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TYLER – According to our news partner KETK, a longtime federal prosecutor has been named by President Trump as the acting United States Attorney of the Eastern District of Texas.

Jay R. Combs has been working for the Department of Justice since 2006, where he started as Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) on the U.S.- Mexico border. While he was at AUSA, Combs focused on immigration, narcotics and human trafficking cases along with fraud and white collar crimes.

Through his tenure, Combs received multiple nationwide awards and was recognized for his contributions to the fight against international drug cartels. Combs served in the United States Army as a Judge Advocate General for six years after serving 20 years in the U.S. Army. While in the Army, he served in several roles, including Executive Officer of an Air Defense Artillery Battery.

Combs looks to carry out the current administration’s goal of keeping Americans safe. Continue reading New U.S. Attorney for Eastern District of Texas named

UPDATE: According to our news partner KETK and Van Zandt County Detention Center records, Franklin was released from jail at 9:53 a.m. Thursday morning after posting bond. Rains County Justice of the Peace Robert Jenkins Franklin was arrested on Wednesday for two counts of official oppression and two counts of tampering with a witness.

RAINS COUNTY — An East Texas judge is accused of threatening a defendant, saying, “I heard you have a problem with me, boy. You take that deal, boy — or dead men can’t testify.” Two days later, the defendant entered a no-contest plea in a felony case.

A lawsuit filed in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas, alleges that Justice of the Peace Jenkins Franklin threatened Coby Wiebe to enter a guilty plea in a criminal case over which he had no jurisdiction.

Weibe alleges that the threat made in October 2023 is part of a broader pattern of misconduct that Franklin exhibited and went unchecked by county officials, leading to a Monell claim against the county. A Monell claim is based on a 1978 Supreme Court ruling that allows a person to sue local governments for constitutional violations. Continue reading East Texas judge arrested on multiple charges released

TYLER – Dr. Mohammed Ali, associate professor of technology and program coordinator at The University of Texas at Tyler Longview University Center, received the 2025 Minilectureship Award by Epsilon Pi Tau, the international honor society for professions in technology. The award recognizes exemplary academic and professional leadership as well as outstanding contributions to the advancement of technology professions represented by the society. “We congratulate Dr. Ali for this recognition of his research and dedication to the field of technology. This is a great honor for not only him but also th Department of Technology and The University of Texas at Tyler,” said Dr. Mark Miller, UT Tyler professor and department chair.

LONGVIEW – Our news partner KETK reports that one person is dead after they were struck by a pickup truck on Wednesday night in Longview.

According to the Longview Police Department, around 10:36 p.m. officers responded to the 1600 block of Pine Tree Road where there was a crash involving a pickup truck and a person.

Officials said that officers determined a person attempted to cross the street and failed to yield the right of way to the truck.

The person was then taken to a local hospital where they later died. Their identity has not been released as of this writing.

TYLER – A new ordinance has been passed in Tyler to prevent any future obstructions in flight paths according to our news partner KETK.

The Tyler City Council approved the ordinance on Wednesday to establish airport hazard area zoning regulations near the Tyler Pounds Regional Airport. The ordinance was established to reduce obstruction risk to pilots, passengers and people on the ground.

The ordinance will also establish five hazard zones surrounding the airport and will restrict activities that could interfere with aircraft navigation and restrict visibility. Additionally, the ordinance will designate land use allowed in the runway protection zone in alignment with FAA safety recommendations. Continue reading City of Tyler approves ordinance to decrease hazards near airport

TYLER — According to our news partner KETK, the Tyler City Council approved $12.6 million contract with Taknek to modernize the Lake Tyler Pumping station.

Tyler Water Utilities (TWU) will use the money to upgrade the Lake Tyler Raw Water Pump Station, one of the most important links in the City’s water supply system. The upgrades will focus on long-term sustainability and service reliability. Construction is set to begin this summer and will take 36 months to complete.

“We’re designing a system that can serve Tyler’s growing population and withstand emergencies without skipping a beat,” TWU Project Engineer Jacob Yanker said. “This investment ensures families can continue to count on clean water, even in the face of rapid growth or unexpected outages.” Continue reading Tyler approves contract to modernize Lake Tyler Pumping Station

UPDATE: According to our news partner KETK and the Longview Police Department, Jory Keith Sadler, 43 of Longview, was arrested for the officer-involved shooting that happened Tuesday night.

Sadler was charged with aggravated assault against a public servant and is currently booked in the Gregg County Jail.

LONGVIEW – Authorities are investigating after an officer-involved shooting in Longview on Tuesday night, Longview police said.

