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RUSK COUNTY – Our news partner, KETK, reports that the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office assisted the U.S. Marshal’s Service in putting the top 10 most wanted sex offenders in Texas behind bars.

Thaddeus C. Hodge has been wanted since 2023 for violating his parole after he was found guilty on two counts of indecency with a child in 2018. Hodge has also been wanted by Rusk County since August 2024, for failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements and for debit and credit card abuse.

Deputies found Hodge inside his home located at the south end of the county, and he was taken into custody.

TYLER – Tyler’s City Council approved two new Class A Burn Buildings for the Tyler Fire Department. Class A Burn Buildings are used to simulate realistic fire conditions such as smoke, fire and heat for training purposes.

According to our news partner, KETK, the city purchased these portable buildings for $129,713. There is currently one Class A Burn Building for the department. The building’s structure has a two-chamber design which mirrors actual fire scenarios .Additional buildings were needed in order to meet state requirements. Two or more Class A fires need to be ignited through their training and Tyler firefighters have had to travel out of the city to get that training.

The two new Burn Buildings will be added to the department’s current training facility located near Fair Park Drive.

LONGVIEW– A Longview middle school student was detained Tuesday morning after officers were alerted of a photo online showing the student with a firearm in a school restroom.

According to a report from our news partner, KETK, around 10:45 a.m. a Longview police school officer was made aware of an online photo of a student with a firearm in the Foster Middle School restroom. Officials said that the investigation revealed that the incident occurred on Monday during an after-school event.

The student was immediately detained and transported to Gregg County Juvenile Detention Center on third-degree felony, exhibition, use or threat of exhibition or use of firearms. Continue reading Student accused of bringing gun to school

WINNSBORO — Winnsboro ISD announced their new high school principal on Monday night during their school board meeting. According to our news partner KETK, Dr. Cody Holloway, currently associate principal at Royse City ISD, has been named to the position. Dr. Holloway has 14 years of experience at Terrell ISD, Red Oak ISD and Pine Tree ISD.

In a release from the district Holloway said, “I am excited for the opportunity to join Winnsboro ISD. I am passionate about creating an educational environment where every student can thrive and grow. Furthermore, I believe it is important to build positive relationships with students, staff, and community members.”

MOUNT PLEASANT – Our news partner, KETK, reports that a man accused of stealing over 1,500 pounds of copper wire was arrested by the Titus County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said that in late February, investigators became aware of a man selling unusual amounts of scrap copper several times a week. Investigators believed the copper was being stolen from a business in Mount Pleasant so they began to communicate with the business’s owners.

After weeks of monitoring the man, investigators received a tip on Saturday alerting them that the man was back at the business where they suspected he was taking the wire from. Officials responded to the tip and arrested the man who was identified as James David Robertson. Continue reading Man arrested for stealing over 1,500 pounds of copper

TYLER – J Star Ministries and Texans on Mission are preparing to bring relief and resources to tornado outbreak victims in the South and Midwest.

According to our news partner, KETK, East Texas organizations are doing what they do best gearing up to help people in need. On Wednesday, J Star Ministries will go to Cave City and Diaz, Ark. Patrick Johnson, the nonprofit’s founder, is asking for donations on his social media platform. Johnson is asking for financial donations and items, including water, non-perishables, dog food, cat food and other basic needs.

“The typical basic needs such as water, Gatorade, tarps, first aid kits, toilet paper, paper towel, nonperishable food items, chips, snacks, drinks and first aid kits,” founder of J Star Ministries, Patrick Johnson, said. Continue reading Nonprofits bring relief efforts to tornado victims

LONGVIEW — CHRISTUS Health is hosting a hiring event in Longview on Thursday for healthcare professionals who want to start or further their career. According to CHRISTUS Health and our news partner KETK, the event will take place at 2005 Tolar Road inside El Sombrero from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. for people to interact with hospital leaders. On-the-spot interviews will be conducted for opportunities to discover diverse career paths, along with food, refreshments and giveaways. Full-time and part-time schedules will be available for candidates ready to achieve their personal and professional goals.

“We are looking for dedicated professionals to join our faith-based ministry and provide the best, compassionate care in the region,” CHRISTUS Health Manager of Talent Acquisition Michaela Ahlfinger said.

CHRISTUS Good Shepherd in Longview is celebrating their 90th anniversary this year and recently broke ground on the CHRISTUS Cancer Center which opened in January. Continue reading CHRISTUS Health to host hiring event in Longview

TEXARKANA– According to our news partner KETK, four men were arrested on Friday after investigators conducted a sting operation targeting individuals attempting to solicit sex with a minor or prostitute in Texarkana. According to Texarkana Police Department, for several days investigators ran a sting operation to target people attempting to solicit sex and as a result, arrested four men.

