KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — Big changes are coming to UT Health Science Center at Tyler. Meeting on the Tyler campus, the UT Board of Regents approved the lease of a new property along West Gentry Parkway. Officials tell KETK it will be used as a multi-purpose clinic with educational and meeting spaces. The officials add that through the new property, they’ll “be working with the community to identify those services that will best meet the community’s healthcare needs.” Also, the health science center will start doing business as UT Health Northeast. According to UTHSCT spokespeople, “The official name is still The University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler. We’ll just use the shortened version – UT Health Northeast – to make it easier for people to know what to call us.”

TYLER – 28-year-old child death defendant Simon Lopez has been sentenced to life in prison after entering a guilty plea Friday morning in the 7th Smith County Judicial Court. KETK reports the case involved the murder of Emma Torres’s one-year-old son, Jeremy Silva, in 2010. Authorities say Silva died from blunt force trauma. Lopez had been watching him at the time. He called Torres’s relatives to tell them that the boy wasn’t breathing, but then fled the scene. He was later arrested in Mexico, and was arraigned on capital murder charges. Emma Torres, the 21-year-old mother charged in the death, was sentenced in October to two years in a state jail facility for child abandonment/endangering a child after she pleaded guilty.

LUFKIN — Lufkin Fire officials are investigating a second consecutive night of house fires in North Lufkin as arson, as reported by the Lufkin Daily News and KETK. According to Lufkin Fire Marshal Battalion Chief Steve McCool, around 3:50 a.m. Wednesday the department was called to the corner of Wilson Avenue and Wilson Alley for a blaze that destroyed two vacant homes and a garage. The blaze is being investigated as arson in connection with a Tuesday morning outbreak of fires at a vacant home, an occupied home and a vehicle. The Wednesday morning fire occurred less than a mile from the Tuesday morning fires.

UPSHUR COUNTY — An Upshur County man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine after he sold cattle that belonged to First National Bank of Gilmer without repaying the bank money he owed, District Attorney Billy Byrd said Thursday. According to KETK, Gary Hammonds, 59, received three loans from First National Bank of Gilmer during 2007, Byrd said. The loans, which totaled $415,000, not including interest incurred, were to purchase cattle, Byrd said.

There were multiple inspections to review the bank’s cows; however, it was learned that the cows were sold and no money was paid back to the bank, Byrd said. Hammonds admitted in court he sold the cows and used the money to pay loans at other banks, Byrd said.

Hammonds added in court that he lied to bank officials when showing them the cattle during inspections throughout the years, Byrd said. Hammonds was charged with hindering a security creditor. District Judge Lauren Parish handed out his sentence this past week.

SMITH COUNTY — The trial date has been set for one of the men who was allegedly involved in the sexual assault of a child near a mobile home park in Tyler. Thomas Brookbank, 21, was arrested earlier this year after a 9 year old told her mother about the alleged assault. According to KETK, she claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Brookbank in a clubhouse in the woods behind a mobile home park on Shiloh Road. The trial date has been set for Monday, January 14 at 10:00 in a Smith County courtroom.

The victim stated that the assaults had occurred on numerous occasions over the past month in a wooded area, where the suspect, known as “Tom,” had made a club house. Five children have been identified as victims in the case.

A second person was arrested in connection with the sexual assault case. 21-year-old Todd Gifford Wisdom was booked into the Smith County jail and his bond was set at $22,500. He has been charged with distributing harmful material to a minor. A court date has not yet been set for Wisdom.

ATHENS – Athens school trustees have named Blake Stiles as the lone finalist for the superintendent post. The action came Thursday following a lengthy executive session by the school board. Under state law, they must wait 21 days before making the decision final. Stiles has been serving as the school system’s interim superintendent since early last month, when school superintendent Dr. Robert Steeber stepped down.

GLADEWATER — One person was injured in an accident involving a school bus crash in Upshur County. It happened just before 4:15 yesterday afternoon at the intersection of U.S. Highway 80 and Pear Road near the city of Gladewater, according to the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office. The Big Sandy school bus was hit from the rear by an ice cream truck. The “jaws of life” were used to pull the truck’s driver out. He suffered minor injuries. There were three adults and a child aboard the bus, but they were not injured.

