KTBB News, Weather, Talk

LONGVIEW — Longview police say foul play is not suspected in the death of a man whose body was found last week. After several days of investigation, Longview authorities have identified the body as Ken Miguel Owsley, 44. The cause of death has not been released.

According to Longview Police, Owsley’s body was found in a field behind the retaining wall near Buffalo Wild Wings in Longview. According to KETK, a customer leaving the restaurant discovered the body around 1:45 Thursday afternoon. Police say the corpse had been there for at least 24 hours. His body was found lying face up at the base of a 15-foot limestone retaining wall about 60 feet from the intersection of North Eastman Road and Hawkins Parkway, next to the Longview Towne Center. He was dressed in a collared pullover shirt, blue jean shorts and tennis shoes.

TYLER — Smith County has received notice from the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Division of Emergency Management that the county is eligible to apply for low-interest emergency disaster loans due to drought and related disasters including high winds, high temperatures and wildfires since January 1, 2011. The Administrator of the Farm Service Agency (FSA) will immediately make emergency loans available to eligible applicants in Smith County. To receive details on terms and eligibility for these loans you can contact the nearest FSA office.

In addition, the Small Business Administration (SBA), in an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), provides Economic Injury Disaster Loans to eligible small businesses dependent on farmers and ranchers in counties that have received a disaster declaration. Applicants may go to https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela to apply online at the SBA’s secure Web site. Disaster loan information and application forms are also available from the SBA’s Customer Service Center by calling the SBA toll-free at 800-659-2955 or emailing [email protected]. You can also visit http://www.sba.gov for the information and forms. Individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing may call 800-877-8339. The deadline to apply for these loans is September 4, 2012.

LAKE JACKSONVILLE — The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a construction accident that has left two men dead and one injured. All three men are from the Tyler area. Just after 9:00 Monday morning, CCSO received a 911 call from 1058 County Road 3113 at Lake Jacksonville stating that a retaining wall had fallen on and trapped three men.

According to a CCSO news release, Donald Starling, 60; Hollis Morris, 68; and Rodney Morris, 45, were working on the low side of a retaining wall at Lake Jacksonville. Starling was the owner of Five Star Cement Company, and Rodney Morris is Hollis Morris’s son. Officials say they had stopped work and gone to a shady area at the wall to take a break when a section of the wall broke and collapsed on them. The section that fell was approximately thirty feet long and twelve feet tall and about one foot thick of cement and rock.

Rodney Morris was removed and taken to East Texas Medical Center in Jacksonville with broken bones and is believed to be in fair condition. Donald Starling and Hollis Morris were killed instantly. Jacksonville and Earle’s Chapel firemen worked for three hours to free the two men. Much of the digging had to be done by shovel and backhoe. Justice of the Peace #3 Philip Grimes held the inquest. Cherokee County Investigator Fred Butler is the lead investigator.

KILGORE — Kilgore Police are looking for a man accused of dressing as a woman and robbing a liquor store. It happened around 12:30 Saturday afternoon at Rose Package Store No. 3 on U.S. Highway 259. According to KETK, an employee said a black man, dressed as a woman wearing a black wig, a green knee-length dress and white undershirt, had entered the store brandishing what looked like a revolver. The suspect handcuffed the clerk and took an undisclosed amount of cash from the register. He was seen driving a white Buick which was found abandoned in a parking lot a short time later.

SMITH COUNTY — An arrest warrant has been issued in the fatal crash that occurred on April 12 on State Highway 64 in Smith County. DPS Troopers completed the investigation into the crash that killed Jacky Wayne Johnston, 65, of Tyler. After being presented with probable cause, Judge Christi Kennedy of the 114th District Court signed the arrest warrant for Eduardo Viramontes, Ben Wheeler, pictured here. Bond was recommended at $250,000. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Viramontes is asked to contact the Tyler DPS Office at 903-939-6000.

Johnston was on a motorcycle turning left into his own driveway off Highway 64 East, near New Chapel Hill, when the driver of the truck hit him. According to DPS, the driver who hit Johnston kept driving with the motorcycle lodged underneath their truck. Gas station surveillance video taken 1200 feet from the where Johnston was hit shows sparks flying as the truck continues down the highway. DPS says Johnston was thrown from his motorcycle on the initial impact.

