One shot near elementary school in Nacogdoches

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KETK) – One person was injured in a shooting that happened near Carpenter Elementary School in Nacogdoches on Sunday.

According to Nacogdoches Police Department, officers responded to 1005 Leroy Street near Carpenter Elementary School at around 12:52 a.m. because of reported gunshots near there.

Officers arrived at the scene and were told that a person was shot and then taken to a local hospital for treatment. The officers went over to the hospital and were told that an unknown person had shot the victim with a firearm.

One person the officers talked to during their investigation was arrested after they were found to be in possession of a controlled substance. Anyone with information about the shooting can contact Nacogdoches PD at 936-559-2607.

One dead after ATV crashes into fallen tree in Nacogdoches County

APPLEBY, Texas (KETK) – Nacogdoches County officials said one man has died after his ATV ran into a fallen tree on Saturday near Lake Naconiche.

According to Nacogdoches County Precinct 3 Constable Roger Dudley, a man was driving his ATV on County Road 134, north of Appleby and to the south of Lake Naconiche, just before 11 p.m. on Saturday when the ATV struck a tree that fell across the county road.

Hitting the tree caused the ATV to flip into the air, ejecting the driver before the ATV landed upside down, according to Dudley. The Central Heights/Appleby Fire Department, the Nacogdoches Fire Department and the Nacogdoches Ambulance Service responded to the crash scene and attempted life saving measures but the victim’s injuries were too serious.

Dudley said the victim’s wife informed his office that her husband did not survive his injuries from the crash. Dudley asked the public for many prayers for her family following this loss.

Sheriff searching for crash suspect

Sheriff searching for crash suspectRUSK COUNTY – The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office is currently searching for a man wanted in connection to a crash that happened on Highway 79 on Friday. According to the sheriff’s office, a two-vehicle crash happened at around 6 p.m. on Friday on Highway 79 near County Road 341 in Chapman. Dispatchers were told that two people fled from the crash scene on foot.

The Texas Department of Public Safety was able to locate one of those suspects from the crash scene but one man wasn’t found during their search on Friday. The sheriff’s office identified that man as Derek Laningham. On Saturday at around 8 a.m., a resident called the sheriff’s office from County Road 341 because a man had entered his home and took his car keys and clothes. The sheriff’s office said this man was also identified as Derek Laningham.

Deputies searched the area near the caller’s home on foot and in ATVs but they still haven’t found him as of Saturday night. Laningham now has a warrant out for his arrest and the sheriff’s office asked residents to call them at 903-657-3581 if a suspicious person is spotted near County Road 341.

One arrest in fatal crash

One arrest in fatal crashATHENS – An 18-year-old man was arrested recently in connection to a February fatal crash that left one woman pedestrian dead on FM 2709 near Athens. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and our news partner KETK, Martha Anette Belcher, 73 of Athens, was walking along the westbound lane of FM 2709 near Highway 19 at around 7 a.m. on Feb. 25, when she was hit and killed by a gray Chevrolet Silverado.

Texas State Troopers then investigated to try and identify the vehicle and driver involved in the hit-and-run crash. A DPS press release identified 18-year-old Alexis Davila of Athens as the driver of the Chevrolet. DPS officials said Davila fled the scene of the crash and never reported it to law enforcement. He was arrested on May 29 for collision involving death and tampering/fabricating physical evidence.

Davila was released from the Henderson County Jail on May 30 after posting a $30,000 bond.

Kidnapping charges for fleeing boyfriend

Kidnapping charges for fleeing boyfriendMARSHALL – A man is wanted after police said he kidnapped his ex-girlfriend in Marshall on Saturday, before fleeing to Louisiana. According to our news partner – KETK – and Marshall police, dispatch received a call requesting a welfare check at a property in the 1300 block of East Pinecrest Drive at around 7:29 a.m. Officers responding to the scene, met a woman, who said she had just been kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend.

Officers determined the woman had escaped from her ex-boyfriend, who fled from the scene before they arrived. Police identified the ex-boyfriend as Jamichael Brown.

Brown’s vehicle was later found abandoned in Greenwood, La. Marshall police joined with the Joint Harrison County Violent Crime and Narcotics Task Force, the Waskom Police Department, the Greenwood Police Department, and the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office to conduct a joint search of the area near his vehicle, but were unable to locate Brown. Continue reading Kidnapping charges for fleeing boyfriend

Deputies searching for missing man

Deputies searching for missing manCAMP COUNTY – Camp County Sheriff’s Office deputies are currently searching for a man who was last seen near FM 556 and FM 1519 W. Richard Spence is listed as a white man with brown hair and a goatee who’s about 5-foot 6-inches to 5-foot 8-inches tall and weighs between 120 to 140 pounds.

Spence was last seen wearing a brown t-shirt with yellow print on the front and blue jeans while he was in the area of FM 556 and FM 1519 W.

