KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — A Tyler murder trial has been postponed until May. According to our news partner KETK, Christopher Hardy, 24, Tyler, is accused of killing Darryl Washington during a 2017 shooting at Chelsea Creek Apartments in Tyler. Two other men were also injured during that shooting. Investigators determined the incident was drug related.

LONGVIEW – A Longview arson suspect has been arrested. The Longview Fire Department says the police served an arrest warrant on John Brian Kelly, 48, of Longview. He was arrested last Friday and was freed on a $50,000 bond the same day. According to the fire department’s Facebook page, and investigation indicated Kelly was responsible for a fire on Stonewall Drive. It occurred in August, 2016.

TYLER – The Smith County Sheriff’s Department reports a jury scam is back in the county. It works like this, someone calls posing as a law enforcement official. They demand immediate payment for nonexistent fines or warrants for missed jury service. One of the recent scammers requested the victim go to a local pharmacy and purchase a MoneyPak for the payment and stayed on the line with them until this done. Smith County Jury Coordinator Lisa Bennett says no officer or court clerk will ever make such calls demanding immediate payment for missed jury service. Never provide anyone with debit or credit card numbers or personal information such as Social Security numbers, birth dates or driver’s license numbers. If you receive one of these scam calls, just hang up.

TYLER – A Tyler robbery suspect has agreed to a prison term. The trial of Lance Cody Scott, 22, of Tyler had been scheduled to begin on Monday. But Scott pleaded guilty and agreed to a 30 year prison term. In 2017, he held up the AZ Food Mart on Highway 69 North. Two days later he held up the AB Country Store on Farm Road 14. In both cases, a white male entered the business, armed with a handgun, and demanded money. Scott later turned himself in at the Smith County Jail. When Scott surrendered, detectives had already obtained two arrest warrants charging him with two counts of aggravated robbery.

SMITH COUNTY – Work is starting on the Toll 49 bridge over Interstate Highway 20. Drivers who use Interstate Highway 20, at Toll Road 49, need to watch out for shoulder closures now through the last week in March. The work is being done on the Toll 49 bridge due to a realignment issue caused by a July accident. The location of activities will be on the shoulders from 7:00am till 7:00pm. there will night closures of one lane of the interstate in several weeks. More information will be released when the plans are finalized. Drivers are encourage to watch for message boards as they drive through the area.

BEN WHEELER – The Department of Public Safety continues its investigation into a fatal Van Zandt County accident. The victims, two 15 year old boys, were tossed from the vehicle that overturned Saturday night near Ben Wheeler. They were passengers in a SUV that went off the road and then back on the road. The driver overcorrected and ended up in a ditch where the vehicle rolled over. The driver, Martha Vela, 17, of Ben Wheeler, and a 16 year old girl, were taken to a Tyler hospital for treatment.

ALTO – Cherokee County authorities are continuing their investigation of an attack on an elderly couple Saturday night. The attack occurred on Farm Road 1911, just outside of Alto. The woman had gone outside to see what triggered an alarm on her property. The man she saw hit her in the head with something. When she screamed, her husband came outside and he was attacked. The suspect fled after the woman went inside and came out with a gun, shooting at the suspect. Authorities searched for the suspect, but could not find him. The The couple was taken to a hospital for treatment. Out news partner, KETK, reports the woman had a significant head injury and her husband is likely to lose his eye sight in one eye.

LONGVIEW – Industrial Drive is closed to through traffic between Marshall Avenue, U.S. Highway 80, and Cotton Street. This is to allow for railroad track maintenance. The railroad crossing on Industrial Drive will be closed to all traffic. Drivers are encouraged to use Eastman Road as an alternate route.

VAN — Van ISD announced on its Facebook page that the district is mourning a student who died following a car crash. According to the post, Fernando Vela, an 8th-grade student at Van Junior High School, died from injuries sustained in a single-car crash Saturday night. “Fernando had a lot of friends and students looked up to him,” said Van Junior High Principal Richard Pride. “He was a leader among his peers. He was energetic, athletic, respectful, and had a great love for his family. This is a sad day for the Van Junior High School family. Fernando will be greatly missed.” Continue reading Van ISD Mourns Student Killed in Weekend Crash

TYLER — Heart of Tyler has honored the East Texas Symphony Orchestra and the late Travis Booher with its yearly Brick Awards, given out at its recent annual meeting. According to Heart of Tyler president Carleen Dark, “ETSO has done so much over so many years to champion the arts and music education, as well as their commitment to downtown.” Dark describes ETSO as “a long-time community partner of Heart of Tyler that is so closely aligned with the values that drive the Heart of Tyler organization.” Dark continues, “Booher was a long-time member and supporter of Heart of Tyler” who “gave much of his time, legal expertise and personal funds over the years.” Heart of Tyler is a nonprofit that partners with various entities to revitalize downtown Tyler. The Brick Awards are given to people and organizations that are credited with noteworthy contributions to the effort.

