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QUITMAN – Wood County Judge Kenneth Bryan Jeanes has been given a public warning by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Judge Jeanes was arrested in April for DWI. In August he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to ten days in jail and ordered to pay more than $1,800 in fees. He was released after serving two days. Tuesday, the commission publicly released the warning that was given to the judge on October 20th following the Commission’s meeting earlier that month. Continue reading Wood County Judge Gets a Public Warning From a State Commission

TYLER – Tyler’s home sales are outpacing state figures. Home sales in Texas increased 0.2% in the third quarter. In Tyler, home sales were up 1.4% to 811. Statewide, Texas home sales maintained the strong pace generated in the summer and continues to stay on pace with last year’s record breaking home sales. State home sales increased 0.2% year-over-year to 91,248 home sales. In Tyler, the median price of a home rose 2.8% percent to $175,000 in the third quarter. In the state, the median home price increased 7% from last year’s 3rd quarter to $214,000. Continue reading Tyler Homes Sales Continue to be Strong

MARSHALL – The execution of a search warrant has turned up a suspected Marshall drug suspect. The warrant was served Tuesday morning at a home on Spruce Street. Taken into custody on drug and a weapon’s charge was Kelvin Dewayne Brown, 39. Besides seizing various drugs, officers also recovered stolen property and several firearms at the home. Along with drug violations, Brown has also been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. And additional charges may be filed.

TYLER – A Tyler woman, accused of an accident that caused south Tyler traffic problems has been arrested. Shirlee Joyce Bradshaw, 70, has been charged with DWI. She was arrested after being treated at a Tyler hospital. She is currently free on bond. Her vehicle hit a utility pole at South Broadway and Winchester Drive Monday afternoon. The accident caused police to direct traffic at several busy south Tyler intersections until Oncor could replace the pole.

CHAPEL HILL – A burglary suspect has been arrested in the Chapel Hill area. Monday night a burglary was reported at a home off Highway 64 East. Tuesday morning they called again to report noises coming from their barn. Sheriff’s deputies went to the area and took a suspect in custody. More information, including the suspect’s name, remains pending.

LONGVIEW (AP) – Golfers at a Longview driving range can take a swing at Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump before next week’s election. Alpine Target Golf Center in Longview has put large photos of the faces of Democratic and Republican presidential candidates on round hay bales as targets. Golf center officials promote the swing-away opportunity, to hit golf balls at either candidate, as a way for people thinking about next Tuesday’s election to get some relief. Owner Mike Williams says the goal is to alleviate a little stress. The targets have been in play since late October.

KILGORE – The sister of a missing Kilgore woman has been arrested in connection with fire at the home the women rented. Booked into the Gregg County Jail Monday afternoon was 23 year old Sheaira Rondresia Grant. She has been charged with insurance fraud between $2,500 and and $30,000. This was in connection with the fire at their home on Martin Luther King Street in September. Her bond was set at $10,000. Her sister was 8 months pregnant when she disappeared in August. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance. However, authorities say they don’t think the fire is linked to the woman’s disappearance.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court has denied an appeal from an East Texas nurse sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing five dialysis patients by injecting them with bleach. Justices on Monday let stand, without comment, a 2015 appeals court ruling that upheld the conviction and sentence for Kimberly Saenz. She was convicted in 2012 of capital murder in the deaths of patients at a Lufkin clinic where the licensed vocational nurse worked. Saenz also received three 20-year terms for aggravated assault in the cases of several injured patients. Attorneys for Saenz challenged the jury instructions and said she was denied due process of the law. Saenz was fired in 2008 after a rash of illnesses and deaths at a clinic in Lufkin.

TYLER – Traffic along a portion of South Broadway is back to normal. A vehicle struck a telephone pole at South Broadway and Winchester. The pole had to be replaced. Due to the work Oncor had to do to replace the power pole, the traffic signals were not working for a while at the intersections of Broadway/Amherst, Broadway/Troup and Broadway/8th. Officers had to traffic in those intersections. But, as of 7:45pm, all lanes of traffic are open once again and all signals are working properly.

LONGVIEW – LeTourneau University’s Sting Precision Flight Team won first place at the 2016 Regional SAFECON collegiate flight competition, hosted by Central Texas College. This marks the fourth year in a row that the team has brought home the gold. The team scored over 600 points in a combination of flight and ground events, which beat the nearest competition by 72 points. In addition to the championship, the team took home the sportsmanship award, which is based upon votes cast by other competing teams. Continue reading LETU Flight Team Wins First Place at Regional SAFECON

TYLER — One person is in custody in connection with a robbery just north of Tyler. A man has told authorities he was robbed around 2:00 Monday afternoon near Camp Ford, off U.S. Highway 271. Sheriff’s deputies stopped a vehicle off Loop 323 matching a description of the suspect’s vehicle. After interviewing three men inside, one man was arrested and most of the property was recovered along with a pellet pistol used in the robbery. The identity of the suspect will be released once the suspect has been formally charged.

There is a traffic flow problem on South Broadway. A vehicle struck a telephone pole at South Broadway and Winchester. The pole will need to be replaced. Oncor will be working to replace it and work is expected to impact rush hour traffic. The two northbound lanes of traffic on South Broadway are being diverted into the turning lane. Northbound traffic on Broadway will be moving slow for some time. Due to the work Oncor has to do to replace the power pole, the traffic signals are not working at the intersections of Broadway/Amherst, Broadway/Troup and Broadway/8th. Officers are actively directing traffic in these intersections. Motorists are encouraged to find alternate routes. Traffic will be moving slowly in these areas.