According to the Longview Police Department, around 11:49 p.m. officers responded to reports of an armed person and gunshots on 2900 block of McCann Road. After arriving, the suspect fired multiple rounds at their patrol vehicle and in return an officer shot the suspect, officials said. Continue reading Longview PD identifies man in officer-involved shooting

TYLER — The family of a man who died in an incident with a former Rusk County Sheriff’s deputy is seeing their case proceed to trial after a judge confirms the deputy is not eligible for qualified immunity.

According to our news partner KETK, Timothy Michael Randall was fatally shot during a traffic stop three years ago. In January, Federal Magistrate Judge John D. Love recommended that former Rusk County Deputy Shane Iversen’s qualified immunity be denied. Qualified immunity shields government and peace officers from personal liability in a civil lawsuit. Months later, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Kernodle confirmed the recommendation, denying Iversen any immunity.

The civil lawsuit, Wendy Tippit versus Sergeant Shane Iversen, stems from Randall’s death. The next court proceeding will happen in June to discuss a start date for the trial. Continue reading Judge rules deputy as not eligible for qualified immunity

TYLER – The Tyler Police Department is creating a state-of-the-art training facility to ensure their officers are as well-trained as possible before going out on the field, according to our news partner KETK.

The Tyler City Council approved a $1.8 million contract with Watson Commercial Construction on Wednesday to transform the former National Guard Armory into a Regional Police Training Facility.

The armory, which is currently located on East Commerce Street, will be converted by the Tyler PD into a centralized training hub for cadets and current officers.

The new facility will include scenario-based training areas, classrooms, locker rooms and a gym. The new environment is intended to give officers and cadets the tools and resources needed to sharpen their skills and better respond to emergencies.

The facility will be funded through the Half Cent Sales Tax and will allow Tyler PD to maintain and build on its standards.

LONGVIEW – Our news partner KETK reports that the Target on Eastman Road will soon be home to several new Tesla V4 Superchargers for electric vehicles.

The new $120,000 charging site will feature two Tesla V4 Supercharger cabinets and 16 Tesla V4 Supercharger posts, according to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

The V4 Supercharger Post was launched in 2023, and is capable of charging any electric vehicle brand. The V4 Supercharger Cabinet was launched in November 2024, and can charge electric semi-trucks, like Tesla’s Semi.

The Longview V4 charging site, which is being designed by Dewberry Engineers Inc. of Dallas, is set to start construction on July 30. It is slated to be completed on Sept. 20, 2025.

To see where similar chargers are located in East Texas, visit Tesla online.

UPDATE:CAMP COUNTY – Camp County Sheriff’s Office said Onterrian Jamour Newton, 17 of Mount Pleasant, was arrested on Tuesday for murder of Jamarion Brown, 23 with additional charges pending.

ORIGINAL STORY: The Camp County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that one man was killed and two others were injured in a shooting at a pool party.

The sheriff’s office told our news partner KETK that they responded to a call about a shooting four miles outside of Pittsburg at around 12:50 a.m. on Saturday. The call came in from pool party gathering at a residence that the sheriff’s office said escalated into a shooting. Continue reading UPDATE 17-year-old arrested for murder

ALTO – Our news partner KETK reports that a woman is dead and others are injured after an Alto man was arrested for intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle on Monday.

According to Cherokee County arrest records, Samuel Lee Schlemmer was driving fast on FM 1911 towards U.S. Highway 69 when he drove past a stop sign and crashed into another vehicle with three passengers.

Officials said a woman was taken by EMS, but did not survive her injuries, the other two passengers were taken to a local hospital.

Schlemmer participated in a sobriety test after authorities saw open alcohol containers in his truck, along with observing his slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. Continue reading Drunk driver causes fatal crash, killing one and injuring others

LONGVIEW – According to our news partner KETK, authorities are investigating after an officer-involved shooting in Longview on Tuesday night.

Around 11:49 p.m., Longview Police officers responded to reports of an armed person and gunshots on 2900 block of McCann Road. After arriving, the suspect fired multiple rounds at their patrol vehicle and in return an officer shot the suspect, officials said.

Longview PD said the officers then began performing life saving measures on the suspect and was later transported to a local hospital where they have non-life-threatening injuries.

“In accordance with departmental policy for officer-involved shootings, that portion of the investigation has been turned over to the DPS Texas Rangers,” Longview PD said. “Further information will be released as it becomes available and as the investigation allows.”

