KTBB News, Weather, Talk

PANOLA COUNTY — The Panola County Sheriff’s Office said three people were arrested on Monday after a search warrant revealed 29 firearms and suspected methamphetamine. According to our news partner KETK, a special response team alongside two constables conducted a search warrant on Jasmine and Smith streets in the city of Beckville. During the search, authorities reportedly recovered 29 firearms and “suspected methamphetamine related paraphernalia, including measurement and packaging implement.” Continue reading Search warrant turns up 29 firearms

TYLER – The Humane Society of the United States partnered with an Oklahoma sheriff’s office as part of a large scale alleged cruelty case involving two puppy breeding operations that advertised selling at ‘Dog Alley’ in Canton according to our colleagues at KETK. According to a release, the Humane Society assisted in the rescue of over 150 dogs and puppies from two puppy breeding operations in Milburn, Oklahoma. “It’s a bleak existence for these dogs, no one would want to live like this,” said Cynthia Armstrong, Oklahoma state director for the Humane Society of the United States. “We are grateful to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office for intervening on behalf of these animals and getting them the care they need.” Continue reading Puppy mills in Canton busted

TYLER – Our news partners at KETK report that a man was sentenced to 20 years in prison last month after pleading guilty to two charges of aggravated robbery in connection to a fatal shooting at a Tyler apartment complex in March 2023. Nicholas Hudson, 19 of Malakoff, was arrested after, according to his arrest warrant, he met with another man at the Royal Crest Apartments where a gun trade had been planned. Continue reading Man gets 20 years for aggravated robbery

TYLER — USA TODAY has named Tyler as the best city to move to in Texas for its low unemployment rate, healthcare accessibility and low risk of damage from severe weather, our news partner KETK reports. According to the article, a research team ranked 52 Texas cities and Tyler rose above the rest.

“The top five cities may be a little unexpected, but low unemployment rates (3.5% or less), great medical care and safety are just some of the reasons they rise to the top,” Rachel Newcomb, contributor for USA TODAY, said. “Tyler is number one, followed by Laredo, New Braunfels, Cedar Park and Temple.” Continue reading Tyler named best city to move to in Texas

RUSK COUNTY — The Rusk County Rescue Unit said they pulled a vehicle from the Angelina River on Monday. According to our news partner KETK, the rescue unit said that Squad 1 responded to the river at FM 1798 between FM 225 and FM 839 and used a boat to assist in recovering the vehicle. The vehicle, which was found empty, was towed out of the water and has been turned over to the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office for further investigation.

SMITH COUNTY — According to our news partner KETK, David Stein, the current county chair for the Smith County Republican Party, announced his bid for vice chair of the Republican Party of Texas on Monday. During the March primaries, Stein won 66% of the votes or 14,703 votes. After being reelected, he is serving as the county chair for the third time. In a release, Stein said he has been a conservative Republican for his entire adult life and supports the core principles of the party including being pro-life, pro second amendment, pro-military, traditional families and individual liberties.

Stein said due to limited funds, the lack of staff or plan for election integrity efforts, no get-out-to-vote initiative amongst other issues is why there needs to more training for county parties and county chairs. The chairman said he looks forward to interacting with all leaders over the next 11 weeks.

“We cannot continue to take actions that further divide our party instead of trying to find that common ground, which most importantly is getting Republicans such as Donald Trump for President and Ted Cruz for Senate, elected in November General elections,” Stein said.

Due to these concerns, Stein announced his candidacy for Vice Chair of The Republican Party of Texas. The seat is currently held by Dana Myers who recently announced her bid for the Texas Republican Party Chair. Stein said if elected, he would be honored to serve with her.

“I’m asking you to support me in this effort, I’m asking you to believe this is good for our state party,” Stein said.

TYLER – The Texas Health and Human Services Commission said that a data breach might have exposed personal information about 3,392 people in or near Tyler, Texarkana, Longview, Marshall, Beaumont and Nacogdoches. Our news partner KETK reports that on Jan. 11, the HHSC said it discovered that a staff member had allegedly emailed spreadsheets containing full names, home addresses and telephone numbers, health information, services, financial information, Medicaid identification numbers and an individual’s Social Security number to their personal email. These emails were sent between September and October of 2023 and the HHSC said they only determined what the emails contained on Feb. 2 of 2024.