CHEROKEE COUNTY — At least one person is in critical condition after a driver fell asleep behind the wheel early Monday morning. The single vehicle wreck happened on Highway 79 just west of New Summerfield in Cherokee County. According to KETK, there were three people in the vehicle at the time. One person was flown to a local hospital with life threatening injuries. Cherokee County DPS officials are investigating the wreck.

TYLER — A Tyler pedestrian has been killed in an accident. It happened just before 11:00 Sunday night in the 1600 block of Vine Street. Killed was Nikeisha Smith, 39, of Tyler. Police Sgt. Jason Burton says it appeared that Smith was crossing the roadway and not in an approved crosswalk when she was struck. The driver of the vehicle in the accident was not issued any citations.

WASHINGTON — An paratrooper from Tyler has died in Afghanistan. Killed in action last Thursday was 1st Sgt. Russell R. Bell, 37. According to the Department of Defense, Bell and another paratrooper from Fort Bragg North Carolina were killed in the Kandahar province of wounds suffered when they encountered an enemy IED. Bell graduated in 1993 from Chapel Hill High School. He joined the Army in 1996 as an Infantryman. Over a seven year span, this was his fourth deployment to Afghanistan. His many awards include the Bronze Star with three oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal with Valor, the Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters and the Army Good Conduct Medal with five bronze knots.

TYLER — Here’s a quick look at work planned in the Tyler District of the Texas Department of Transportation.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue approximately three weeks of pavement-repair work on U.S. Highway 80 between Farm Road 859 in Edgewood and State Highway 19. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress. Motorists should be prepared to reduce speed and merge in and around the work zone.

WOOD COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue seal coat operations on Farm Road 3056 between U.S. Highway 80 and Farm Road 778. Once that work is complete, crews are scheduled to seal Farm Road 312 between Winnsboro and Pine Mills, which should take approximately two weeks to complete. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers and pilot vehicles will control traffic. Loose gravel may be present for several days following a seal coat application.

GREGG COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform resurfacing operations on Farm Road 1845 between Farm Road 2605 and the Upshur County Line. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.

CHEROKEE COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform resurfacing operations in Farm Road 23 and Ffarm Road 752 south of Rusk. A second crew will perform shoulder work on Farm Road 177 and Farm Road 3052 near Mixon. Daytime lane closures will be in effect in each location while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic in two-lane areas.

SMITH COUNTY –Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform base and pavement repairs on Interstate Highway 20 and ramps associated with Joy Wright Mountain Road, and in various locations on U.S. Highway 271 north of IH 20. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

ANDERSON COUNTY — Beginning Tuesday, Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to perform resurfacing operations on Farm Road 322 between Loop 256 and State Highway 294 south of Palestine. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers and pilot vehicles will control traffic.

HENDERSON COUNTY — Texas Department of Transportation maintenance crews this week are scheduled to continue base and pavement repairs on Farm Road 1615, between State Highway 19 south of Athens and the end of state maintenance. Daytime lane closures will be in effect while the work is in progress, and flaggers will control traffic.

TYLER — Tyler Police have confiscated a large amount of methamphetamine during a traffic stop. It happened around 7:00 Saturday night in the 3300 block of Mineola Highway. The driver, Fernando Mercado Zertuche, 25, Mexico, was arrested for traffic offenses. During the stop, the officer’s K-9 partner, Paco, “alerted” on the vehicle indicating that there was possibly an illegal substance inside. After further investigation officers located 5.4 pounds of methamphetamine in a hidden compartment inside the vehicle. The meth had a street value of over $100,000. Zertuche was charged with manufacturing/delivery of a controlled substance and traffic offenses. He was booked into the Smith County Jail.

CANTON (AP) — Authorities in East Texas are seeking a 31-year-man in connection with a double slaying. The Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office issued a capital murder warrant for Donny Lee Greenhow on Saturday, the day after deputies discovered two decomposing bodies in a mobile home east of Ben Wheeler. Sheriff Pat Burnett said his office was responding to a welfare call from a relative concerned that no one answered the door. Authorities declined to confirm the victims’ identities until autopsies were done. Records show that 74-year-old Peter Shick and 55-year-old Latricia Shick lived at the home. A family member said the couple’s vehicle was missing. The sheriff said an SUV stolen from Kaufman County earlier in the week was found at the scene.