TYLER — Tyler police officers have located a woman who had been reported missing. Hazel Bryan, 83, had last been seen around 10:15 yesterday morning walking away from her home at 3430 Iberville in Tyler. She was found yesterday afternoon near the 3200 block of Silverwood Drive in Tyler and is now back at home. Police are expressing their appreciation to residents who helped find Bryan.

MARSHALL – A 52-year-old Marshall man has been sentenced for federal drug trafficking violations. Randy Lee Smart pleaded guilty on July 16 to possession of pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine. During a Marshall federal court proceeding yesterday, he was sentenced to 115 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap.

Federal prosecutors say on June 13, 2010, Smart purchased cold pills containing pseudoephedrine at a CVS store in Marshall with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine. Smart also admitted that the total quantity of pseudoephedrine that he possessed was between 100 and 300 grams. Smart and Tamara Lynn Olivares were indicted by a federal grand jury on Aug. 4, 2011. Olivares was sentenced to 43 months in federal prison on July 3rd of this year.

TEXARKANA — An Upshur County man’s life sentence for dealing less than a gram of cocaine has been affirmed this week by the Texas 6th Court of Appeals in Texarkana. On Wednesday, an appeals panel found no error had occurred in the life sentence of Kirk Douglas Bolton, 57, in Upshur County’s 115th Judicial Court in late 2011. KETK reports he was found guilty of delivery of cocaine less than one gram in a school zone of a daycare.

During the sentencing phase, the state prosecution was able to convince jurors Bolton was a habitual offender, raising the minimum punishment to 25 years up to life behind bars. The jury handed down a life sentence. The dealer appealed based on alleged insufficient evidence, an alternate juror present during deliberations, and limited cross-examination of an informant. The appeals panel sided with the trial court’s judgment in all of Bolton’s arguments.

TYLER — The Smith County Commissioners Court has approved the voting results from the November 6 General Election, including alcohol propositions that were passed by voters. Commissioner JoAnn Hampton presided over yesterday’s meeting in Judge Joel Baker’s absence. She stated proper procedure was followed. Regarding sales of beer and wine, the commissioner told KETK following the court’s adjournment, “Whatever the process is, we can move right on with it.” When asked about the petition filed by Stand Strong for Tyler challenging the alcohol propositions, she declined to comment until it was heard by a judge

MARSHALL – A 40-year-old Karnack woman has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the East Texas. Peggy Ann Davis pleaded guilty on June 22 to possession of pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine. She was sentenced yesterday in Marshall to 120 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap.

According to prosecutors, Davis was involved in a conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine in East Texas. The conspiracy involved defendants traveling to multiple pharmacies to purchase numerous boxes of cold pills containing pseudoephedrine which is used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. An 839-count federal indictment was returned on Feb. 1, 2012, charging Davis and 16 other co-defendants with federal drug crimes. Of those defendants, 14 have been convicted.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — Van Zandt County Crime Stoppers has authorized $1,400 in rewards for tips that led to the arrest of a Chandler man in the October 25 home invasion and beating of a 97-year-old woman in the Callender Lake area south of Ben Wheeler.

A $1,000 reward was approved for an anonymous caller whose tip led to the arrest of David Taylor of Chandler on October 28. He is accused of beating the elderly woman in a home invasion, stealing her car, and evading police and sheriff’s deputies who pursued him following the tip. The woman survived the beating but was hospitalized for an extended period.

Crime Stoppers also approved a $400 reward for a tip that led authorities to a Wills Point man wanted on a number of warrants, including robbery, drug possession, and felony theft.

JACKSONVILLE — Last month, Stacy Hunter, was gunned down by his own cousin. Hunter made a lasting impact on the community having been a little league coach for years and a city employee. The mark “Coach Stacy” made is so big, there’s a petition going around in Jacksonville for the city to declare November 1, “Stacy Hunter” day.

KETK spoke with one of Hunter’s relatives, Cindy Hollis. She and Hunter’s sister Veronica have an online petition on http://www.change.org with hundreds of signatures as well as a handwritten one with many more than that. They will take it to the city for them to discuss. The day they are proposing is November 1, Coach Stacy’s birthday.

Jimmy DeShawn Mosely, 24, turned himself in and has been charged in Hunter’s death.

TYLER – A Tyler man is accused of pulling a knife on his roommate. It happened around 8:30 last night at 606 Woodland Hills. Arriving officers were told that the suspect was still in the residence. Police attempted to call him out using a loud speaker. After a while the suspect, identified as Jeffrey Logan, 37, came out and was arrested. No injuries were reported.