If anyone has any more information about the officer-involved shooting they are asked to contact the Longview Police Department at 903-237-1199 or the Gregg County Crime Stoppers at 903-236-STOP.

TYLER — According to our news partner KETK, U.S. Senator John Cornyn R-TX will meet with veterans’ mental health advocates in Tyler on Wednesday to discuss his bill centered around evaluating the quality of veteran care.

Senator Cornyn’s Veterans Mental Health & Addiction Therapy Quality of Care Act will be discussed during a round table meeting starting at 9:45 a.m. at CampV. This act would require organizations to conduct studies that evaluate their veterans mental heath and addiction care programs.

These studies would be required for organizations both inside and outside the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more about this bill, visit this link.

HENDERSON COUNTY – The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a Gun Barrel City man for possession of child pornography, according to jail records.

According to our news partner KETK, an investigator with the sheriff’s office received a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children CyberTip about a child pornography video on Feb. 26. The video appeared to show a girl under 18-years-old in a sexual act with a boy under the age of 10. This video was reported as being uploaded to reported user’s Snapchat. The investigator then connected the user’s IP address to a physical address in Gun Barrel City after a subpoena was submitted to Optimum, which is the user’s internet service provider, the arrest document stated.

The investigator then got search warrants for Snapchat and Google which linked the user to the Gun Barrel City address and contained photos and videos of a man that the arrest affidavit identified as Justin James Langley, 26 of Gun Barrel City. Continue reading Henderson County man arrested for child porn possession

TYLER – According to our news partner KETK, Lance Phillips, the son of Smith County Clerk Karen Phillips and former Smith County Commissioner Terry Phillips, has been found guilty of assaulting a peace officer. Lance was found guilty by a jury verdict in the 7th District Court in front of Judge Kerry L. Russell at around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Lance told KETK that he plans to appeal this verdict.

Lance’s guilty verdict comes after he was arrested for multiple charges on April 2, 2024 for an incident during a Smith County commissioner’s court meeting.

“If I lose and then I will immediately file my appeal to the higher court and go as high as necessary to get the rule of law to be enforced,” Lance told KETK after he testified on Thursday. “And there will tons of case law that has Lance Phillips vs Neal Franklin of Smith County. And the result will help 35 million Texans who may want to speak in a public meeting.” Continue reading Lance Phillips found guilty of assaulting peace officer

HUNTINGTON – According to a report from our news partner KETK, an Angelina county affidavit reveals that a Huntington man was arrested Wednesday after he sexually assaulted a child at his friend’s home in late April.

On April 23, Justin Allen Brooks-White, 18 of Huntington, and a friend were picking up the minor and her friend when Brooks began kissing and touching the victim in the car on the way to his friend’s house. Brooks continued touching the victim once they got to the house and sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions that day, the document said.

“The victim said she told Brooks she did not want to do this and told him to stop several times,” the affidavit said. “Brooks would stop, then start doing it again as if pushing boundaries.”

Brooks was arrested on Wednesday for sexual assault of a child and posted a $3,000 bond the following day.

UPDATE: A legal representative for Smith County has issued a statement following the press conference on Tuesday:

“Smith County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a call for help from a local business alleging that a disgruntled former employee might return to his former workplace and potentially commit a violent act. When officers went to the former employee’s home, he eventually came to the front door with a gun. Upon seeing the former employee holding the gun and recognizing a significant threat, the deputy fired. Unfortunately, the former employee died. The deputy who fired was cleared of any criminal charges by a grand jury.

Smith County, Sheriff Smith, and the deputy look forward to presenting all evidence to the court and are confident that the evidence will show that the deputy acted correctly when faced with a difficult, rapidly evolving set of circumstances.”
Continue reading UPDATE: Smith County issues statement in deputy-involved shooting

KILGORE — A CHRISTUS emergency medical services unit was traveling in Kilgore when their ambulance became submerged in floodwater. According to our news partner KETK, the EMS crew immediately exited the vehicle after they found themselves in rising floodwater. No patients were in the vehicle at the time and nobody was harmed. The crew is being evaluated and CHRISTUS EMS operations will proceed as usual.

ARP — The City of Arp’s tornado siren failed to go off during Monday’s severe weather, prompting their police chief to push for their siren to be relocated to City Hall.

According to our news partner KETK, the transformer that allows the siren to sound off, stopped working a couple weeks ago. Arp Police Department used Facebook to warn residents about a possible tornado on Monday morning prompting residents to voice their concerns on not having a reliable tornado siren.