During the course of the investigation, law enforcement had been able to determine that Greenhow was last known to be in the Waco area sometime between July 29th and August 1st. It is unknown where Greenhow is headed or what type of vehicle that he may be using. Greenhow is described as 6-2, about 170 pounds with blonde hair, blue eyes, medium build, a scar on his upper right arm and forehead, and a tattoo on his upper right arm. He is considered armed and dangerous, and residents are not to approach him, according to a news release.

LONGVIEW– A $7.64 dinner Thursday could cost a Kilgore man up to two years in the prison and a fine of up to $10,000. David Clifton Cowley, 27, was arrested by Longview police at Walmart on Gilmer Road in Longview at 6:00 after store officials say he ate a meal in the store and walked out without paying. According to the Longview News-Journal, Walmart officials told police Cowley ordered and ate chicken, potato wedges, okra and cheddar peppers from the deli and washed it down with a 20-ounce Gatorade before trying to leave the store. According to his arrest affidavit, Cowley was convicted for previous thefts on August 3, 2005, and January 6, 2006, raising his charge to theft under $50 with two previous convictions, a state jail felony. Cowley was held in the Gregg County Jail on Friday. His bond was set at $2,500.

TYLER — The North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority and contractor CH2M Hill are announcing that beginning the week of August 6, there will be traffic switches taking place at State Highway 64 and Toll 49. CH2M Hill is putting the last touches on SH 64 in preparation for moving motorists onto the final roadway. Motorists will be switched onto the permanent roadway configuration and bridge for SH 64 at Toll 49 sometime between Wednesday, August 8, and Saturday, August 11. Drivers are asked to be prepared for potential traffic delays around the construction area.

DALLAS (AP) — Officials of a small East Texas town and the county where it’s situated have agreed to steps aimed at ending racial profiling to settle a four-year-old class-action lawsuit. Federal court filings late Friday show Tenaha and Shelby County have agreed to an “impartial policing policy” to better document and monitor traffic stops. The documents show defendants also have agreed to pay $520,000 in legal fees. The lawsuit accused former officials of shaking down innocent motorists. Former Shelby County District Attorney Lynda Kaye Russell and four other ex-law enforcement officials were named as defendants when the suit was filed. The suit alleged that the officials forced motorists, most of them black, to forfeit their cash or face criminal charges. Tenaha is a town of 1,160 residents near the Louisiana border.

KILGORE — A one-vehicle rollover that killed a woman is believed to have been caused by a tire blowout. According to KETK, it happened shortly before 3:00 Friday afternoon on Interstate Highway 20 westbound, near Highway 42 in Gregg County. According to the Kilgore Police Department, a man, woman, and child were inside the SUV at the time of the crash. The ages of the victims are unknown. The woman has been pronounced dead, and the baby was flown to a Longview Hospital. Authorities could not confirm the condition of the man. DPS is still investigating the cause of the accident.

TYLER — Some 500 Trane employees are out of work, at least for now, in what’s termed a seasonal layoff. According to KETK, Ingersoll Rand Director of Communications Maria Weber released the following statement in regard to rumors that Trane would be laying off employees:

“On August 3, 2012, Ingersoll Rand Residential Solutions announced a seasonal layoff of our hourly production staff in Tyler, Texas. This action eliminates approximately 500 positions. The workers were notified on August 3, which is their last day. Our business operates on the demand for our heating, ventilating and air conditioning products. In Tyler, over many years, we have established a pattern of adjusting our production staff.”

The company reached agreement with its workers on June 14. Ingersoll Rand and union workers had been involved in labor negotiations for several days.

TYLER — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now accepting applications for emergency farm loans due to the drought for the period beginning January 1, 2012, and continuing. Smith County Senior Farm Loan Officer Michelle King asks farmers who want to apply for emergency loans to submit their applications as soon as possible. The deadline for applications is March 12, 2013, but King says if farmers wait too long, a backlog will develop and cause delays. Officials say generally, farmers who have lost 30 percent of their production or sustained any physical loss due to drought are eligible for the emergency loans. The FSA office is located at 4209 Republic Drive in Tyler.

BEN WHEELER — Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office officials tell our news partner KETK they are working a double homicide in Precinct 4. Officials say the two bodies are of an unidentified man and woman at a house on County Road 4812 in Ben Wheeler. Authorities are not sure at this time how or when they died. Van Zandt County officials called Texas Rangers to process the crime scene. Deputies were alerted to the incident Friday morning, according to Sheriff Pat Burnett.

