KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – A Tyler man has pleaded guilty to burglary of habitation after being charged for murder and burglary back in 2020, and has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. According to our news partner KETK, Robert Robertson, 23, is the third person of his three co-defendants to be convicted in the investigation to a shooting on Van Street in Tyler and has a plea hearing for his murder charge scheduled for next month. Robertson’s co-defendant’s Kevondus Brantley and Kobe Warthsaw have been convicted of murder for the 2020 shooting. Brantley pleaded to 15 years in prison, and Warthsaw was found guilty by a jury and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Continue reading 3rd person convicted in 2020 Tyler shooting investigation

TYLER – AAA is reporting the largest weekly gas price decrease for the year in Texas. The statewide gas price average per gallon is $4.33, AAA said. That is .16 cents less than on this day last week and $1.52 more per gallon compared to this day last year. AAA said drivers in El Paso are paying the most on average at $4.44 per gallon. According to our news partner KETK in Longview, the average gas price today is $4.39, compared to $4.53 a week ago. In Tyler, average gas prices are down to $4.27 from $4.40 last week. Texarkana’s gas average is now $4.36 from $4.51 last week. The main factors behind the recent drop, according to the AAA, is that crude oil prices are dropping due to concerns about a decline in global demand later this year and increased supply regionally. July is typically one of the busiest months for road travel.

TYLER – A former Van Zandt County Chief Deputy pleaded guilty to deprivation of civil rights on Wednesday after being accused of unreasonably assaulting an arrestee according to our news partner KETK. Steven Craig Shelton was accused of depriving a person of their rights while acting under color of law in September 2021 after an incident in Wills Point. Wednesday in court, Shelton submitted a binding plea agreement. Federal Magistrate Judge John D. Love recommended that the plea agreement be accepted by the district judge. The binding plea agreement includes a 44-month imprisonment sentence, five-year supervised release, and requires Shelton to pay restitution to the victim and community in an amount yet to be decided. According to court documents, Shelton “used his forearm to twice strike [the person] in the face while [they] were handcuffed.” Continue reading Former Van Zandt County Chief Deputy pleads guilty to striking handcuffed arrestee

LONGVIEW – A sixth woman was arrested for injury to a child for events that took place while she was employed at a Longview ISD elementary school. According to our news partner KETK, Cynthia Talley, 56, was arrested on Wednesday and has been indicted for seven counts of causing bodily injury to a child. She has also been indicted for one count of unlawful restraint of a minor. Talley posted a combined bail of $20,000 for all eight of her charges, and was released the same day. All six of the women were indicted in late June after an investigation into the mistreatment of students at J.L. Everhart Elementary. Continue reading Sixth woman arrested in Longview ISD abuse investigation

TYLER — Fire officials said the fire at the Broadway Square Mall on Tuesday started as a dumpster fire outside Dillard’s. The dumpster was filled with cardboard boxes and trash. According to our news partner KETK, the fire was reported around 1:20. When firefighters first arrived they saw visible flames. The dumpster fire traveled to a section of the roof, but no major damages were reported. Officials said there was no organized evacuation, some people exited Dillard’s on their own.

SMITH COUNTY — A Smith County jury convicted Livingstone Zitha, 52, South Africa, for felony theft from a local church. Zitha was charged with scamming a Tyler area church into providing love offerings of several thousand dollars for his ministry. Smith County prosecutors resented evidence that Zitha claimed to pastor a 5000 member church in Johannesburg, South Africa and that he ran a large orphanage. According to Zitha’s promotional materials, a donation of $250 would allow his ministry to feed a child for one year. While Zitha was described as a captivating personality and dynamic preacher, none of the money he raised ever made it to any ministry. Continue reading Traveling evangelist guilty of scamming East Texas church

GREGG COUNTY — Arrest warrants for 25-year-old Davadius Thomas of Longview for Capital Murder and Aggravated Assault with a deadly weapon along with several traffic warrants have been served by Longview Police Detectives. Thomas has been booked into the Gregg County Jail with bonds totaling approximately $1.25 million. On July 1 around 11:50p.m., Longview Police were dispatched to a home on Queens Court in reference to a welfare check. When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered a male subject identified as 30-year-old Kenny McFarland Jr, who had sustained an apparent gunshot wound. McFarland was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