The city’s electrical company that usually handles these issues, could not fix the transformer because the ground around the transformer is too wet. This is not the first time the siren has failed to do its job and Keegan said this problem could also stem from the siren having public access. Keegan told KETK the transformer was built on Arp ISD property around 10 years ago with the ability to be turned off if needed. Continue reading Arp tornado siren failure prompts relocation plans

TYLER – Severe weather has hit several East Texas counties Monday and Tuesday morning, electricity utilities and cooperatives are reporting around 11,796 power outages in East Texas homes as of 6:20 a.m. To find a county breakdown, our news partner KETK has a running list here.

LUFKIN — St. Luke’s Health has awarded $1.5 million in grants to 23 nonprofits from all across Texas, including $134,016 in grants to three nonprofits here in East Texas.

The grants are funded by the Common Spirit Health Community Health Improvement Grant program, a program committed to building healthier communities and providing recipients with improvements for their health. The grants will help fund programs that address issues like mental health, food insecurity, safe shelter and housing, violence prevention and human trafficking.

“The Community Health Improvement Grants program is vital to our mission,” St. Luke’s Health market president for East Texas and Brazos Valley Monte Bostwick said. “It allows us to extend our vision of a healthier future beyond hospital walls by collaborating with organizations that share our same values.”

Full list of the 2025 agencies awarded grants can be found here.

TYLER — East Texas will benefit from $8.5 billion in new state money once House Bill 2 is signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott.

“The new legislation is a huge win for East Texas,” Tyler ISD’s Superintendent of Schools, Marty Crawford said after HB2 passed the Texas Senate on Friday.

The district will be able to get more money for teacher incentive payments to make sure that their students are getting the very best educators once HB2 becomes law.

“It’s been a lot of work, and we’re very appreciative of everything they’ve done down there in Austin,” Crawford said. “We’re very excited and very appreciative of the work that they’ve done to get us to this point. We think that what they’ve been able to do for us is to carve out some efficiencies for us internally here locally, that we’ll be able to handle it appropriately as we go on.” Continue reading Tyler ISD reacts to $8.5 billion for education

TYLER – Our news partner KETK is reporting that the average gas price in Texas has fallen by five cents since last week and is down 39 cents when compared to this time last year.

“Lower gas prices will be welcome news for the record number of drivers heading out of town for the long holiday weekend,” AAA said in a press release on Thursday. “Gas prices haven’t been this low over Memorial Day since 2021 when the statewide average was $2.71. A record 3.2 million Texans are expected to drive 50 miles or more for leisure, this Memorial Day weekend.”

According to AAA’s weekend gas watch, Longview’s gas prices are down 40 cents from last year, Texarkana’s gas prices are down 42 cents from last year and Tyler’s gas prices are down 36 cents from this time last year. AAA Texas spokesperson Daniel Armbruster said East Texans can thank supply and demand for these low prices. “Supply and demand are playing a role in this year’s lower pump prices as crude oil supply is currently surpassing demand,” Armbruster stated.

To learn more, visit AAA’s gas resources page online.

HOUSTON COUNTY – The Houston County Sheriff’s Office said they’ve arrested two additional suspects wanted in connection to the death of 16-year-old Michael Ortiz.

According to our news partner KETK, officers with the United States Marshal’s Service’s fugitive task force arrested two adults who are believed to be involved in Ortiz’s murder. The sheriff’s office said that one adult was arrested in Montgomery County while the other was arrested in Ellis County.

Two adults and two minors were arrested on May 6, just four days after Ortiz’s body was found dead on County Road 4020, outside of Crockett, on May 2. The two adults arrested, Emmanuel “Manny” Mata and Edgar Hernandez, were charged with murder and are being held on bonds of $2 million each. An arrest affidavit revealed details of how Ortiz was killed. Continue reading Additional suspects arrested in Houston County murder

TYLER — According to our news partner KETK, the Tyler Police Department has stepped up their STEP (Selective Traffic Enforcement Program) for Memorial Day weekend.

With traffic expected to increase over the holiday weekend, the Tyler PD is encouraging residents to be alert for drunk or intoxicated drivers on the road or while boating. Through Monday, the department will have extra officers out in the city and at Lake Tyler, specifically to look out for drunk drivers.

“We want everyone to enjoy the Memorial Day holiday. Please be responsible and don’t drink and drive,” the Tyler Police Department said. “We hope you have a safe and happy holiday!”

On Monday, the Texas Department of Transportation launched their annual ‘Click It Or Ticket’ driver safety campaign which means they’re also increasing their efforts to keep drivers safe.