KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – Here’s a look at work planned in the district during the Week of August 24th. These schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure or other unforeseen issues.

Work resumed Sunday night on US 271/Beckham Avenue in Tyler. Sunday’s work was in the southbound right lane between Mulberry and Front streets; and the northbound left lane between Erwin and Ferguson streets. The full project limits are from Oakwood Street to State Highway 64/Fifth Street. Work is being conducted from 7:30pm to 6:00am Sunday through Thursday nights. Continue reading Two Tyler Projects On TxDot’s Worksheet

NACOGDOCHES (AP/STAFF) — Ten people have been arrested in what police in Nacogdoches in East Texas say was a prostitution and human trafficking operation. Police Lt. Dan Taravella says the investigation is continuing and other arrests may still be possible. The Daily Sentinel of Nacogdoches reports the arrests Saturday night are the result of a sting operation involving multiple police units. Besides facing prostitution charges, two of the 10 people also have been arrested for drug offenses. Only three of the 10 arrested are from Nacogdoches. Five are from Tyler, one from Crockett and one from Houston. Continue reading Tyler Residents Arrested in Nacogdoches Vice Sting Operation

DIANA – An undisclosed amount of money has been taken in an Upshur County bank robbery. The Security State Bank in Diana was round around 5:00 Friday afternoon. Authorities are looking for three suspects. No injuries were reported.

MARSHALL – The trial for former Hallsville coach Dean McDaniel continues today as the defense moves forward presenting its case. McDaniel is charged with three counts of indecency with a child by exposure and one count of improper relationship between an educator and a student. A panel of six men and six women is hearing the case. McDaniel, a track and cross country coach for 13 years at Hallsville ISD, announced in October, 2015, he would resign at the end of the year. He cited personal reasons for his actions. He turned himself in two months later following a grand jury indictment.

LONGVIEW – Longview police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found in the locked cab of a tractor-trailer rig. It was parked in the parking lot of the Texas Best Smokehouse just north of Interstate 20. Officers had to force their way into the cab to get to the man. They are trying to determine if the man died of natural or suspicious causes. His name has not been released.

LONGVIEW – A Longview man has pleaded guilty to online solicitation of a minor. Timothy Layne Riley, 42, entered his plea in state district court Friday morning. He was sentenced to 10 years probation and will have to register as a sex offender. He was arrested in February of last year after the mother of the 16-year-old girl told police that Riley had been sending inappropriate texts to her daughter. The messages included Riley asking the girl to send him sexual photos and sending the girl graphic photos of himself. A Longview officer was given permission by the girl to assume her identity and talk to Riley through text messages. It was then that Riley began to make plans to meet up with the girl and have sex in a hotel room. He was arrested when he showed up at the room.

LONGVIEW – The Longview Police Department is alerting residents to a telephone scam. It has been reported that someone has been calling people from blocked numbers. They are saying they are Longview officers calling about a family member in jail and needing money to get them out. Longview police do not make such calls. If you get such a call, look up the agency information in a phone book and call them to see if it is a legitimate claim.

TYLER – Tyler ISD will hold its summer graduation ceremony this evening at 6:30 at Caldwell Auditorium. Sixty students will receive diplomas. The students will hear from Tyler ISD Superintendent Dr. Marty Crawford and Trustee Rev. Orenthia Mason.

TYLER – No word from Tyler police if they have been able to name a suspect in a city homicide. Narcotics are believed to have played a role in the shooting death of Joshua McGee, 22, of Tyler. He died after being taken to a hospital by a private vehicle. The shooting is said to have happened at the intersection of Lawrence Street and Mahon Avenue shortly around 7:00 Friday morning. Police Public Information Officer Don Martin says McGee died from a single gunshot wound.

PALESTINE – The city of Palestine will be spraying for mosquitoes Friday night and Saturday morning. The sprayers will be out between 9:00pm and 5:00am. The will be spraying area 4, which encompasses the streets of U.S. 79 southwest of South Loop 256 to the city limits, including Court Drive, Salt Works Road, south to Reagan Street, and neighborhoods near West Point Tap Road, Sanderson Farms Parkway, and Brookhollow Drive.

LONGVIEW – A Longview police officer has been injured serving an arrest warrant. Officer Zachary Atkinson was serving the warrant on Estevan Olvera Jr., 21, on Price Lane just after 6:15 Friday morning. Atkinson was injured when Olvera starting fighting and resisting arrest. The officer is in the hospital with serious, but not life-threatening injuries. Olvera is charged with evading arrest, resisting arrest, assault on a public servant and six outstanding warrants.