Anyone with information about Spence’s location or disappearance is asked to call Lt. Randy Huggins at 903-856-6651.

One dead, two injured in Hwy 31 crash

One dead, two injured in Hwy 31 crashBROWNSBORO – 1 person is dead and two people have been injured after a three-vehicle crash happened on Highway 31 between Brownsboro and Chandler on Saturday.

According to Brownsboro Fire Rescue and our news partner KETK, the crash happened at around 9:42 a.m. on Saturday when an 18-wheeler, a pickup truck and a white car crashed in the 19251 block of Highway 31 near Rock Hill Baptist Church.

Brownsboro Fire Rescue told KETK News that one person died in the crash while two others were injured and have been transported to a local hospital for treatment.

The Chandler Volunteer Fire Department and Brownsboro Fire Rescue both responded to the crash scene and they’re diverting traffic to the middle lanes of Highway 31.

Texas governor wants to speed up work on a fly-breeding factory to fight a cattle parasite

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott expressed concern Friday that a new factory isn’t expected to start breeding sterile New World screwworm flies for more than a year as a big part of the effort to stop its flesh-eating larvae from threatening the $113 U.S. billion cattle industry.

Abbott pledged Texas will help the U.S. Department of Agriculture accelerate construction of the $750 million breeding facility outside Edinburg, Texas, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of the U.S.-Mexico border. He said Texas is willing to spend its own funds to see that construction is “24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Without greater sterile fly production, Abbott said during a news conference in the state capital of Austin, “We cannot make it through a second summer.”

The USDA confirmed an infestation of New World screwworm fly larvae this week in a 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio and 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the Mexico border. It was the first case confirmed in Texas since 1966.

The department on Friday announced a second confirmed case found in a one-month-old calf in Zavala County, Texas, about 5.6 miles (9 kilometers) from the first case.

The new factory in Texas is the larger of two fly-breeding facilities funded by the USDA.

Separately, the USDA invested $21 million in converting a site in southern Mexico from breeding fruit flies to breeding screwworm flies. That factory is expected to start producing flies next month, eventually 100 million a week.

The other factory in Texas will be the size of two Costco stores, said Rear Admiral Michael Schmoyer, a member of the USDA’s screwworm response team. It is expected to produce up to 300 million flies a week.

Officials believe both factories are needed to eradicate the fly from the U.S., Mexico and Central America.

Schmoyer said the federal government has already shortened the planning and construction timeline considerably — drafting plans in a few months rather than taking a year, for example. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the USDA hopes it will be running sooner than its planned November 2027 opening date.

But Abbott said Texas is determined to have construction go even faster.

“This is going to spread over the course of the summer,” he said of the fly.
Infestation hits among record beef prices

An untreated infestation of New World screwworm fly larvae can kill an animal, but there are now a dozen government-approved medications to treat livestock. Federal and state officials have been quick to stress that fly’s larvae — which feed on living material — do not infest meat or fruit.

“There’s a food production issue, but not a food safety issue,” Abbott said.

Derrell Peel, a professor of agribusiness at Oklahoma State University, said the beef supply isn’t likely to be affected unless officials restrict cattle movement more than locally or unless infestations appear in feedlots or other places where cattle are concentrated. He does not expect that to happen.

“It’s probably not a major market issue,” he said.

Consumers are paying record beef prices because of a tight cattle supply, and Peel expects prices to rise even further when ranchers take heifers out of the supply chain to rebuild their herds. But he said the arrival of the screwworm in Texas “doesn’t change the supply fundamentals.”

Screwworm outbreaks in Mexico starting in 2024 prompted U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to close U.S. ports of entry to its cattle in May 2025. Mexican imports were once about 1.2 million animals a year and dropped about 80% last year, according to industry statistics.

But Peel said Mexican imports were only about 3% of the U.S. cattle supply.

“It’s been just one more thing on top of others,” he said, not a major driver of prices.

Breeding sterile flies has eradicated pest before

The New World screwworm fly was an annual, warm-weather scourge of U.S. cattle ranchers from at least the 1930s through the 1960s.

But breeding sterile flies and dropping swarms of them from planes eradicated it from the U.S. by the early 1970s, except for a brief outbreak among deer in the Florida Keys in 2016 and a case confirmed in a Maryland man who traveled to El Salvador last year. Until an outbreak in Panama in 2023, the fly had been considered eradicated outside its remote, southernmost region bordering Colombia.

Females mate once in their monthslong lives, and if they breed with sterile male flies, their eggs won’t hatch after being laid in open wounds and mucous membranes of warm-blooded animals, including cattle, wild mammals, household pets and humans.

Once the U.S. and other nations eradicated the fly years ago, they shut down fly-breeding facilities until there was only one left in the Western Hemisphere, in Panama. It can produce about 117 million flies a week.

