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LUFKIN – Four men were charged with aggravated robbery after a Domino’s pizza employee reported being robbed at gunpoint on Tuesday. According to our news partner KETK, Michael Harris, 17, Floyd Hennington, 19, Deanthony Minor, 19, and Amare White, 20, robbed a delivery driver for 2 pizzas and an order of wings. During a search, officials found: “Domino’s pizza boxes, a pistol hidden in a laundry hamper, and uneaten pizza slices in a bathroom toilet as if the suspects were trying to flush the evidence.” Harris and Hennington are being held on a $150,000 bond while Minor and White have bonds of $100,000 at the Angelina County Jail.

TYLER — Local Chick-fil-A restaurants donated thousands of soups and cookies on Wednesday to the Salvation Army in Tyler. According to our news partner KETK, the occasion was made possible through the donation drive that was held in February where for every soup bought, two would be donated.

“The idea is that the community helps out, that every time they buy a soup, we donate the soup. And over the course of time, it’s been like 75,000 bowls of soup over the last 15-20 years that we’ve been able to donate to the community,” Ikey Eason, Troup Highway Chick-fil-A owner, said. Continue reading Chick-fil-A donates soup to Salvation Army

RUSK COUNTY — A collectible pistol that was reported stolen three decades ago and ended up in a pawn shop is back in the hands of its original owner, and now law enforcement depict how they work with shops to identify stolen items. According to our news partner KETK, on Friday, a Camp County lawyer who bought the pistol at a pawn shop returned the firearm to Gordon Allen, World War II veteran and original owner. “Sometime the wheels of justice move slow but they still move,” Allen said.

Rusk County Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez said finding stolen guns at pawn shops is not a common occurrence, but it does happen. Unlike 30 years ago, when technology was limited, law enforcement and pawn shops now work together to check items brought into businesses. Valdez said pawn shops are required to put every item they purchase into a database, especially guns. Continue reading Police work with pawn shops to identify stolen items

POLK COUNTY — The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said a Livingston man was arrested on Tuesday after police served a felony warrant following a fentanyl overdose. According to our news partner KETK, detectives were serving a felony warrant on Brandon Michael Dunaway, 21 of Livingston, in relation to an overdose that occurred at a residence in the county earlier in the week. Dunaway allegedly escaped the residence through the rear window and ran into a wooded area.

Detectives alongside Narcotics and CID Detectives located Dunaway a short distance away, following a a brief chase. The sheriff’s office obtained a search warrant of the RV and reportedly seized a large amount of fentanyl and items used to distribute drugs. Dunaway was charged with manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence and evading arrest/detention. Dunaway is held on a $52,500 bond at the Polk County Jail.

TYLER – Tyler city officials announced Wednesday a contract has been approved for an engineering study on water quality from Lake Palestine. According to our news partners KETK, the $120,000 contract with HDR Engineering, Inc. partnering with Tyler Water Utilities is to create a study meant to “identify ways to enhance the treatment process and address the taste and odor issues that TWU customers experience when Lake Palestine experiences seasonal issues.”

The city said in their release that the lake has high levels of Geosmin. Geosmin is a naturally occurring compound, that may raise concerns on water quality. This may be more of an issue due to the age of the lake and the amount of natural organic matter in it.
Continue reading Tyler to conduct water quality study

SMITH COUNTY – All non-emergency Smith County offices will be closed for business on Friday, March 29, 2024, for Good Friday. Offices will reopen for normal business hours on Monday, April 1. To get more information on Smith County events, click here. For the city of Tyler, go here.

KILGORE – Kilgore ISD announced that they received a large donation to implement advanced bus tracking. According to a release, the $25,000 donation from Claycomb Associate Architects will be going towards the implementation of state-of-the-art bus tracking technology. Parents will have access to the real time location of their students and provide accurate arrival and departure times of routes. The school said that they hope the software will reduce wait times, minimize disruption and enhance the bus-riding experience for both students and parents. Kilgore ISD said that they plan on the software being implemented in time for the beginning of the next fall semester.

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County residents will get to take one free trip to the landfill during the annual Smith Countywide Cleanup, which runs for the entire month of April. According to a news release from Smith County, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office Environmental Crimes Unit and Commissioners Court are once again offering the yearly program, which allows residents to take one truck-load of bulky items (3 cubic yards of solid waste) to the Greenwood Farms Landfill for free. During County Government Month, one voucher per resident are available in-person only at the Courthouse Annex, 200 E. Ferguson in Tyler, or any of the Justice of the Peace/Constable Offices throughout the County. The vouchers are available this week and can be used beginning Monday, April 1, through Saturday, May 4. Continue reading Countywide cleanup set for April

SMITH COUNTY — Pam Frederick has officially withdrawn her recount petition for Precinct 1 Commissioner race, after 30% of the ballots were counted, our news partner KETK reports. According to David Stein, the county chair for the Smith County Republican Party, Frederick conceded, stopping the recount after officials recounted 30% of the votes finding zero discrepancies.

Frederick said in a statement, “Fifteen counters spent up to ten hours today recounting the paper ballots for the race. More than 3,000 votes were recounted which comprises approximately one-third of the total vote for the race. There were no discrepancies in the vote count, proving that the electronic voting system used in Smith County is accurate.”

RUSK — An accident Monday afternoon involving an 18-wheeler and a van killed that vehicles lone occupant near Rusk. According to our news partner KETK, the driver was 44-year-old Nicholas Schintgen of Lino Lakes, Minn.

A DPS report said that Schintgen was driving south on US 69 “at an unsafe speed for the road conditions.” The 18-wheeler, also on US 69 south lost control, causing the van to veer off the edge of road and striking a tree. Nicholas Schintgen was pronounced dead at the accident site.

GREGG COUNTY – A man is dead after officials said a pursuit that started in Gregg County ended in a crash on an Upshur County road. According to our news partner KETK, Gregg County Chief Deputy Craig Harrington said a warrant was issued last week for Mario Tywan Marton, 47, for burglary of a habitation. Deputies attempted to serve the warrant around 7 a.m. when the man fled his Gladewater home. This started a pursuit into Upshur County, according to Harrington, and Upshur County authorities attempted to spike the Marton’s car but he was able to evade. On FM 726, officials said the car struck a pickup truck resulting in the death of the man fleeing authorities. A third car slid into the pickup truck as a result of the crash, but Harrington said no one was taken to the hospital for treatment.

TYLER — The TJC Earth and Space Science Center featuring Hudnall Planetarium will offer a full slate of special events during the week leading up to the historic total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8.

Eclipse watch parties in Tyler on April 8
TJC has partnered with Visit Tyler to promote numerous eclipse-viewing sites across the city on April 8. Locations including Caldwell Zoo, Discovery Science Place, True Vine Brewing Company, Tyler State Park, and many more, will host their own special viewing events. For details click here.