KTBB News, Weather, Talk

KILGORE — Multiple agencies responded to the scene of a major fatal wreck near Kilgore late Friday morning. KETK reports the crash took place at around 11 a.m. in the 3300 block of SH 135 in front of Champion Technology. The victim in the wreck has been identified as Ruben Rios, 20, of Kilgore. Authorities say Rios slammed into a semi that was turning into a business. The driver of the tractor-trailer, Christopher Parrish, 47, of Whitehouse, was not injured. Witnesses say the crash sounded like an explosion.

KILGORE — Kilgore continues to be a haven for manufacturing jobs in East Texas. Economic development staffers tell KETK commercial property in Kilgore is worth twice as much as residential property. That’s partially due to lack of housing as well as the large number of job opportunities — a benefit to the city, since businesses pay the lion’s share of tax revenue.

GREGG COUNTY — The house fire that killed a 91-year-old Longview man Thursday afternoon was started by an overloaded electrical plug, authorities said Friday. The body of Emmit Brook was found in a front bedroom of the home where he had lived for 30 years, the same room where the fire started. According to the Longview News-Journal, the 68-year-old man, who was asleep in a back bedroom of the house in the 500 block of Idylwood Drive, near South Ward Elementary School, narrowly escaped after being awakened by neighbors. He was treated at Good Shepherd Medical Center for second-degree burns on his face and hands, Fire Marshal Johnny Zackary said. Zackary said Brook lived in the house with his daughter and her husband. His daughter was out of town at the time of the fire.

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County fire investigators believe they know what started a Thursday night house fire. According to KETK, Chapel Hill, Whitehouse and Arp firefighters were called to the 14,000 block of Texas Highway 64. Details are limited but fire investigators said it was started by an overheated dryer.

TYLER (AP) — Prosecutors have finished presenting their case against a retired East Texas dentist in the shooting death of his wife of 26 years. The state rested Thursday night in the murder trial of Bobby Ray Nichols, 76, in the fatal shooting of Rosalind Nichols, 71. Nichols previously admitted to shooting his wife on the night of June 29, 2012, after a heated argument at their Tyler home. The defense is scheduled to begin presenting its case for Nichols to the Smith County jury Wednesday. If convicted, Nichols could be sentenced to up to life in prison.

UNION GROVE — School trustees in Union Grove have approved letting some teachers and administrators to be armed on campus. The Union Grove school board enacted a policy Thursday night to allow select, licensed and trained teachers and administrators to have a firearm. The action was finalized last night following a community meeting. The Upshur County school system becomes only the second school district in the state with such a policy.

Superintendent Brian Gray told the Longview News-Journal the district would not disclose which teachers and administrators would be armed. He said decisions are still to be made on how the policy will be put in place, including whether the guns will be carried on the employees’ bodies or locked in an undisclosed location on the campuses.

The school district’s action comes after last month’s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Over two dozen children and adults were killed. Union Grove school board Vice President Rusty Dyar said, “The worst thing we can do is nothing.”

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – The FBI in Dallas is seeking information from people who may have had contact with confessed Alaska serial killer Israel Keyes during his Texas travels last year. Keyes, who killed himself in an Anchorage jail cell in December, confessed to murdering at least eight people across the country, including 18-year-old Anchorage barista Samantha Koenig last February. He was arrested in Lufkin in March after using a debit card stolen from Koenig’s boyfriend. The FBI says Keyes is believed to have visited the Post Oak Cemetery in the Glen Rose area between Feb. 12 and Feb. 16. During that same time period, Keyes’ blue rental 2011 Kia Soul may have gotten stuck in a muddy, rural area, possibly near Cleburne. Keyes admitted traveling through Cleburne, Azle and Aledo in February.

TYLER — More good news as famed economist Dr. Ray Perryman sizes things up at Tyler’s 29th Annual Economic Outlook Conference. Perryman says the Tyler area’s doing quite well at the moment. He cites a lot of growth in a number of key industries. According to Perryman, the oil and gas sector’s providing some benefit to the area, and the health care sector is expanding. He says a lot of business services, including manufacturing, are also beginning to expand again.