SMITH COUNTY — According to our news partner KETK, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a body found in a wooded area off Highway 69 and I-20. The unidentified body was located around 2:20 Saturday afternoon by some kids playing in the woods. The body was sent to Dallas for autopsy. Additional details were not available.

JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville police continue their investigation of a shooting that left one person dead. It happened shortly before 1:45 Wednesday afternoon on Kickapoo Street. Killed was Justin Lee Christian, 26. He was first taken to a Jacksonville hospital and later transferred to a Tyler hospital where he died. Investigators say he had been shot once in the head. They do have persons of interest in the case, but charges have not been filed and no arrests have been made.

The UT Health North Campus Tyler MD Anderson Cancer Center has a new director today. Dr. Alexandria Phan has been appointed as medical director of the center. Dr. Phan is board-certified in internal medicine, hematology and medical oncology. She has served as principal investigator in numerous clinical trials, many of which were pivotal in receiving FDA approval for new medications. Prior to coming to Tyler, Dr. Phan led GI medical services for five regional locations of Cancer Treatment Centers of America. She has directed GI cancer services and the hematology oncology fellowship at Houston Methodist hospital, and served as an associate professor of GI medical oncology at MD Anderson.

TYLER – Carter BloodCare has a new director of its East Texas operations. Effective immediately, Clinton McCoy assumes the post. He succeeds Carla Beck, who retired in the fourth quarter of last year. McCoy will work out of the Tyler headquarters on South Baxter Avenue. Among his duties will be increasing retention of new blood donors and the frequency of donations among volunteer blood donors. He comes to East Texas from Waco where he was a drive recruiter with Carter BloodCare in the Central Texas area.

TYLER – Arrests were made in Smith County Thursday night following a gambling investigation. The arrests came as a variety of law enforcement agencies served warrants at several locations. They were served at the Lucky Tunes game room on Highway 64 East, a residence on plantation Drive in Tyler and at at a residence on Highway 64 East. The arrests stemmed from an investigation that spanned 5 months. Six persons were arrested at Lucky Tunes for promotion of gambling. One person was arrested for gambling, four were arrested for outstanding warrants and 56 citations were issued for the Class C misdemeanor offense of gambling. Approximately 90 gambling machines were seized. Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith said “This investigation is by no means complete.” Additional search warrants and subpoenas are anticipated as this investigation continues.

ATHENS — More details are released after the body of a missing Henderson County woman was found Wednesday night inside her boyfriend’s house in Larue. According to our news partner KETK, that man, Charlie Cervantes, is in jail on $2 million bond, facing murder charges in her death. Tabatha Cashion’s mother reported her missing after she didn’t pick up her children on February 9 police then tried to contact Cashion at the mobile home she was moving into with Cervantes. He told them she left with an unidentified person after an argument. Detectives were able to obtain a search warrant after the father of Cashion’s children saw a post on Facebook in which CErvantes claimed he was hearing voices that were telling him to cut up “Tabatha and the kids.” Continue reading More Details in Larue Murder Case

HARRISON COUNTY – A good Samaritan was injured in Harrison County when he stopped to aid a woman who appeared to be having car trouble. It happened before 6:00 Thursday night on Sandy Drive in Longview. As he was looking under the hood of her car, he said two men came out of the woods and attacked him. He was hit in the back of the head and shot in the foot. He went to Longview Regional Medical Center for treatment of his injuries. The investigation into the incident is continuing.

PALESTINE – Palestine police have arrested a robbery suspect who reportedly tried to set fire to two women. Arrested around 5:00 Thursday afternoon was Robert Thompson, 40. He is said to be the armed robber who held up the Pit Stop on Link Street around 10:00 Thursday morning. The robber left with an undisclosed amount of money. Before leaving, the thief had the clerk and a customer sit on the floor and then bound the two women with duct tape. He then doused both women with lighter fluid and set the customer on fire. She was transported to Palestine Regional Medical Center and was then transferred to the burn center at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. Thompson has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated robbery. His bonds total $4 million.

TYLER – A federal grand jury in Tyler, on Wednesday, indicted Daniel Driver, 34, of Atlanta Georgia, in an insurance wire fraud scheme. The indictment says Driver was one of four persons involved in a multi-jurisdictional fraud and arson scheme that spanned from Hawaii to Texas. It involved the destruction of various assets, including aircraft and vessels. They then fraudulently obtained payouts from insurance companies. One of the assets was a Cessna 500, which was completely destroyed when it was set it on fire at the airport in Athens. Three of the persons have already been sentenced in the case. If Driver is convicted, he could get up to 20 years in a federal prison.