LONGVIEW — Police are close to making a positive identification of a dead body found Thursday in Longview, according to officer Kristie Brian. The body, a black male, was found near a field behind the retaining wall near Buffalo Wild Wings. A customer leaving the restaurant discovered the body around 1:45 Thursday afternoon. Police say the body had been there for at least 24 hours. They are now trying to determine the cause of death along with the man’s identity.

GILMER — Authorities are searching for a man suspected of injuring a Department of Public Safety trooper and fleeing during a traffic stop in Upshur County on Thursday, Trooper Jean Dark said. That’s according to KETK and the Longview News-Journal. Trooper Brandon Love was attempting to arrest Sawyer Zane Lacaze of Pittsburg after finding narcotics during a traffic stop, according to Dark. She said Lacaze struck Love’s leg and fled on foot. Love was taken to East Texas Medical Center in Gilmer and treated for minor injuries. He has since been released.

To give information about Lacaze’s whereabouts, contact local authorities. Lacaze is described as a white man who is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs 165 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing black pants and no shirt.

MARSHALL — A man died Wednesday after being accidentally electrocuted on the campus of East Texas Baptist University. According to the Longview News-Journal, a worker from Fason Tree Service of Marshall died from injuries sustained while removing a dead tree near Marshall Hall and North Grove Street. The victim was identified as Michael Noel. Officials said Noel was using an extension saw to cut a tree that had been struck by lightning. He was in a scissor lift with a bucket when he was apparently electrocuted. Marshall Fire Department EMS Supervisor Bob Cole said the victim was pronounced dead at Good Shepherd Medical Center-Marshall. Cole said officials were waiting on the autopsy results in order to determine the cause of death, but confirmed he suffered severe electrical burns.

TYLER — A scientist at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler has been awarded a $1.2 million federal grant to investigate ways to control the inflammation involved in a life-threatening illness called septic shock. Jian Fu, Ph.D., a UTHSCT assistant professor of biochemistry, will use the five-year grant from the NIH to investigate the role of an enzyme called Sirt1 in the inflammation process associated with septic shock. Sirt1 and other enzymes regulate the rate of chemical reactions inside a cell. Dr. Fu thinks that understanding the role Sirt1 plays in inflammation caused by septic shock could lead to better ways to prevent this devastating disease.

About 750,000 cases of septic shock occur each year in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health. It kills 40 percent of the adults and 25 percent of the children who contract it. Septic shock occurs when a person is overwhelmed by a massive bacterial or fungal infection. In response, the body’s immune system floods the bloodstream with infection-fighting chemicals. However, these chemicals also cause widespread inflammation throughout the body. The inflammation triggers tiny blood clots that keep nutrients and oxygen away from vital organs. The organs stop working, blood pressure plummets, and the person can die.

Dr. Fu is one of about 30 biomedical researchers at UTHSCT. In the past two years, they were awarded more than $25 million in research dollars to support their world-class programs investigating lung disease, cancer, tuberculosis, diabetes, and aging. The NIH provided over $11 million of those funds.

TYLER — A Lindale firefighter was arrested over the weekend for allegedly driving while intoxicated in a November 27, 2011, wreck. According to KETK, 26-year-old Christopher Michael Combs of Lindale is accused of crashing into a Tyler gas station drunk. According to jail records, Combs’s blood alcohol content was allegedly higher than .15. He was arrested and released Sunday on a $5,000 bond. According to Tyler police, the incident happened shortly after 2:30 a.m. at the Exxon station on the 1200 block of W. Gentry.

Combs had previously stated he fell asleep at the wheel and drove off the roadway, hitting several gas pumps and causing major damage to the business. Tyler Fire Department Haz-Mat responded to the scene to control gas leakage in the parking lot. There was no report of any fire that occurred from the crash. Combs was taken to a local hospital following the wreck.

LONGVIEW — Longview police have released the names of two victims as they continue to investigate a recent shooting at the Cloud Nine Club. They men are identified as Joshua Pierce, 23, and Adrian Parker, 26, both of Longview. Shortly after 2:15am on July 26, officers responded to a shots fired call at the club, in the 1100 Block of West Marshall Avenue. When officers arrived they saw a car leaving at a high rate of speed. Witnesses told police there were several males who were involved in an altercation. According to witnesses several shots were fired and two people were wounded.