Perryman says the picture’s also rosy for the state in general. He notes, “Texas seems to be rated as the number one economy in the country on just about every list that comes out these days. It’s created a number of jobs, and at least for the short term, I think the momentum’s in place to keep that going.”

According to Perryman, “The U.S. economy is still growing, but it’s sluggish. It’s having a hard time finding its sea legs, and a lot of that’s because of all the uncertainty that’s out there right now.” Perryman cites “the combination of the budget debt, deficits, and debt ceilings, and all those issues,” as well as what’s going in Europe and the Middle East. Perryman says those factors are making a lot of people nervous, “and when they’re nervous they don’t want to make the final calls and turn loose of a lot of money and buy something new, bring out a new product, hire a bunch of people, that sort of thing.”

SMITH COUNTY — A woman drove into southwestern Smith County business. KETK reports It happened at Kenny’s Machine Shop on the 21000 block of Highway 155 around 4:00 Thursday morning. Smith County DPS say the driver, Stephanie Warren, 30, was northbound on Highway 155 South when she crossed over the southbound lanes and rolled her car into the metal exterior of the building. Warren told authorities that she had fallen asleep or passed out. She was taken to the hospital with unknown injuries.

Warren’s vehicle was the only one involved, and nobody else was injured. DPS officials say they are still investigating the crash, but they say there was evidence that Warren had been drinking. at last report, no arrests or citations had been made.

NACOGDOCHES — A Houston man has been arrested after authorities found three pounds of marijuana and a pistol in his duffel bag. Nacogdoches Sheriff Jason Bridges said that deputies conducted a check at the Kerrville bus station in Nacogdoches around 11:30 Wednesday night. Officials noticed that a man on the bus was acting very nervous and kept moving from seat to seat. When they finally approached him, deputies could smell marijuana coming from his duffel bag. Once they had consent to search the bag, they found the marijuana and pistol. Drevon Jones, 17, Houston, was arrested and booked into the Nacogdoches County jail for possession of marijuana and unlawfully carrying a weapon.

PALESTINE — An East Texas man allegedly shot himself while buying a handgun. According to KETK, Edgar Torres, 31, of Palestine arrived at the Palestine Regional Medical Center at 9:00 Wednesday evening with a gunshot wound on his right side. While talking to Torres, police learned that he had been in the 400 block of Cherokee St. in Green’s Park looking at a gun that he was planning to buy. Torres said that the gun accidentally discharged and hit him in the side. He did not give the name of anyone else who was there at the time of the incident. Police went to Green’s Park to investigate but found no evidence of a shooting in the area. Torres is in stable condition at the hospital, and is expected to recover. The case remains under investigation.

GILMER — A Gladewater man is going to prison after being convicted of two counts of indecency with a child. John Anthony Adams, 51, who is also wanted in Kentucky for bigamy and felony failure to appear charges, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was also fined a total of $20,000. He had been accused of inappropriately touching a 5-year-old he was babysitting in November, 2011. The girl told her mother of the incident when the mother picked up the girl and her younger brother.

LONGVIEW — A home just north of Longview has been extensively damaged by fire. It was reported Wednesday afternoon in the 100 block of Northridge Circle. No one was home when the fire started and no injuries were reported. The cause remains under investigation.

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. (AP) — An Army officer facing child sexual assault charges in Colorado and Alabama is also a suspect in Texas. Sgt. Steve Shelley of the Texarkana, Texas, police said Wednesday that DNA from 1st Lt. Aaron Gregory Lucas matched DNA in a 2009 kidnapping and indecency case there. Shelley says his department will seek an arrest warrant for Lucas.

The 31-year-old Lucas is an artillery officer assigned to Fort Carson, just outside Colorado Springs. He is being held without bail on suspicion of sexual assault, kidnapping, enticement and indecent exposure in communities surrounding Fort Carson. He also faces charges of child enticement and sexual abuse of a child younger than 12 in Madison, Alabama.

In the Texas case, a 7-year-old girl was abducted from a playground and returned about 30 minutes later.

LONGVIEW — A settlement has been reached in a wrongful death lawsuit involving an inmate who died in the Gregg County Jail. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, the settlement was reached late Tuesday at a mediator’s office. That means a trial set for January 22 in a Marshall federal courtroom is now canceled. There was no immediate word on terms of the settlement. The jury was to decide whether Gregg County was to blame for the 2010 death of Amy Lynn Cowling.

