Leading Anti-Abortion Activist Dies


BOSTON (AP) — Native East Texan Mildred Jefferson, the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Medical School and a nationally recognized leader of the anti-abortion movement, has died at age 84. Anne Fox, the president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, says Jefferson died Friday in Cambridge. She says Jefferson recently became ill.

Jefferson helped establish the National Right to Life Committee. Communications director Derrick Jones says she was its at-large director when she died. Jefferson was born in Pittsburg, Texas, in 1926, the daughter of a schoolteacher and a minister. She grew up in Carthage and graduated from Texas College in Tyler and earned a master’s degree from Tufts University in Medford, Mass.

Jefferson had also taught as an assistant clinical professor of surgery at Boston University Medical School. She was given honorary degrees by 28 schools.

Man Injured in Tyler Fire


TYLER — A Tyler man is hospitalized after firefighters rescued him from his burning home. The man was found in the bedroom of his duplex at 3907 McDonald Road around 4:30 Saturday morning. Firemen reported smoke and fire billowing from the home when they arrived. The cause of the fire, which is believed to have started in the living room, remains under investigation.

Rose Festival Comes to an End


TYLER — Ideal weather brought out thousands who lined the streets for the Texas Rose Festival Parade. The parade, which helps end the annual rose festival, starts at Glenwood and West Front and then proceeds into Trinity Mother Francis Rose Stadium. Capping off Saturday’s parade was the Queen’s Float with Rose Queen Mary-Lawson Bracken Walden. This year’s festival theme is “A Tapestry of Blessings.”

In other activities, the Ladies’ Brunch featured New York Times best-selling author Sandra Brown. Legendary financier T. Boone Pickens keynoted the Men’s Luncheon. Both of those events were held Friday. Also on Friday were the Queen’s Coronations.

Former Seminary Student to be Deported


TYLER — A former Tyler seminary student has received five years probation and will be deported to Columbia. State District Court Judge Kerry Russell says Jorge Sanchez, 31, will remain in the Smith County Jail until he is deported. He will not be able to return to the country without permission from the U.S. Attorney General. Sanchez, a native of Columbia, was a student at Tyler’s Cathedral of Immaculate Conception after previous studies in Houston at the University of St. Thomas seminary. Sanchez was arrested in April on charges that he engaged in sexual contact with a teenage girl who was in a church youth group. Last month, he pleaded guilty to indecency with a child.

I-20 Traffic Fatality


HALLSVILLE — A one vehicle accident on Interstate Highway 20, near the 610 Mile marker, has killed a Florida driver. The accident occurred around 12:45 Friday afternoon. Dead at the scene was Harold Spicer, 54.

The Department of Public Safety reports Spicer was west bound when his car started veering off the road. It hit a concrete culvert and traveled another 300 feet before stopping upside-down in a creek. Investigators feel Spicer may have had a medical problem or may have fallen asleep at the wheel. An autopsy has been ordered.

Lufkin Man Sentenced for Child Porn


BEAUMONT – A 59-year-old Lufkin man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations. Philip Charles Taylor pleaded guilty on May 21, 2010, to possession of child pornography and was sentenced to 102 months Friday in Beaumont by U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone.

According to information presented in court, on Jan. 26, 2010, law enforcement officers made contact with Taylor after receiving information that Taylor was viewing child pornography in a Lufkin motel room with at least one child present. According to authorities, officers received consent to search Taylor’s computer and several DVDs found in the room, and discovered nine videos of minors involved in sexually explicit conduct. Prosecutors say some of the videos depicted children less than 12 years of age engaged in sadistic or masochistic conduct. Taylor was indicted by a federal grand jury on Mar. 17, 2010. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Third Dollar Store Robbery Suspect Arrested


TYLER — Police say they now have all three suspects in custody in this week’s robbery at a Tyler dollar store. On Friday, Tyler Police Investigators received a Crime Stoppers tip on the location of 36-year-old Michael Wayne West. Police went to Town Village South apartments at 200 Muller Garden and found West in his mother’s apartment. Police say West was taken into custody without force and transported to Smith County Jail.

The other suspects were apprehended soon after the robbery, which happened shortly after noon Wednesday at the Family Dollar store located at 530 S.S.E. Loop 323. Officers were advised that a man entered the business and demanded money from the clerk. He did not display a weapon. The clerk gave him an undetermined amount of money. The man ran out of the store and got into a black SUV. The SUV was occupied by two women. A Smith County deputy constable followed the SUV and saw the man and one woman get out of the SUV at the Super 1 Foods located at 1105 East Gentry. The SUV then drove to the Family Dollar store located at 1401 E. Gentry.