Officials said that Gregory Alane Frame, 45 of Wake Village and Derek Dean Thomas, 33 of Henderson, were communicating with an undercover officer posing as an underage girl and then showed up at a location expecting to meet her. Frame was arrested for online solicitation of a minor sexual conduct and Thomas was arrested for online solicitation of a minor sexual conduct and unlawfully carrying a weapon.

Texarkana PD said Cameron Lamont Dotson, 21 of Texarkana, was arrested for online solicitation of prostitution while Robert Hopkins, 37 of Texarkana, was arrested for online solicitation of prostitution and manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance. All four men are currently being held in the Bowie County Jail.

PALESTINE – An East Texas State legislator is pushing for a bill that would support veterans who are facing Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) according to our news partner KETK.

East Texas State Representative Cody Harris of Palestine has proposed HB 3717 which would provide $50 million in private and public funding for research into ibogaine-assisted therapy. The therapy focuses on working with veterans who are suffering from (OUD) or Substance Use Disorder (SUD) along with other neurological and mental health conditions. Harris spoke about how the bill could transform the lives of many veterans across the state by giving them a second chance through recovery from addiction.

“This bill puts Texas at the forefront of medical innovation and personal freedom by cutting through federal red tape and supporting life-saving research that could give our veterans and countless others a second chance. We can’t afford to wait —Texas must lead the way,” Harris said.

Click here to learn more about HB 3717 through the Texas Legislature online.

CARTHAGE – Our news partner, KETK, reports that the Carthage Police Department has arrested the suspect accused of hitting a 5-year-old child with their car on Sunday.

According to officials, the suspect, Jhavorry Crayton, was found in Longview on Thursday afternoon and was arrested by the Longview Police Department. Crayton was taken to the Gregg County Jail and charged with collision involving injury, evading arrest and tamper or fabricating with physical evidence. Continue reading Suspect in Hit-and-run of child in Carthage arrested

TYLER – On Thursday, March 20, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Tyler Water Utilities (TWU) will conduct a come-and-go community meeting in District 1 at the South Tyler Police Station, Meeting Room, 574 W. Cumberland Rd. This come-and-go event will feature information stations staffed by Department Directors and the opportunity for individuals to speak directly with Councilmember Stuart Hene. Water Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) will also be available to assist with individual account questions. Customers are encouraged to attend the event in their district and speak one-on-one with subject matter experts to learn more about TWU, utility billing, and improvement projects, voice questions or concerns, and provide feedback on these topics. Residents should bring a copy of their water bill for specific billing questions. Continue reading TWU hosts public meeting for District 1 on Thursday

SMITH COUNTY – According to our news partner KETK, three people were recently arrested in connection to an East Texas undercover prostitution victim recovery operation. Documents obtained by KETK show that a special agent with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigative Division in Tyler is part of an ongoing multi-agency operation tasked with identifying and recovering victims of human trafficking.

The special agent reported in an arrest affidavit that an undercover officer solicited a prostitute through an online advertisement containing a phone number. As a part of the ongoing operation, a meeting was set up for an hour of sexual services, records show. An unreported hotel address and room number were sent and when the suspected prostitute showed up they were met by law enforcement and taken to a Texas DPS office to be questioned, according to an arrest affidavit.

A message asking about why the suspected prostitute wasn’t answering their phone was then received by the undercover officer and an arrest document described how a nearby surveillance team noticed the driver of a 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix talking to a bystander. Continue reading Three arrested for promoting prostitution after undercover operation

CROCKETT – A man who allegedly impersonated a federal agent and then shot around 30 bullets from an AR-15 outside of the Houston County Sheriff’s Office was arrested on Saturday. According to our news partner KETK, 34-year-old Clifford Heniser, of Lovelady, come into the sherriff’s office that morning around 7 a.m. claiming to be a federal agent and wanting to inspect their record. The dispatcher Heniser was speaking with, told him that a deputy was on the way as all other deputies were on patrol at that time.

Heniser then allegedly left the lobby and retrieved an AR-15 style rifle from his vehicle. Officials said he went back into the lobby to talk to dispatchers but all the dispatchers were taking cover and calling for help. According to the sheriff’s office, Heniser had reloaded and walked around the parking lot by the time that two Crockett police officers and a Texas DPS trooper arrived to confront him.
Continue reading One arrested after shooting AR-15 outside Houston County Sherriff’s Office

GLADEWATER – The Gladewater Fire Department responded to Lake Gladewater on Friday to help retrieve an SUV that fell into the water. According to our news partner KETK, an emergency call came in about an SUV in Lake Gladewater on that afternoon and when firefighters arrived on the scene they found the vehicle partly submerged in the lake near a boat ramp.