However, past eradication efforts needed about 500 million flies a week, said Schmoyer, a member of the USDA’s screwworm response team, during Abbott’s news conference.
With fly drops, officials try to predict future

Schmoyer estimated that the USDA already has dispersed 130 million flies in Texas since January, most of them from planes, and those drops are now about 4 million a week. It also is releasing another 4 million a week in the ground as pupae, which are flies in the stage between larvae and adult.

But, even with those millions of flies, the USDA must be strategic about where to disperse them, Schmoyer told reporters. Federal and state officials are using scientific models to predict how the fly will move.

“In essence, it’s not where the flies are today, but where they could be weeks from now,” he said.

Part of the science involves traps, and Texas State Veterinarian Bud Dinges said they’ve been deployed up to 120 miles (193 kilometers) away from La Pryor to monitor the fly’s movement.

New city attorney hired

New city attorney hiredCHANDLER, Texas (KETK) – The Chandler City Council voted to hire a new city attorney in a meeting discussing the city’s leadership on Thursday night. During the meeting, city council discussed the conduct of City Administrator Kalon Rollins and Chandler Police Department Chief Johnny Foster. The city’s agenda for Thursday’s meeting included discussion of improper spending, bond issues, social media policy and hiring policy under Rollins and Foster.

The city council members also voted to hire Ronald D. Stutes, 67 of Tyler, as the new Chandler City Attorney during Thursday’s meeting. Stutes is a member of the Fairchild, Price, Haley & Smith law firm and has represented both the City of Palestine and the City of Dallas.

Ultimately, no formal action was taken against either Rollins or Foster at Thursday’s meeting.

Fugitive arrested by US Marshals

Fugitive arrested by US MarshalsPANOLA COUNTY – Charles Seth Alexander, 38 of Timpson, was captured by the US Marshals Joint East Texas Fugitive Taskforce in Nacogdoches County on Friday. Alexander was a wanted fugitive out of Panola County and was the subject of a manhunt on Wednesday before he left the area.

According to the Panola County Sheriff’s Office and our news partner KETK, multiple agencies actively searched the vicinity of County Road 198 and County Road 176. Deputies were assisted by tracking dogs, horses and drones as they work through heavily wooded terrain.

Officials had asked the public to stay clear of the search zone, lock their homes and vehicles and secure outdoor pets until the situation is resolved. Authorities have not yet released additional details about the fugitive or what led to the search.

Administrator resigns citing ‘toxic atmosphere’

Administrator resigns citing ‘toxic atmosphere’CHANDLER, Texas (KETK) – Chandler city administrator Kalon Rollins issued his resignation on Friday, saying it’s in his best interest to remove himself from a “toxic atmosphere” in the city’s government. Rollins’ resignation comes after a Thursday city council meeting where Chandler city council members considered taking action against Rollins and the current Chandler Police Chief Johnny Foster for improper spending, bond issues, social media policy and hiring policies.

“There comes a point when all efforts have failed, a change is required. With much thought and prayer, I have decided it is in my best interest to remove myself from the ongoing toxic atmosphere within the city government,” Rollins said on Friday. “I respect the fact that a newly elected council can bring new ideas and potential changes in city government procedures, and in some cases new ideas from newcomers can often contribute to an increase in a city’s abilities.”

“I believe a few of the current council members have the best intentions in mind to bring positive change to the city, but only time will tell if they have the fortitude to make the needed changes,” Rollins said. “With that being said, however, I do not see a positive path forward under the current circumstances. If a city council does not have trust in their administrative staff or conversely staff in the council, there can be no way to move and grow in a positive direction.” Continue reading Administrator resigns citing ‘toxic atmosphere’

Arrest made in deadly hit and run crash

ATHENS – Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers have arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with a deadly hit-and-run crash that happened in February. Alexis Davila has been charged in the death of Martha Belcher, 73, of Athens. The wreck happened in the early morning hours on FM 2709, when Belcher was walking along the westbound lane, and was struck and killed by a vehicle. Investigators determined the gray Chevrolet Silverado – driven by Davila – fled the scene. Troopers said Davila did not report the crash. He is charged with failure to stop and render aid involving death, and tampering with physical evidence.

Teen thieves shot by resident

Teen thieves shot by residentLONGVIEW – Two Longview teenage juveniles were shot on Friday morning as they were committing theft at a Baxley Lane residence.

According to our news partner KETK and the Longview Police Department, officers went out to Baxley Lane near Ron Street at around 3 a.m. on Friday after a shooting was reported. When the officers arrived, they found two juveniles at the scene with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.

Longview PD said the two teens were “committing theft” when a resident confronted them with a gun and shot them.

Detectives with Longview PD are currently investigating this incident and anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the criminal investigations division at 903-237-1199.