Cowling was 33 when she was brought to the Gregg County Jail Christmas Eve, after a traffic stop revealed two out-of-county misdemeanor theft warrants and some unpaid tickets. She died in a separation cell December 28. Defense attorney Robert Davis told the panel during the selection process that Cowling’s cause of death was “…a product of having abused drugs for years.”

A recovering opiate addict of seven years, Cowling was under a methadone regimen prescribed by a drug-addiction clinic in Tyler. She also was taking prescription medications. Those drugs, including the methadone, are not on the list of approved medications allowed by jail policy. Cowling’s family claimed the seizures and inability to communicate into which she lapsed were the result of withdrawal from her prescribed medications. Five jailers were fired or reassigned after the death.

TYLER — Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith has his say on President Obama’s gun control efforts announced Wednesday. A number of people see Obama’s proposals as unconstitutional. And Smith tells KETK his office “will not enforce any unconstitutional act against the citizens of this county — the end, period.” Smith did agree with the president’s call for universal background checks.

LONGVIEW — Three persons have now been arrested and identified in connection with a home invasion in Gregg County in which a woman was locked in the trunk of her car. Two persons were arrested near Loop 281 Highway 80 West in Longview. One of the suspects was said to have had outstanding warrants not related to the home invasion. The third suspect was arrested in South Longview. Authorities also have a white van that was believed used in the robbery. Lorenzo Chester, 22, and Cordero Brown, 26, both of Longview, and Reco Lamont Chester, 27, of Tyler (pictured) were charged with aggravated robbery; bonds were set at $750,000 for each.

Shortly after 10:30 Monday morning, Gregg County Deputies and Texas DPS Officers responded to 6873 Judson Road in the Longview area for a reported burglary. Upon arrival, deputies found an elderly woman bound in the trunk of her vehicle. She said that three men entered her residence and then assaulted and robbed her. Afterward, she was bound with tape and placed in the trunk of her car. The intruders then took property from the residence and left the scene.

TYLER — Beginning Monday, January 28 the City of Tyler Water Utilities Business Office, at 511 West Locust Street will be under construction while the lobby, cashier, and inquiry areas are being remodeled. Once completed, the lobby will have three inside cashiers available during peak times to take payments and answer customers’ questions.

Drive thru hours will not change during construction. The office is open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Officials ask that you take advantage of this option to make your payment(s) in addition to paying over the phone at (903) 531-1230, online at http://www.CityofTyler.org or at either of the two available drop boxes. There is one box located in front of the Water Business Office and a drive-up box in the Brookshire’s parking lot on the corner of South Broadway Avenue and Rice Road. The payment will be credited on the next business day. You’re asked not drop cash into these boxes.

WASHINGTON — East Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert weighed in Wednesday on President Obama’s sweeping gun proposals. In a statement, Gohmert says, “Most of the 23 items in President Obama’s executive orders today are not on their face particularly troublesome, although doctors and insurance companies should not be encouraged to intrude, probe or spy into Americans’ private lives for the government. The President’s 23 executive actions are estimated to cost, according to various media outlets, about $500 million without accomplishing anything substantive.

“Tragedies such as the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary are heartbreaking, but it adds to the travesty when a politician grandstands with proposals that have already been proven completely ineffective. When armed intruders break into homes, the women or men relying on a gun to protect their family should not have to worry about the restrictions on how many rounds they can have in a clip or magazine. Criminals do not worry about complying with the law – they are criminals.

“Mental health issues that have languished for decades may be a fertile ground for bipartisan efforts to make a true difference. Perhaps, a good first step toward curbing gun violence may well be rebuilding the sanctity and importance of the family and the home.” You can go to http://gohmert.house.gov/ to read Gohmert’s full statement.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert of Tyler is voicing concerns about efforts to address the country’s debt. Gohmert released a statement Wednesday regarding President Obama’s press conference about raising the debt limit. Gohmert says, “Once again this country is facing a fiscal challenge as a result of President Obama’s reckless fiscal policy. The President says that this country ‘must pay its bills,’ and I agree with him. Surely the President understands that we are not paying our bills right now. Under President Obama’s stewardship, we’re charging our bills to a credit card, running up the debt.