Firefighters with Gladewater Fire Department were able to contain the SUV’s fuel which was leaking into the lake. They also had to deploy their boat in order clean up parts which floated away from the vehicle. The vehicle itself was eventually removed from Lake Gladewater with the assistance of a backhoe and a tow truck.

MARSHALL – A Marshall man has been arrested following an altercation that resulted in a woman being struck by his car. Taken into custody is 34-year-old Brandon Carey. MPD said they received a call early Saturday morning about a female been run over by a vehicle near the intersection of University Avenue and Wiley Avenue.

When officers arrived, they found 2018 Dodger Charger on the curb, a female partially underneath it and Brandon Carey identified as its driver. Detectives investigating revealed that Carey and the female had been involved in a physical altercation at a party. The pair left together in Carey’s vehicle. After stopping on University Avenue near Wiley Avenue, the situation escalated, resulting in the female being struck by the vehicle. The female was transported to a local medical center for treatment. Her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Brandon Carey was arrested and charged with Aggravated Assault, as well as Abandoning and Endangering a Child, after leaving three children home alone to pick up the female. He was booked into the Harrison County Jail, where he remains. The investigation is continuing by Marshall Police.

TYLER – The Tyler Police Department is currently working a traffic flow at the intersection of Paluxy Dr and ESE Loop 323 in Tyler, Smith County, Texas.  A power pole, transformer and electrical lines have fallen across the roadway, blocking Paluxy on the south side of the intersection. As a result, northbound and southbound traffic is being diverted.  Oncor has responded to the scene and estimates a minimum repair time of 8 hours. Motorists are urged to use alternate routes and exercise caution in the area.
 

AUSTIN (AP) — A Texas lawmaker who helped pioneer the state’s restrictive abortion laws introduced a bill on Friday to clarify medical exceptions allowed under the law, representing a pivot from Republican legislators who have defended the state’s abortion ban in the face of lawsuits and medical scrutiny.

The bill, introduced by Republican state Sen. Bryan Hughes, still requires that patients have a medical emergency for a physician to perform an abortion but strikes language that it be a life-threatening condition. The bill would also require doctors and lawyers to receive training about the law.

“We’ve learned in a number of cases where the physician was willing to treat the mom, but the lawyers for the hospital would advise against it,” Hughes said. “So one of the most important things we want to do is make sure that doctors and the hospital lawyers are trained on what the law is.”
Continue reading Mineola senator introduces bill to clarify Texas abortion ban

TYLER – The Smith County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman after she allegedly gave birth to a baby that was found dead in her bathtub on Wednesday. According to our news partner KETK,, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office received a call from an emergency room in Tyler about a woman who claimed to have delivered a placenta in her home earlier that day. 27-year-old Esmeralda Duran Rodriguez, reportedly had no baby with her when she arrived at the emergency room. The sheriff’s office said deputies then went to her home in north-central Smith County to investigate.

Deputies met Rodriguez’s brother and officials reported that the deputies were allowed into the home to search for a baby. Deputies found the placenta on a bed along with a severed umbilical cord, according to a press release. After initially searching, deputies could find no baby in the home but the deputies kept searching and eventually officials said they were able to find the body of a dead baby.
Continue reading Woman arrested after dead baby found in Smith County home

TYLER – The Tyler Police Department is currently managing a traffic flow at the intersection of Bow St. and N. Broadway in Tyler, Smith County, Texas. A fallen power pole has brought down LIVE electrical lines, blocking the roadway. As a result, all northbound and southbound traffic in the 700-900 block of N. Broadway is closed. Encore Electric has been notified and estimates a response time of three to four hours. Motorists are urged to use alternate routes and exercise caution in the area.

SMITH COUNTY – When Smith County officials attempted to push out an alert to residents about high winds and fire danger on Friday, a system error sent out the wrong message.
At 12:08 p.m., Smith County residents instead received a text labeled urgent that warned them of a hazard and to avoid the area.

