KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – One person is in custody after several reports of gunshots near a local apartment complex. According to Tyler PD Public Information Officer Andy Erbaugh, police received several calls of gunshot sounds near the Liberty Arms apartment complex located in the 2600 block of North Broadway Avenue in Tyler. There are no injuries to report at this time but several shell casings were found at the scene. Several cars and apartments were struck by bullets. The investigation is an ongoing.

HARRISON COUNTY – A Harrison County man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for a 2022 murder. According to our news partner KETK, Christopher Cisco, 30 of Marshall, pleaded guilty to murder in a Harrison County court. He was accused of killing David Yale Allen, 64 of Marshall, on June 4, 2022. Allen was found dead in a Marshall home by a family member. The investigation started and Cisco was named as a suspect and booked into the Harrison County Jail the following day.

TYLER – A former Tyler ISD substitute teacher was arrested on Friday and is accused of inappropriately touching a 10-year-old student in a classroom, according to our news partner KETK. Tyler ISD Police were called to Ramey Elementary School on May 16 after the fourth grade child reported that her ISS substitute teacher Karen Dunn, 48 of Tyler, had “touched her inappropriately” with three other students in the classroom. After the alleged incident, the warrant said the child went to her classroom teacher and said she was there to grab her phone charger. “The student came up to her desk and said the ‘real reason I came here is to tell you what the ISS sub said to me. She was telling me about stuff I did not need to hear about,’” the warrant said. Continue reading Former Tyler ISD substitute teacher arrested, accused of inappropriately touching 4th grade student

TYLER – Authorities report a single vehicle accident early Sunday morning killed three persons and injured three others. According to our news partner KETK, Law enforcement said the accident happened on FM 2661 just north of CR 110. At the crash site, three people died, while three others were hospitalized with injuries. The names of the decreased and injured have not been released. The DPS is conducting an investigation.

RAINS COUNTY – The Rains County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation into the death of their K9 officer, Kumo. According to our news partner KETK, Sheriff Michael Hopkins stated that Kumo was found by his handler early Thursday evening May 11th dead. Sheriff Hopkins also said no other details about the case will be forthcoming until the investigation is concluded. He added that his office will hold a memorial to honor Kumo at a later time.

LUFKIN – Lufkin ISD announced that Lance Modisette was killed in a car accident. According to our news partner KETK, Mondisette, a senior baseball player with the Lufkin Panthers was on an outing with teammates Friday afternoon when the accident happened near Nacogdoches. Lance was scheduled to graduate next Friday. Sunday May 21st at 8 p.m., a vigil will be held at the Lufkin Panther Baseball field on honor him. Grief counselors will be available Monday morning at Lufkin ISD.

LUFKIN — The Lufkin ISD Board of Trustees voted Thursday night to authorize filing a lawsuit against a playground company. According to our news partner KETK the school claims that the company, PTI Sports & Recreation, used payment from the school that was supposed to go towards the construction of two new playgrounds at Anderson Elementary and Herty Primary but never held up their end of the deal. In spring 2022, LISD received approval for a substantial federal grant for two new special needs playgrounds. Standard procedure for that grant was to give the initial approval, give them a timeline and the funds come when the job is completed on time and in budget.
Whitehouse ISD to use translation earbuds to bridge language barriers. Continue reading Lufkin ISD to file lawsuit against playground contractors they say took school funds

LONGVIEW — The Longview officers assigned to the traffic unit are safer at night thanks to a family-owned business from Cincinnati, Ohio. The department received a donation of 10 new illuminated LED safety vests for night duty. Police Chief Anthony Boone discovered the new LED safety vest at a National Police Chief’s Convention and wanted them for Longview and got his wish, according to our news partner KETK.

COFFEE CITY — A man has been arrested and charged with reckless driving after a chase with Coffee City Police. According to our news partner KETK on Wednesday night the Coffee City Police Department said that an officer attempted to catch up to a reckless driver that was reportedly traveling at high speeds up to 96 mph on SH 155. The officer lost sight of the vehicle but another motorist alerted the officer saying that the vehicle had turned down County Road 4120. Continue reading Alleged reckless driver confronted by armed homeowner while fleeing from police

LINDALE – According to our news partner KETK, Lindale ISD on Friday announced they have hired Taylor Jarman as the new assistant principal for Velma Penny Elementary. Jarmen, a fifth grade social studies and science instructor at E.J Moss Intermediate School, has taught at Lindale ISD for ten years. He has also been the theatre director at Lindale High School.

HENDERSON COUNTY — A second person was arrested for murder on Wednesday in connection to a shooting death on April 21 near Gun Barrel City. According to an arrest warrant obtained by our news partner KETK, Chelsey White, 31 of Mabank, gave her husband Chaz White a bulletproof vest and firearm he used in a shooting near Gun Barrel City on April 21. The warrant said Chelsey told investigators in an interview that while at home she heard her husband Chaz talk to other people about how a man they knew was passed out in his truck. Chelsey said Chaz was excited about robbing him, according to the warrant, and witnesses told authorities Chaz and the man had problems with each other. Continue reading Second person arrested for murder in shooting near Gun Barrel City

TYLER — One of the animal ambassadors from the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler is set to be featured in a new set of Forever stamps by the USPS. The collection was released May 19th and will feature an image of an Attwater’s prairie chicken from the Caldwell Zoo, according to our news partner KETK. The rest of the collection will display photos of endangered animals selected from Joel Sartore’s National Geographic Photo Ark project, which has documented over 13,000 different species. Attwater’s prairie chickens are native to the southern parts of both Texas and Louisiana, but they are so endangered, they can only be found in two places within our state: the national refuge and the Goliad private reserve. Continue reading Caldwell Zoo’s prairie chicken to be featured on endangered species stamps

TYLER — The City of Tyler is growing and the growth isn’t limited to just one area. “We’re seeing growth in residential and industrial and retail growth,” said Scott Martinez, CEO, Tyler Economic Development Council. According to our news partner KETK, Mayor Don Warren says keeping up with the growth means tackling several major initiatives at the same time.“There’s a lot of rabbits in the hat, and we just got to figure out which one we’re going to pull out next, but there’s going to be something that comes out of that,” said Mayor Don Warren, City of Tyler. Continue reading Mayor Warren talks growth, Tyler’s future

LONGVIEW – Longview High School moved up their graduation date an hour due to the possibility of severe weather Friday night. On May 19, doors will open at 5 p.m. and commencement will begin at 6 p.m. Doors were previously supposed to open at 6 p.m. with graduation to start at 7:30 p.m. Students are recommended to arrive early and be in the Coliseum no later than 5 p.m. Graduates should park in student parking lots or have parents drop them off in the breezeway before they park. Seating is first-come, first-served. Individual seats or sections of seats cannot be reserved.