“Every responsible financial advisor will tell you if you’ve run up more debt than you can pay, it’s time to cut up the credit cards, put yourself on a responsible payment plan and to live within your means. We are borrowing money to fund President Obama’s irresponsible, wasteful government.

“Instead of acting responsibly, President Obama demands to spend trillions of dollars we don’t have and is perfectly willing to leave the bill for our children and grandchildren. America’s financial problems cannot be solved if Washington continues to ignore out-of-control spending. The President’s press conference shows the American people that the White House is not interested in responsible spending.

“It’s time for sensible, no-nonsense action. Congress needs to cut up the President’s credit cards, put in place a debt repayment plan and set this country on a responsible fiscal path.”

NOONDAY — A hearing is set for an East Texas gun range that surrounding homeowners say is unsafe. KETK reports that hearing, scheduled for February 14, could decide the fate of the High Noon Gun Range. The range, in Noonday, has been closed since a temporary injunction was granted in June. Plaintiffs say stray bullets, noise, and property value losses are reasons for their suit.

TYLER — TYLER — Tyler police seek help solving a burglary. Shortly after 3:45 Wednesday morning, police responded to 1204 Barbara Street on a report of a residential burglary in progress. The female homeowner told police that she and her children were asleep when she heard a loud crash in the front room of the residence. She got up to investigate and found the front window broken out. The suspect had thrown a bicycle through the front window in an attempt to gain entry into the residence.

The homeowner‘s 18-year-old son got up, grabbed a firearm, and went to the front window that was damaged. The son observed a black male suspect wearing all black and carrying a duffel bag standing in the front yard near the window. The son fired three rounds into the front yard causing the suspect to flee from the area. Police checked the area, failed to locate the suspect, and found no sign that anyone was struck by the gunfire.

Anyone with information about the suspect involved in this crime is urged to contact the Tyler Police Department, at 903-531-1000, or Crimestoppers at 903-597-CUFF (903-597-2833). Crimestoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information that leads to arrests and charges filed against the suspect in this case or any felony case.

TYLER (AP) – Jurors in the Tyler trial of a retired dentist charged with killing his 71-year-old wife have heard his 911 call in which he told a dispatcher he shot her and she died. Prosecutors on Wednesday played a tape of the call made by Bobby Nichols admitting he shot his wife twice after an argument. The Tyler man is on trial over the death of Rosalind Nichols, his wife of 26 years. Nichols has acknowledged he “screwed up” the night of June 29 and said he shot his spouse in their home. His stepdaughter’s husband, David Dial, testified the two men got along well but he did see Bobby and Rosalind Nichols argue and Bobby “lose his cool.” If convicted, Nichols faces up to life in prison.

LONGVIEW — A Longview man is charged with assaulting a public servant after police said he fought jail staff while being booked. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, Gaylon Bradley, 31, was taken into custody for walking on the wrong side of the road late Sunday. According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, staff at the Gregg County Jail tried to place Bradley in his holding cell when he became combative. Officials said jail staff was forced to use their Taser to attempt to gain compliance over Bradley, but he continued to resist. He was held on a $10,000 bond.

NECHES — Neches ISD officials closed schools for the day Wednesday due to an overturned tanker truck on FM 2574 and FM 19. That’s near an elementary school. School authorities tell KETK the district has been unable to run buses and has been forced to cancel classes as a precaution. Hazmat crews headed to the scene. Neches ISD classes had already been delayed until 10:00 a.m. Wednesday due to weather.

TYLER — One suspect is hospitalized, one suspect is still on the loose following an armed robbery. It happened around 4:45 Wednesday morning at the Food Fast gas station, 4201 University Boulevard. According to Tyler Police, the clerk claimed he was outside smoking when two armed black men wearing ski masks approached him and demanded money. The suspects fled on foot. Officers along with a K-9 unit were searching the area behind the store when one of the suspects, identified as Jaqun Jamel Dawson, 17, Dallas, was found with a gunshot wound to the leg. Police found the gun and other evidence linking Dawson to the crime. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment of his injury. Investigators will be seeking an arrest warrant for aggravated robbery on Dawson.