PALESTINE – The investigation is continuing in the shooting deaths of two Palestine residents. The bodies of Michael and Maryl Matthews, both 41, were found Saturday afternoon at a home on North Jackson Street. They were found by police responding to a domestic disturbance call. Both were declared dead at the scene from gunshot wounds. Based on the evidence, the deaths are being investigated as a murder/suicide.

LONGVIEW – A child playing with a lighter has started a fire that seriously injured a Longview man. The fire was reported shortly before 9:45 Sunday night in a mobile home on Lafamo Road. Fire crews found the man with burns and respiratory injuries due to fighting the bed room fire with a water hose. He was first taken to Good Shepherd Medical Center, then transferred to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. The child who started the fire, and two children who were asleep when the fire started, were able to get out without injury. The fire caused major damage to the bedroom and contents, and heavy smoke damage throughout. The structure damage is estimated at approximately $20, 000.

PALESTINE – To coincide with the declaration of a burn ban in Anderson County, Fire Marshal Kyle Betterton placed the City of Palestine under a temporary burn ban. The ban will last 90 days, or until lifted by the Fire Marshal.

TYLER — Last week was a busy one for early voting in East Texas. KETK reports that in Smith County, more than 6,000 people went to the polls on Friday alone according to county election officials. On Friday, voting locations at “The Hub,” Noonday, and Whitehouse saw more than 1,000 come out. Lindale saw just short of the century mark. And on Saturday, Smith County saw more than 30,000 people take advantage of early voting. Early voting runs through Friday. Election Day is November 8.

TYLER – The United States has obtained a civil judgment for $1,223,414.50 against Tariq Mahmood of Cedar Hill, who owned and operated multiple rural hospitals across Texas, including East Texas. That announcement came Monday from Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. In July 2014, a federal jury in Tyler found Mahmood guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, seven counts of health care fraud, and seven counts of aggravated identity theft. Following his conviction, the United States brought a False Claims Act action against Mahmood. The Government alleged in its Motion for Summary Judgment that Mahmood was stopped from denying liability under the False Claims Act as a result of his criminal health care fraud and conspiracy convictions. Continue reading United States Prevails in Civil Action against Convicted Doctor

GREGG COUNTY — A former Gregg County district attorney was fingerprinted Friday in the 188th District Court in Longview after pleading guilty to cocaine possession and revealing he was struggling with addiction when he was arrested in February 2015. According to KETK, Longview attorney Rob Foster, 71, will not see the inside of a prison if he adheres to conditions of a 10-year probation. He also can prevent a finding of guilt from ever being declared by a judge — and escape the lifelong label of “felon” — after defense attorneys David Moore and Kent Phillips persuaded the visiting to sentence Foster under a deferred adjudication model.

UPSHUR COUNTY — A two-year-old is dead in an Upshur County wreck Saturday night. DPS Trooper Jean Dark says troopers responded around 9:45 to the crash on FM 49, about 6 miles west of Gilmer. According to authorities, the 2006 Chevrolet Avalanche was traveling west on FM 49 at a high speed. Officials say the driver failed to negotiate a curve and went off the road into the tree line. Dark says the child, identified as Skylar Rabourn, of Big Sandy, was unrestrained. The driver, identified as Randell Phillips, was transported to ETMC-Tyler in serious condition.

TYLER — Tyler police are investigating an armed robbery early Monday morning. Officials said it happened around 4:20 at Lavanderia Express on Vine Street. The cashier told officers an armed black man threatened the clerk with the handgun and demanded cash from the register and the safe. The suspect fled the scene on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash. He’s described as short and thin, wearing a mask, black hoodie and khaki pants. No injuries were reported. Contact police with any information.

TYLER – Here’s a look at work planned in the Tyler TxDOT district during the Week of Oct. 31, 2016. These schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure, or other unforeseen issues. Officials urge you to slow down and pay attention when traveling through work zones.

Smith County – Tyler Maintenance plans to conduct edge repairs on FM 2010 between FM 14 and FM 16. Base repair work continues on FM 15 outside of Troup. Expect lane closures at both locations with flaggers providing traffic control. Continue reading TxDOT’s Weekly Roadwork Update

WASHINGTON — The GOP taps an area congressman to talk about Obamacare in this week’s GOP media address, which is a key issue in this year’s presidential election. Representative John Ratcliffe of Rockwall pulls no punches, saying, “It’s the worst of all worlds.” He says the Affordable Care Act is far from its title, especially when factoring in this year’s rate increases. In Arizona, for example, rates are up 116 percent. Ratcliffe adds, “It’s higher costs and fewer choices. It’s less freedom and more government. It’s more uncertainty and less peace of mind.” Donald Trump started making Obamacare a higher-profile issue after the administration announced the higher rates a few days ago. Ratcliffe’s District 4 stretches to parts of Northeast Texas, including Rains County and a portion of Upshur County.

PALESTINE — Two are dead in what Palestine police say was an apparent murder/suicide. KETK reports police were called around 2:20 Saturday afternoon to a North Jackson Street location in reference to a domestic disturbance. The responding patrol officers were unable to make contact with anyone at the door. Officials say the officers forced entry into the residence due to the nature of the call and found two people with gunshot wounds. The officers contacted emergency medical services, but both individuals were pronounced dead at the scene. Officials say the incident is being investigated as a murder/suicide based on the evidence found at the scene and the ongoing investigation. The identities of the deceased were not immediately available.

TYLER — Authorities continue to investigate what they believe to a gang-related shooting Friday at a home on Keystone Drive in northwestern Smith County. Sheriff Larry Smith says Quinshard Barnes was transported by private vehicle to East Texas Medical Center after being shot three times, with two gunshots entering through the stomach area and one striking the buttocks. The sheriff says the wounds are not life-threatening. He added that no witnesses remained at the scene when deputies arrived. Continue reading Authorities Investigate Smith County Shooting