TYLER – Smith County Habitat for Humanity is looking for East Texas veterans who need critical home repairs. They have received a $150,000 grant from the Texas Veterans Commission Fund for Veterans’ Assistance. The money will be used to assist veterans in making their homes accessible, healthy and safe. Any veteran or surviving spouse living in Smith, Cherokee, Henderson, Rusk and Van Zandt counties is eligible to apply for assistance. From 2014-2017, Smith County Habitat received 3 grants from the Texas Veterans Commission totaling $450,000 and completed 57 projects for veterans and their families. With the newly awarded grant, Smith County Habitat estimates repairing the homes of 24 veterans. You can call 903-595-6630 for more details or to make an appointment with a grant specialist.

AUSTIN — Legislation allowing Texans to carry guns openly without a permit is being pushed by the most conservative members of the Texas House, including an East Texan. The Freedom Caucus’s top priorities mirror those of Governor Abbott and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen. They want property tax reform and an overhaul of the school finance system. State Rep Matt Schaefer of Tyler says they also support a border wall. He says border security and immigration reform are at the top of the caucus’s list.

HENDERSON – A man accused of shooting four persons, killing two of them, made his initial court appearance in Henderson Thursday morning. Randy Buford Winn, 62, appeared before a justice of the peace. His bond on charges of murder, and capital murder, was set at $2.5 million. The shooting occurred around 6:00 Sunday evening at the Oak Manor Apartments on South Van Buren Street in Henderson. Following the shooting, Winn fled to Louisiana. A tip from a relative led to his arrest. Investigators are still trying to learn the motive for the shooting.

HENDERSON – A Kilgore man is heading to prison after changing his plea during his murder trial. Wednesday afternoon, Marvin Durrell Sanders, 38, of Kilgore pleaded guilty to first degree murder. He then accepted a 40 year prison term. Sanders had been accused of the shooting death of his cousin, Waylon Hunt, 37, of Kilgore. Witnesses told investigators that Sanders just walked up and put a gun to Hunt’s head and shot him. He died during a family gathering as they watched a Dallas Cowboys football game the day before Christmas in 2017.

TYLER – Tyler firefighters walked through neighborhoods Wednesday in what Fire Marshal Paul Findley described as a successful fire safety blitz. Preliminary numbers indicate that firefighters made contact with around 250 houses in the area surrounding a recent fatal house fire on North Grand Avenue. Almost 70 new smoke alarms were installed, with accompanying safety checks and tips from the firefighters. For homes that already had smoke alarms in place, almost 50 batteries where changed, ensuring that they were up-to-date and ready to protect residents in the event of a fire. While firefighters found some homes unoccupied at the time of today’s blitz, over 150 informational tags were placed at the door with information on contacting the fire department if occupants want to schedule an install at a later date.

TYLER – The interim Smith County constable in Precinct 1 has announced his intentions to run for the office. Constable Bobby Garmon announced his candidacy on Wednesday. The former chief deputy for the Smith County Sheriff’s office says he has the training and experience that it takes to be an effective leader and represent the community. Garmon was appointed as Interim Constable of Precinct 1 on December 14, 2017. He was appointed to the post after a judge suspended Henry Jackson. A couple of months earlier, Jackson had reported to federal prison to serve a six month sentence for tax evasion.

MARSHALL – At a ceremony Thursday afternoon, two new Marshall police officers will take their oath of office. Officer Ashley Lakatos, 31, originally from New York, has worked at the Longview Police Department for the past three years. She graduated from the East Texas Police Academy in Kilgore in October of 2013. Officer John Cook, 21, of Henderson, graduated from the East Texas Police Academy in June of 2018. A small reception will follow the ceremony.

TYLER – A donation made in Tyler Wednesday will help in the study of a sports related injury. The Project Rose Institute for Sports Science donated $25,000 to the Institute for Integrated Healthcare. The institute is a part of the UT Tyler College of Nursing and Health Sciences. The money will be used to research treatment, repair and recovery of Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries. ACL injuries commonly occur in sports, and, are rising among the general population. Presenting the check to the institute were Tyler natives, and NFL stars Earl Campbell and Gary Baxter.

TYLER – A dozen awards were handed out Tuesday night as the Tyler Police Department held it annual awards banquet. Named as officer of the year was April Molina, who said she was shocked and surprised. She was recognized for her work ethic and commitment to service. It’s not her first award. She previously received a life saving award and an award while serving as a dispatcher. The Plainclothes Officer of the year was detective Doyle Lynch and officer Jackson Hug was named rookie of the year. Continue reading Tyler Police Officers Honored