TYLER — East Texans are among the many Texans who have voiced their displeasure with the direction the United States is moving, and they’re holding a local nationalist movement meeting. The Smith County Texas Nationalist meeting is scheduled to take place tonight. The organization will hold its event at 6:30pm at The Diner on the 7900 block of South Broadway Avenue in Tyler. According to a flyer sent to the media, the group plans to use the meeting “to familiarize local citizens with the organization goals to promote, secure and protect the political, cultural and economic independence of Texas.”

The organization claims the Texas Nationalist Movement has experienced major growth leading up to and after the presidential election. Smith County resident Tammy Blair, a member of the movement, tells KETK the group is doing it for liberty. “This is a peaceful movement. That’s important. We’re not looking for war. And if people think that we are, we’re certainly not. It’s not a racist movement, it’s a movement about liberty,” she said.

Meanwhile, in a statement Tuesday, Texas Governor Rick Perry chose not to support the cause. “Gov. [Rick] Perry believes in the greatness of our Union and nothing should be done to change it,” his press secretary Catherine Frazier wrote in a statement to the Dallas Morning News. “But he also shares the frustrations many Americans have with our federal government.” As of Wednesday morning, a petition on the White House website asking for the peaceful withdrawal of the state of Texas from the union has reached nearly 100,000 signatures. Only 25,000 are needed to elicit a response from President Obama, but he has yet to comment.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tyler Congressman Louie Gohmert will join leaders of a group known as Special Operations Speaks as they present a petition regarding the recent killings of Americans in Benghazi. The petition is to be presented Thursday in Washington. It contains the names of more than 100,000 Americans demanding a special prosecutor be appointed to fully investigate events surrounding the incident. According to information from Gohmert’s office, “The leadership of Special Operations Speaks and a majority of the American people by a 51% to 38% margin do not approve of the way the Obama Administration has handled the Benghazi massacre.” The group hopes such a prosecutor will be appointed “to fully investigate all circumstances and report back to the American people.”

TYLER — A 44-year-old Dallas man has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in East Texas. Fidencio Homero Martinez pleaded guilty in March to possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced yesterday to 180 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider.

Federal prosecutors say, on September 3, 2011, Martinez was a passenger in a van stopped for a traffic violation in Titus County. Martinez gave the State Trooper conflicting stories regarding where they were headed and denied having drugs in the vehicle. Martinez also claimed responsibility for all items in the van and gave consent to search the vehicle. During the search, approximately 9 kilograms of cocaine was located behind the driver’s seat. Martinez was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 8, 2012 and charged with drug trafficking violations.

AUSTIN — Legislation filed in Austin by an East Texan would make it illegal for TSA agents to perform the so-called “enhanced pat-downs.” Under the bill filed by State Representative David Simpson of Longview, TSA agents who perform such actions could be charged with a misdemeanor crime. Simpson says, “I’m hopeful that Texas will lead the way in reining in this abuse.” The last time such a bill passed, it was pulled when the U.S. attorney general threatened to cancel flights to Texas.

LONGVIEW — Three families have been displaced after a structure fire near downtown Longview. KETK reports that shortly after noon yesterday, fire officials were alerted to a blaze at a triplex on the 100 block of East Melton Street. Firefighters were able to put out the flames in a short time and rescue a dog trapped inside. The fire is believed to have started after the family started using a stove to heat the home and it caught a nearby wall on fire. No injuries were reported. Since cold weather has arrived in East Texas, if the suspected cause proves to be true, this would be the second fire in Longview caused by an unobserved heating device.

TITUS COUNTY — Mount Pleasant police officers found about 745 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop of U-Haul van on Interstate Highway 30 East. Officer Juan Hernandez’s canine partner VADAR, alerted to the van, and a search revealed the marijuana “bundled and hidden in the back of the van,” Mount Pleasant Police Chief Wayne Isbell said. Wilber Pressley, 40, of Spring and Ralph Ross, 37, of Detroit, Mich., were arrested and charged with possession of between 50 and 2,000 pounds of marijuana. They were being held in the Titus County Jail, each on $75,000 bond, Isbell said. The estimated street value of the seized marijuana is around $525,000, Isbell said.