TYLER – The Texas Veterans Land Board is encouraging the community to help make an East Texas veteran’s upcoming birthday extra special. Archie Thomas will be turning 100-years-old on July 13. According to our news partner KETK, he is a World War II veteran after serving as an Army Sgt. said VLB Chairman George P. Bush. “I would truly enjoy receiving 100 birthday cards for my 100th birthday,” said Thomas. He currently lives at the Watkins-Logan Texas State Veterans Home in Tyler. The veteran was born in Hearne, Texas and served in the Army Air Corps from Sept. 1942 until July 1945. When Thomas was 22-years-old, his aircraft was shot down in Germany in April of 1944. Thomas survived the crash, but nine other service members on his crew did not. Continue reading East Texas veteran who received Purple Heart award, asks for birthday cards

MARSHALL — Marshall police seek leads in a fatal shooting. In a news release, police say a caller reported shortly after midnight Tuesday that someone had been shot in a home on Carter Street near the Spring Street intersection and was being taken to a hospital. Martie Person, 22, of Marshall, was pronounced dead at the hospital after sustaining a single gunshot wound. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Marshall Police Department at 903-935-4575. If you have information but want to remain anonymous you may call the Marshall/Harrison County Crimestoppers at 903-935-9969 or use the P3 mobile app.

TYLER — The Smith County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to issue a burn ban for the County. According to a news release, Fire Marshal Jay Brooks said although some southern portions of the county recently received rainfall, many areas did not receive any, and drought and fire conditions are continuing to deteriorate. Brooks said forecasts are calling for temperatures in the triple digits for the next 10 days. The ban is in effect for 90 days, unless conditions improve and the Commissioners Court approves terminating the order early. Brooks said the area would need to see a “period of sustained rainfall” for that to occur. Fireworks, fire pits, and any form of outdoor burning are prohibited, but there are some exceptions. A violation of the burn ban is a Class C Misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to $500. Click here for more information.

LAKE CHEROKEE — A Longview man who was fishing for catfish ended up hooking something far bigger — not to mention more dangerous. It was a huge alligator snapping turtle. Justin Broomhall and his fiancee’s father were fishing at Lake Cherokee on Father’s Day when he felt something tug on his line. “That’s when everything went crazy,” the 25-year-old says. For the next 20 minutes, the two men fought the mysterious bait taker until they were finally able to reel it close enough to see what Broomhall had hooked: a 160-pound alligator snapping turtle. Knowing that alligator snapping turtles are an endangered species, Broomhall removed the hook from the giant creature’s mouth and let it go. But he says he looks forward to hopefully seeing him again near that same cove.

TYLER – A Palestine man arrested for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death admitted his involvement to a confidential informant, according to court documents. According to our news partner KETK, Christian Martinez, 28, was arrested June 29 in connection to the tractor trailer smuggling incident in San Antonio that resulted in 53 fatalities, and it was revealed soon after the incident that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Tyler had an active investigation into Martinez. Through HSI Tyler and Palestine Police, an informant was identified, who told investigators that “Martinez said the driver was unaware the air conditioning unit stopped working and was the reason why the individuals died,” the criminal complaint said. Martinez’s preliminary and detention hearing is set for July 18 in San Antonio.

TYLER — TxDOT will be busy with another round of construction and maintenance work in the Tyler District this week. In Smith County, Tyler Maintenance will have a shoulder up crew on FM 2089. A second crew will be on FM 1253 just before FM 1805 performing bridge work. Flaggers will be controlling traffic at both locations. In Gregg County, Longview Maintenance will be overlaying on FM 449 east and westbound, from FM 2751 to the Harrison County line. Expect delays. Traffic will be controlled by flaggers and a pilot car. Click here for a full rundown of roadwork around the district.

ATHENS — In an effort to recruit more police officers, the Athens City Council recently approved an increase in salaries for the police department — including a substantial hike for new officers. According to our news partner KETK, the city says the department currently has nine openings as it has reportedly been short-staffed for years due to a statewide lack of recruits. Officials also said this hasn’t been caused by a lack of effort, because they have resorted to many measures to recruit — but the shortage has persisted nonetheless. The new pay scale would increase a beginning officer’s starting salary from $46,654 per year to $59,528, with smaller increases depending on rank for officers currently with the department to help retain them.

TYLER — For the month of July, Tyler Animal Services is partnering with CASA for Kids of East Texas to donate school supplies for foster children. All dog and cat adoption fees will be waived when a backpack with at least six listed supplies is brought to the Tyler Animal Shelter on Chandler Hwy. Donatable items include solid color backpacks without wheels, crayons (Crayola brand only), folders (pockets and/or brads, solid colors), index cards, manila paper, notebooks, and more. Click this link for the full list and additional information.