TYLER – The Smith County Sheriff’s Department continues its investigation in a weekend shooting that left three persons injured. It happened around 2:45 Sunday morning east of Tyler near State Highway 31 and Country Road 246. The victims were parked on the shoulder of the road with a flat tire. As the driver flagged down a vehicle, a passenger got out of it and started shooting, then fled. The three were treated at the hospital for leg wounds and then released. The suspects’ vehicle may be a grey Jeep Cherokee. If you have any information, you are asked to contact the sheriff’s office.

TYLER — The United Way of Smith County is looking to increase the number of donors by 10% over last year as it begins its 2017-2018 campaign. The agency heard words of encouragement from former Dallas Cowboy Darryl “Moose” Johnston as it held its campaign kickoff Thursday. Staffers point out that no single nonprofit agency is able to address all of the needs in the county, so the United Way works to bridge those gaps. They add that every dollar given stays in the community. The campaign theme this year is “Join the Fight.” You can go to http://www.unitedwaysmithcounty.org to learn more.

HALLSVILLE — The first of the three Boy Scouts. killed in the boating accident has been laid to rest. KETK reports hundreds of people came to pay their respects to 17-year-old Will Brannon Thursday afternoon. The First Baptist Church in Hallsville was packed to the brim with family and friends. The family held a private burial. Brannon, along with Heath Faucheux and Thomas Larry, were killed when a metal mast hit a power line and they were electrocuted. The other two Scouts’ funerals will be held this weekend.

TYLER – A man has died at a Tyler hospital following a shooting. The shooting is said to have happened at the intersection of Lawrence Street and Mahon Avenue shortly before 7:00 Friday morning. No word on a motive and no arrests have been made. The victim’s name has not been released.

TYLER – A Houston man has been arrested after being accused of using stolen credit card information in Tyler. Yoslays Garcia Torres, 34, was arrested as his vehicle was leaving the Wal-Mart on the Troup Highway. Officers found numerous gift cards in his possession that were purchased with stolen cloned credit card information. Some of the information belonged to Tyler residents. They believe he got the stolen credit card information from gas pump skimming. He has been charged with fraudulent use or possession of identifying Information. He is in the Smith County Jail under a $1 million bond.

TEXARKANA – The 6th Court of Appeals in Texarkana has upheld the new 99 year prison sentence given to 58 year old Bernie Tiede. At his new sentencing trail in 2016, he was given 99 years for the murder of 81 year old Marjorie Nugent in Carthage in 1996. After stealing millions from the woman, he is said to have shot her in the back and hid her body in a freezer. He appealed the sentence, saying the court should have enforced an agreement between his lawyers and the district attorney that would have given him a shorter sentence. The Texarkana appeals court said there was no evidence of such an agreement. The three judge panel also rejected Tiede’s claims that his confession was improperly admitted at trial and that his indictment should have been voided because of bias by a grand juror.

LINDALE – A multiple vehicle accident on Interstate Highway in Smith County has killed at least one person. It was reported shortly after 11:45 Thursday morning when a pickup hit the rear of a passenger van that had slowed down for the traffic ahead. The van’s driver was killed. No word at this time on any injuries. The accident occurred in a west bound lane of the interstate near the Highway 110 exit. Both west bound lanes had been shut down, but now both are open.

EAST TEXAS – Area stores are preparing for an influx of shoppers this weekend. Just in time for back to school shopping, it’s the sales tax weekend in Texas. It runs Friday through Sunday. The law exempts most clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks priced for less than $100 from sales tax. The state comptroller’s office says this will save shoppers about $8 on every $100 they spend during the weekend. State-wide, shoppers are expected to save around $87 million in state and local sales taxes during the sales tax holiday, which has been an annual event since 1999. You can go to the Comptroller’s website, http://www.texastaxholiday.org for lists of apparel and school supplies that may be purchased tax-free.

TYLER — Even as millions mourn legendary entertainer Glen Campbell, it’s been announced that his widow will be visiting Tyler in November — discussing the disease that ravaged the final years of his life. Kim Campbell will keynote the Alzheimer’s Alliance of Smith County’s sixth annual Butterfly Hope Luncheon November 15 at Willow Brook Country Club. This year’s event will be kicked off the day before with a screening of the Glen Campbell Documentary “I’ll Be Me.” You can get more details on the ktbb.com Calendar of Events.

