creek Apartments, 5621 Old Bullard Road. The fire originated on an upstairs balcony, in a laundry closet, but the cause remains under investigation. No injuries were reported. Fire damage was minimal. Four families have been temporarily displaced due to power being disconnected to the building while firemen extinguished the blaze.

TYLER — ETMC Tyler was recently the site of the first East Texas implantation of an MRI-friendly pacemaker, which allows magnetic resonance imaging as a diagnostic option for patients whose hearts need electrical correction. Called the Revo MRI SureScan pacing system from Medtronic, it is the first system designed, tested, and FDA-approved for use in an MRI environment. “Previously a patient with a pacemaker only had a CT scan as an advanced imaging option,” said Alex Petrakian, MD, a cardiologist with Cardiovascular Associates of East Texas and the ETMC Cardiovascular Institute. Dr. Petrakian implanted the first device at ETMC Tyler, and believes it will be an option for many patients.

DENVER, Colorado — A new study from HealthGrades again names Tyler’s Mother Frances Hospital among the nation’s top hospitals for patient safety. This is the fifth straight year Mother Frances has made the list. The HealthGrades study found that patients have a 46% lower risk of experiencing a patient safety incident at a top-rated hospital compared to a poorly-rated hospital. The study which analyzed 40 million
Medicare patient records from 2007 to 2009. HealthGrades is considered a top source of physician information and hospital quality outcomes.

QUITMAN — A motion to have former Mineola teacher JoAnn Stephens’s attorney removed from her defense is set to be heard in Wood County District Court in Quitman this afternoon at 1:30. Stephens, 43, has been indicted on five charges that include two counts of sexual assault of a child, two counts of improper relationship between an educator and student, and one count of online solicitation of a minor with intent to engage in sexual activity. The case involves a male student who was 15 years old at the time of the alleged offenses. The student has since graduated.

The motion was filed Tuesday by Attorney Thad Davidson, representing Kerry Duncan and the alleged victim in the case. The motion was the second filed in as many days concerning the case. Dan Wyde, Stephens’ attorney, filed a motion Monday to require the state to reveal any agreement or reason to cause the alleged victim to change his testimony. Wyde’s motion discusses dates on which the boy testified to the grand jury, the most recent being March 1, and the outcome of those sessions.

Wyde stated in his motion that the grand jury is entitled to know if there was any agreement or understanding to cause the alleged victim to change his testimony, such as a grant of immunity against prosecution for perjury. He said refusal to reveal any agreement constitutes violations of Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Davidson’s motion was ordered sealed after it was obtained by the Wood County Democrat and Mineola Monitor under a Freedom of Information request. The motion states that according to Kerry Duncan, Wyde recommended Ferguson, who is his friend. It also indicates Wyde is representing Ricky Stephens, JoAnn’s husband and principal at Mineola High School.

HUDSON — A Lufkin man believed to be one of the last ranking Aryan Brotherhood members in Angelina County was arrested during a Thursday morning methamphetamine raid in Hudson, according to Angelina County Sheriff’s Office investigator Tom Matthews. For the last two months, the ACSO had been doing surveillance on the Meadowbrook trailer home of Aundria Whitehead Barrett, 39, after noticing AB Sgt. Tommy “Gunz” Smith, 40, coming in and out, according to Matthews. Barrett’s home is in the trailer park, located directly behind the Hudson Police Department off Mt. Carmel Road, which Matthews termed “a gutsy move.”