The HHSC said that they’ve already contacted those affected to provide them with one year of free credit monitoring, in order to keep their credit safe from any misuse of their information.
Continue reading East Texans’ data leaked in HHSC breach

TYLER – The Texas Department of State Health Services has announced that they’ve awarded $19.3 million in grants to Federally Qualified Health Centers and similar organizations, including five in East Texas according to our news partners at KETK. This initial round of funding is a part of $40 million from the Texas general revenue fund to help expand Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), FQHC look-alikes and eligible nonprofit health centers. Continue reading Health centers awarded $19M in grants

SMITH COUNTY – One person is dead after a three-vehicle crash in Smith County Monday morning. According to our news partner KETK, the accident occurred around 9 a.m. on State Highway 110 and CR 2121. Initial DPS reports say that a pickup truck turned south off CR 2121 onto Highway 110 and collided with a northbound pickup. The northbound pickup went into the southbound lane, hitting another vehicle head-on. One driver has died. Another is hospitalized, while a third driver had minor injuries.

LONGVIEW — An arrest has been made in Gregg County after a death from a dog attack. Longview police have arrested 56-year-old Martin Rodriguez after an autopsy showed an unidentified 46-year-old man was killed by a dog. The man was found lying dead in a street beside a bicycle on February 1st with wounds that seemed to be from a dog attack. According to our news partner KETK, Rodriguez was being held without bond in the Gregg County Jail on multiple animal at large charges.

TYLER — Beginning Monday, March 11, crews will be repairing curb inlets along the outside northbound lane of South Broadway Avenue from 1st Street to Shaw Street. Portions of the northbound lane will be closed throughout the week. Drivers can expect delays. Motorists are asked to  use caution while traveling on this road, as workers will be present.

MARSHALL — The Marshall Police Department said that a card skimming device was recently found at a QuikTrip gas station off of Interstate 20 near Marshall. According to our news partner KETK, Marshall Police released the following statement:

“Attention, Marshall residents! A skimming device was recently discovered at a local gas station near I20 (QT), thanks to the vigilance of a community member. Skimmers can steal your card information when you pay at the pump, leading to unauthorized transactions and financial headaches.” Continue reading Marshall PD: card skimmer found at I-20 gas station

TYLER — Tyler Police have arrested three suspects wanted in a reported carjacking Friday afternoon. According to officials, just before 12:30, officers were dispatched to the intersection of W. Queen St. and N. Ross Ave. in reference to an aggravated robbery that had just occurred. The victim told officers he was approached by a black male while sitting in his vehicle. The male pointed a handgun at him and demanded his vehicle. The victim complied and exited the vehicle, at which time the suspect got into the victims Chevy Tahoe and drove away. Additional officers flooded the area and began searching for the stolen vehicle. A short time later, an officer spotted the vehicle at a business located on Hwy. 31 W, near Patton Lane. When the driver of the vehicle saw the approaching officers, he fled the scene at which time officers pursued the vehicle. The pursuit was short lived, as the driver pulled over and stopped a short distance away. Continue reading Three suspects arrested following Tyler carjacking

MARSHALL – The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office said three people were arrested on Friday after they discovered methamphetamine, marijuana and Diazepam (Valium) during a search of a residence. According to our news partner KETK, a search warrant was ordered after an investigation revealed methamphetamine was being sold from a residence on Walnut Street in Marshall. Decorian Kashun Stewart, 25, Savion Dashawn Hicks, 21, and Taylor Roshelle Dotie, 22, all of Marshall, were located in the residence by the Harrison County Emergency Response Team (ERT), the sheriff’s office said. Stewart allegedly tried to flush methamphetamine in the toilet when the ERT entered the home, the release said.

Stewart and Dotie were charged with possession of a controlled substance. Dotie and Hicks were both charged with possession of marijuana and Stewart was also charged with tampering with evidence.
According to the release, the drug charges were enhanced because of Drug-Free-Zone violations since the residence is within 1,000 feet of East Texas Baptist University. They are currently booked at the Harrison County Jail. Continue reading Meth, marijuana, Valium discovered, 3 arrests