KILGORE – Kilgore police report two separate accidents, both involving drivers who had been using K2. In one, a car was resting against a tree with the driver passed out, his foot on the brake and the vehicle still in drive. In the second case, a driver hit a guardrail before hitting another vehicle. No injuries were reported and the drivers were charged with DWI. Kilgore police report that K2, a synthetic cannabinoid, is now bought in unlabled bags as opposed to the flashy packaging that was previously sold in stores. And they remind you, using K2 can be extremely dangerous.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — A Gun Barrel City teen has died, four others were injured, following a two vehicle wreck. According to the DPS report, it happened Wednesday night around 7:35 on VZCR 2801, about 10 miles north of Mabank. A Pathfinder, driven by James Jones, 16, ran a stop sign and struck a minivan. Jones and two other occupants were ejected from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The other 16-year-old and a 14-year-old were transported to Dallas for treatment. The driver of the other vehicle and a passenger were taken to ETMC in Gun Barrel City.

EAST TEXAS — The first of three funeral services for the East Texas Boy Scouts killed in a boating accident at Lake O’ the Pines was held Thursday morning. Will Brannon, 17, of Hallsville, was remembered at the First Baptist Church in Hallsville. The boys were sailing in a catamaran Saturday when their 30-foot metal mast hit a power line. The contact caused them to be electrocuted. Continue reading Funeral Services for Three Boy Scouts

HOUSTON (AP/STAFF) — Former Governor Mark White was remembered Wednesday as a dedicated and caring Texas leader by someone who later held the same elected position, George W. Bush. Bush, the nation’s 43rd president, spoke at White’s funeral at Second Baptist Church in Houston. Two other prominent Texas Republicans, Gov. Greg Abbott and ex-Gov. Rick Perry, now U.S. Energy Secretary, were among the hundreds of mourners. White, a native of Henderson, who battled kidney cancer, died Saturday at age 77. White, his casket draped in a Texas flag, was a lawyer and Democrat who served one term as Texas governor, from 1983 until early 1987.

LINDALE – Lindale police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a theft suspect. He is said to have entered WalMart in Lindale on numerous occasions and took items without paying for them. He has been seen in a gold Buick and an older black Chevy truck. If you can identify him, you are asked to contact the Lindale Police Department.

TYLER – A Longview man, Desmond Denard Brown, 31, is heading to prison for drug trafficking. Brown was sentenced Wednesday to just over 65 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark in Tyler. Brown pleaded guilty back in March to possessing with intent to distribute and distribution of crack cocaine. Federal prosecutors say Brown distributed about 28 grams of crack cocaine in Gregg County.

TYLER – A Tyler man is facing a variety of charges following a traffic stop and foot chase. Byron Leanthony Taylor, 23, ran from the traffic stop, but was chased down and arrested. He showed officers where he had a gun hidden. It had been reported stolen. They also found some marijuana in his vehicle. Taylor is charged with theft of a firearm, unlawful carrying a weapon and possession of marijuana. There was also a warrant out for him for an accident involving injury charge from a previous Smith County case. He was booked into the Smith County Jail with bonds totaling $7,500.

AUSTIN – Sales tax allocations for Texas cities are up slightly. But some East Texas cities continue to show a slight decrease. The state comptrollers office shows sales tax allocations to Texas cities for August are up just over 1%. Tyler’s sales tax allocation is down nearly half a percent from the same period last year, to over $3.8 million. Tyler’s year to date figure is up 3% to over $27.2 Million. In Longview, the August figure is down over 20% to just over $2.6 million. For the year, Longview has received over $19.8 million. This is down nearly 3% from the figure in 2016.

TYLER — Card skimmers continue to pop up on gas pumps across the state — and just this week, another one was found in Tyler, at the Exxon at Commerce Street and Loop 323. Tyler Police Sgt. Adam Colby tells KETK, “This is the typical skimmer that we’ve been finding — Bluetooth enabled.” And it takes just seconds for the thieves to covertly retrieve your information. Most of the card skimmers found in East Texas have been either on a gas pump on the city’s loop, or close to the interstate. Texas Agriculture Commisioner Sid Miller says Bluetooth on your smartphone is the best way to detect a skimmer, but the only one way you can fully protect your identity is by paying with cash, inside.

LONGVIEW — Longview police say a Longview man kicked an officer in the chest and face as he was being arrested. According to KETK, police say Samuel North was lying in front of a room at the Express Inn and when police asked him to leave, he refused. He was taken to the back seat of the patrol car, where he’s accused of kicking the officer. He’s been taken to jail and charged with assault, resisting arrest, and criminal trespass.