Officers set up a perimeter, but were not able to locate the second suspect after several hours of searching. Anyone with information involved in this crime is urged to contact the Tyler Police Department, at 903-531-1000 or Crimestoppers at 903-597-CUFF (903-597-2833). This case remains under investigation.

LUFKIN — Authorities release the name of two of the four young men who allegedly tried to set a Lufkin washateria on fire. According to KETK, four young hispanic men were captured on surveillance video attempting to set the R&R Washateria on fire. It happened on January 12th around 5:30 a.m. According to an arrest affidavit from Angelina County Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, all four were identified by the mother of one of the suspects. Luis Alberto Ramirez was arrested and charged with arson. They’re looking for Francisco Cordero. The other two are minors.

TYLER — Tyler Police search for a potentially armed man in the area of UT Tyler. According to KETK, two suspects committed a robbery at a gas station on Univesity Blvd. and Old Omen Rd. Officers established a perimeter behind the Ornelas Activity Center on Old Omen Road and arrested one of the suspects who had been wounded. The second suspect is still at large in the area. Authorities said there is no indication that the suspect is on campus, however, they are urging students and faculty to use caution. They say if you are on campus, be aware of your surroundings. The only description of the subject at this time is a black male, approximately wearing dark clothing and some type of black hat.

LINDALE — Lindale school trustees have approved a $14,800 budget amendment Monday night for additional safety measures at the district’s elementary campuses.

The amendment will allow for the purchase and installation of buzzers, intercoms and television monitors at all five of the elementary school buildings.The installation of these additional security measures will change access to Lindale ISD schools. Building entrances will be locked during specific school hours and visitors will be required to speak into the intercom and talk with an office staff member. The staff member will be able to see the visitor from monitors attached to security cameras facing the entrance of the building. Once the visitor is cleared for entry, the office staff member will then press the buzzer allowing the door to open.

The new security measures will be installed at Lindale’s Early Childhood Center, College Street Elementary School, Velma Penny Elementary School and the east and west campuses of E.J. Moss Intermediate School. The security upgrades will be made at these campuses due to the architectural design of the buildings. The district’s other two schools, Lindale Junior High School and Lindale High School, have newly constructed doors that restrict those entering the front of the building to channel through the main offices for access to the school. The elementary buildings are older district facilities.

“We have many security measures in place to provide a safe learning environment,” Lindale ISD Superintendent Stan Surratt said. “Securing the front entry doors at our elementary campuses is just one additional measure to protect our students and staff members.”

Visitors will still be required to enter the office of all campuses and present a driver’s license or other acceptable form of government-issued identification for use with the RAPTOR electronic visitor management program. The system checks the visitor’s identification against a nationwide database of registered sex offenders. After the database check, the visitor receives a badge to wear while in the building.

Also discussed during Monday night’s school board meeting was the employment of additional school resource officers. LISD currently employs two fulltime resource officers to assist with district security issues.

“We are reviewing other potential safety measures to make our campuses even safer,” Surratt said. “We need to make sound, well-educated decisions concerning additional safety measures. We will continue to review our current safety procedures and discuss and initiate new security measures. Student and staff safety in our schools is our top priority.”

BEAUMONT – A Nacogdoches man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations. Tremaine Smith, 27, pleaded guilty on September 5, 2012, to possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. He was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark to 63 months in federal prison. On June 20, 2012, a federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment charging 10 defendants, including Smith, with drug trafficking violations.

According to information presented in court, from 2008 to June 20, 2012, Donald Dixon, a.k.a. “Black”, Cedrick Fowler, a.k.a. “C” and “C-Murder”, Kerry Wayne Griffin, a.k.a. “Big Boy”, Omar Paunetto, Jose Angel Bustillos, Michael John Pereira, Rodney Stevenson, a.k.a. “Arod”, Darius Thorn, a.k.a. “Bs” and “Beez”, Tremaine Smith and Anthony Fowler conspired to traffic cocaine and crack cocaine throughout East Texas.

Smith’s role in the conspiracy was to acquire powder cocaine from C. Fowler and then convert it into a “crack” cocaine base. Smith would then redistribute the crack cocaine to others in East Texas.