Smith County recently started using FEMA’s IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert & Warning System), which allows officials to send urgent texts to all Smith County residents’ cell phones. The IPAWS delivery report contained the original intended message and not the mistaken message that was sent out to 9,262 people. There was never a hazard in Smith County nd officials are trying to figure out why the system sent the wrong message.
Continue reading Smith County alert sent out in error Friday

WINONA – Our news partners at KETK report the Smith County Sheriff’s Office said a person was killed on Friday near Winona after equipment fell on them while at work. A spokesperson with the sheriff’s office said dispatchers received an emergency call about a workplace incident where a piece of equipment had fallen on someone at around 12:43 p.m. while working on Southside Circle near Howell Club Lake. CPR was performed on the victim until 12:56 p.m. and they were pronounced dead at 1 p.m., the sheriff’s office said. Local firefighters and EMS responded to the scene along with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, who is actively investigating the incident.

LONGVIEW – Our news partner, KETK, reports that a Longview man was sentenced to 100 years in prison after being found guilty for multiple counts of sexual abuse to a child.

According to the Gregg County District Attorney’s Office, on Thursday Justin Eugene Howard was sentenced to 80 years for aggravated sexual assault of a child to run consecutively with a 20 year sentence for sexual assault of a child followed by 10 years of probation for indecency with a child by sexual contact.

Officials said that Howard’s convictions come from his continuous sexual abuse of a girl that began back in 2008, when the child was 6-years-old and it continued through 2020. The testimony at trial showed that Howard committed several sexual offenses against the child from 2008 to 2020. Continue reading Longview man sentenced to 100 years after sexually abusing child

TYLER – According to reports from our news partner, KETK, an East Texas representative filed a bill in late February meant to protect children from sexually explicit material in public libraries.

State Representative Daniel Alders filed House Bill 3225 on Feb. 24, which would require public municipal libraries to restrict accessibility to sexually explicit material for minors.

“As radicals continue to target our children with obscene content tucked away in our children’s reading material, it’s high time for Texas lawmakers to take a stand and ensure our public libraries take the necessary steps to protect our children,” Alders said. Continue reading East Texas representative proposes bill to protect children from explicit content

TYLER – A Shreveport, LA, man has been sentenced to over 21 years in federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. Darren Tremaine Jackson, 41, was convicted at trial in March 2024 of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Jackson was sentenced to 260 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on March 12, 2025. According to information presented in court, on February 13, 2020, Jackson, and co-defendant Gary Wayne Sepulvado, were stopped by law enforcement officers for a traffic violation in Smith County. After observing a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, a search was executed, and a kilogram of methamphetamine was discovered. Sepulvado pleaded guilty to related charges on November 15, 2023, and is awaiting sentencing.

MALAKOFF — Malakoff Independent School District held a special board meeting Wednesday as the Board of Trustees named Dr. PJ Winters the lone finalist for their new superintendent.

According to our news partner, KETK, Dr. Winters brings over 20 years of experience in education to the job. He was a teacher for over five years working at Lukfata Public Schools and Marshall ISD. Then, he became an assistant principal for Jefferson ISD for over three years.

Winters became a principal at Big Sandy High School for a year before returning to Jefferson ISD, where he was also a principal for two and a half years. Afterwards, he started working at the university level and became a professor. At East Baptist University he spent over eight years working as an associate professor and later as the director of music education programs. On June 2022, Winters joined Malakoff ISD becoming director of elementary curriculum.

Winters will be staying with Malakoff ISD as the new Superintendent. The Malakoff ISD Board of Trustees voted him as the lone finalist 7-0. Once the required 21-day waiting period is over, he will formally take over the role.

HENDERSON COUNTY – According to reports from our news partner, KETK, a sting operation in Henderson County has led to the arrest of a man who was attempting to solicit a minor.

During the sting operation on Monday, an officer utilized an online dating messaging platform to target individuals who were seeking to have sexual relationships with minors. The officer created an undercover persona, portraying himself as a 15-year-old girl living in Henderson County. The officer’s profile on the website received direct messages from an account with the username “Rob.” During their conversations on the platform, the user believed that the officer was a minor living in East Texas. Continue reading Man arrested for soliciting minor in Henderson County sting operation

TERREL — A Wills Point teenager was killed during a car crash in Terrell on Tuesday.

According to our news partner, KETK, the Terrell Police Department received a 911 call at around 2:49 a.m. in regards to a crash detection notification from a cell phone in the area of State Highway 205 and Colquitt Road. When officers arrived, they found an orange 2020 Chevrolet Equinox that had struck a traffic light pole on the right side of the roadway.

The passenger of the vehicle, 19-year-old Bryson Malachi Barnes of Wills Point, was pronounced dead at the scene, Terrell PD said. The driver, Preston David Grosvenor-Reed, 18 of Royse City, was taken to a hospital for minor injuries. Continue reading East Texas teen dies in Terrell car crash, driver arrested