Officers contacted the remaining woman in the SUV and arrested her for the robbery. Officers were advised that the two other suspects were seen leaving the Super 1 Foods. Officers were able to locate the second female suspect in the area of E. Line and Anderson Street in Tyler and arrested her for the robbery. The two females arrested have been identified as Lara Michelle Trumble, 37, of Tyler, and Amber Cordell Martin, 33, of Jacksonville. The women have also been transported to the Smith County Jail.

Police Catch Reported Auto Burglars


TYLER — Tyler Police arrest two suspects after an alert citizen notifies authorities of suspicious behavior. It happened Friday morning around 2:00 in a neighborhood off of Rhones Quarter Rd. Police say during a traffic stop of the suspicious vehicle, numerous stolen electronic items were found. Aaron Brady Jones, 18, who is pictured here, and Kelton Derk Wilson, 18, both of Tyler, were arrested and charged with four counts of burglary. Officers say the two were reportedly only breaking into cars that were left unlocked. Police say they are attempting to find the owners of stolen property that was recovered.

Business Fire Ruled Arson

LONGVIEW — Investigators have concluded a fire at a Longview business is intentionally set. Firefighters responded to Buccaneers Satellite Company around 3:00 Thursday morning. According to KETK, they were able to get the fire under control in less than an hour. No injuries were reported but the damage is estimated at $100,000.

No Additional Charges for East Texas Student

BIG SANDY — No new charges will be filed for a Big Sandy student. Ashley Williamson, 17, is in the Upshur County Jail charged with manufacturing and delivering a controlled substance in a school zone. Authorities say Williamson is connected to the death of her 16-year-old friend, Britnee Mount, who was also a Big Sandy High School student. According to KETK, police say the events leading up to her death happened at the school. School officials say they have grief counselors on hand.

New Developments in Drug Probe


TYLER — There’s more on a Tyler drug case that emerged this week. On Tuesday evening, the Tyler Police Narcotics Unit executed a search warrant on 28 year old Christopher Browning’s apartment in the Fox Run Apartment complex. Investigators say they located a small amount of illegal narcotics in the apartment along with a key piece of evidence that led them to a hotel room in south Tyler that was rented to Browning. Upon searching the hotel room, investigators say they discovered 39 lbs. of marijuana in one pound bags, 3 lbs. of powder and crack cocaine, 75 grams of Xanax tablets, and $28,000 in cash. The street value of the illegal drugs is estimated at $250,000 to $300,000. Browning is in Smith County Jail on a $402,500 dollar bond.

Earlier Tuesday, the Tyler Narcotics Unit had Browning’s apartment under surveillance when a suspect was observed exiting the apartment with two bags and talking to a female in the parking lot. Investigators believe that a marked unit was spotted in the area by the male suspect. The suspect then walked over to a dumpster and placed the two bags into it, allegedly so that he would not be in possession of the contents. The male and female got into a vehicle, left the apartment complex, and were followed by investigators. The bags in the dumpster were searched immediately after the suspects left the area. Police say they recovered three handguns, narcotics, and drug paraphernalia.

Officers conducted a felony traffic stop on the suspects in the 3000 block of Santa Elena, where narcotics were allegedly recovered upon search of the vehicle. Along with Browning, police arrested 23-year-old Latrice Danelle Whitaker of Jacksonville. Both suspects were initially charged with possession of narcotics.

Big New Developments in Drug Probe


TYLER — There’s more on a Tyler drug case that emerged this week. On Tuesday evening, the Tyler Police Narcotics Unit executed a search warrant on 28-year-old Christopher Browning’s apartment in the Fox Run Apartment complex. Investigators say they located a small amount of illegal narcotics in the apartment along with a key piece of evidence that led them to a hotel room in south Tyler that was rented to Browning. Upon searching the hotel room, investigators say they discovered 39 lbs. of marijuana in one pound bags, 3 lbs. of powder and crack cocaine, 75 grams of Xanax tablets, and $28,000 in cash. The street value of the illegal drugs is estimated at $250,000 to $300,000. Browning is in Smith County Jail on a $402,500 dollar bond.

Earlier Tuesday, the Tyler Narcotics Unit had Browning’s apartment under surveillance when a suspect was observed exiting the apartment with two bags and talking to a female in the parking lot. Investigators believe that a marked unit was spotted in the area by the male suspect. The suspect then walked over to a dumpster and placed the two bags into it, allegedly so that he would not be in possession of the contents. The male and female got into a vehicle, left the apartment complex, and were followed by investigators. The bags in the dumpster were searched immediately after the suspects left the area. Police say they recovered three handguns, narcotics, and drug paraphernalia.

Officers conducted a felony traffic stop on the suspects in the 3000 block of Santa Elena, where narcotics were allegedly recovered upon search of the vehicle. Along with Browning, police arrested 23-year-old Latrice Danelle Whitaker of Jacksonville. Both suspects were initially charged with possession of narcotics.