Police located Parker in a vehicle at the scene. He was transported to Good Shepherd Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. A short time later officers were advised that Pierce had been brought to Good Shepherd by private vehicle with a life-threatening gunshot wound. According to authorities, police later found the vehicle they saw leaving the scene. No arrests have been made at this time. Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Detective David Cheatham at 903-237-1147. If the tipster wishes to remain anonymous, he or she can contact Gregg County Crimestoppers at http://www.greggcountycrimestoppers.org or 903-236-STOP (7867).

LONGVIEW — Longview police Thursday have released more details in a mid week shooting. Just after 10:30 Wednesday morning, police were dispatched to a shooting that had just occurred in the 200 Block of Birdsong Street. When officers arrived, they were able to locate the suspect, Anthony Strange of Longview, 26, and take him into custody.

Police were told that Strange and his girlfriend had an altercation. Police say Strange’s girlfriend tried to leave, and Strange allegedly fired numerous shots from a high powered rifle in the area. According to police, some of those shots hit nearby homes and the victim’s vehicle as she was leaving. Strange was arrested on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was also arrested on two counts of deadly conduct which stemmed from the homes the stray bullets reportedly struck. Police say none of the bullets struck any people at the scene.

CLARKSVILLE CITY — Clarksville City is pleading with its citizens to use water conservatively after its water department was vandalized overnight. According to KETK, City Manager Billy Silvertooth says the town is struggling to keep up with demand as water is in very short supply. Silvertooth believes sometime very early Thursday morning, a vandal opened a fire hydrant on Whatley Road. The gushing water was not discovered until about 4:30am, when a paper delivery man reported it to authorities. By the time officials were alerted, nearly 300,000 gallons of water had been lost in a system that holds about 400,000.

Silvertooth says the short supply could last for days as officials rebuild their water supply. Citizens are urged to only use water for hygiene, sanitation and cooking. Clarksville City is located between Gladewater and White Oak. About 400 people depend upon the water supply system.

TYLER — A house fire in Tyler has been contained. According to the Tyler Fire Department, they received a call around 8:00 Thursday morning from a person reporting smoke coming out of a house’s attic on Roanoke Lane. Once on scene, fire officials discovered the fire had originated in a closet. Damage was contained to the closet and surrounding areas in the house. Some additional smoke and water damage spread throughout the home. No one was inside the house at the time of the fire and no injuries were reported. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

GREGG COUNTY — Officials with Department of Public Safety told KETK a driver who fled from a traffic stop on foot this morning is now in custody. The chase began when a trooper tried to pull over a Chevy Tahoe on eastbound I-20 at 6:45. The vehicle took off on the interstate, reaching speeds of up to 100 MPH as the driver fled. Barely avoiding other vehicles, the driver eventually exited onto Highway 31 and drove down an embankment.

At that time, due to the erratic driving, troopers fired three shots into the tires of the Tahoe causing the SUV to wreck, and the driver exited and ran away on foot. A Kilgore Police officer arrested him in a wooded area nearby. He has been identified as Jason Ray Ragan, 24, Longview. He is wanted on multiple warrants in surrounding counties.

Meth was found in the vehicle when it was searched. Ragan has been taken to the Gregg County Jail.

CANTON — Authorities are investigating the death of a man found in the median of Interstate Highway 20 near the Van Zandt and Kaufman County Line. The body, said to have been wearing only flannel sleep shorts, was found sometime after 7:00 Wednesday morning. The man is thought to be a 40 year old Grand Saline man, but positive identification has not been made.

HENDERSON — According to the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office, mailbox thefts first reported in the county around mid-July are continuing in northern Rusk County. Investigators received approximately 10 additional cases last week. According to KETK, investigators also received a description of a vehicle that may be connected to the thefts. Anyone noticing suspicious activity involving a black Nissan SUV with a white male or white female driver is asked to call the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office immediately. Authorities say anyone discovering mail alongside roadways or any other unusual areas should not attempt to remove it and should contact local law enforcement.

Until the suspects are apprehended, authorities advise citizens to avoid rural mailboxes when sending outgoing mail. U.S. Postal Inspectors are meeting with Rusk County investigators this week. Anyone with information may call the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office at 903-657-3581.