WHITE OAK — Three people are hospitalized after a Gregg County wreck. It happened yesterday morning on U.S. Highway 80 in the White Oak area. Gregg County D-P-S officials told KETK a woman’s pickup truck ran out of gas, coming to a stop in the right eastbound lane. Her husband arrived on scene to tow her vehicle and parked directly in front of hers. While he was working between the vehicles, another driver hit the back end of the woman’s vehicle, pinning her husband between the two trucks. The man was flown to a Tyler hospital with serious injuries. The woman and other driver were taken to local hospitals.

TYLER — The Tyler Fire Department responded to a two alarm structure fire at Bullard Crossing Apartments, 5105 Old Bullard. Five engines and one Ladder Company, along with a district chief and an investigator, responded to the scene shortly after 7:00 yesterday morning. Fire personnel were able to bring the fire under control quickly and damage was limited to one apartment. The apartment above the fire sustained slight smoke damage. No injuries were reported and previously evacuated residents in the surrounding units were returned to their apartments. The Fire Marshal’s office is conducting the investigation. A cause has not yet been determined.

LUFKIN — A man who allegedly tried to rob a Lufkin bank earlier this month is behind bars after numerous tipsters were able to identify him. According to KETK, Anthony Dewayne Bond, 23, of Cleveland is accused of entering the First Bank and Trust on November 5 and giving the teller a fake withdrawal slip for the amount of $5,000.

On the slip was a fake name and account number. After running the name and account through the bank’s computer system, no match was made. She asked Bond for identification, but he refused. After noticing the back of the slip demanded money to be put in a zip lock bag, the teller then left to speak with a manager, but when she returned, Bond had left the scene.

After releasing photos of Bond to the public, multiple tips, including one from a Nacogdoches County deputy, poured in identifying the suspect. Lufkin police arrested the alleged robber on November 9 and booked him into the Angelina County Jail.

The district attorney’s office has since charged Bond with false statement to obtain property. The crime did not meet the state’s requirements of a bank robbery, according to Lufkin Police Detective J.B. Smith. Bond was also wanted by the Lufkin Police Department for burglary and is being held on $120,000 bail.

TYLER Investigators are trying to determine the cause of a fire that extensively damaged a Smith County mobile home. It was reported around 6:30 Tuesday night just outside of Tyler on U.S. Highway 69 north of the Tyler Loop. It appears to have started in a bed room. There were no injuries.

VAN — State Representative Dan Flynn of Van is drawing attention on a couple of fronts. One measure he’s introduced in the Legislature calls for the Ten Commandments to be posted in what is called a “prominent location” in public school classrooms. The bill says school boards cannot block the posting of the commandments, which he calls a non religious educational document. Flynn says, “If you walk into the Supreme Court building in the United States capital, first thing you see is the scroll of the Ten Commandments.” The Ten Commandments has had a rocky life in the courts. But the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 upheld the posting of the Commandments on the grounds of the state capitol, holding that it is a historical document.

Earlier, we learned Flynn is hoping to implement a two-year moratorium on the STAAR assessment program this legislative session. Flynn says STAAR causes way to much stress on students, teachers and parents, and he doesn’t think they need it. According to Flynn, “Employers, colleges, technical schools — nobody has ever asked for a copy of STAAR grades.” Flynn introduced the bill as an amendment last year and got a lot of support for it. He says under his bill, it will be up to the school districts to decide if they want to opt out — and accept their portion of the money set aside for STAAR to spend as they see fit.

JACKSONVILLE — Lon Morris College, the 168-year-old junior college in Jacksonville that filed bankruptcy, is seeking Court approval for an auction on December 13th at 11:00am. KETK reports AmeriBid LLC would conduct the auction for qualified bidders only at McKool Smith, PC, 300 Crescent Court, 12th floor, Dallas. Upon approval by the United States Bankruptcy Judge in Tyler, the core of the College’s 112-acre campus will be auctioned, including such features as a library, chapel, administration building, classroom facilities, student center, dormitories, and fields. “We’re delighted to have the auction plans finalized. AmeriBid will be providing prospective bidders with detailed information about the school and its extensive campus,” said Dawn Ragan, Chief Restructuring Officer for the college.

Stephen Karbelk, co-chairman and founder of AmeriBid, said he expects prospective bidders to include other colleges, churches, denominations, school systems, and other groups that might wish to use the property as a conference center, corporate retreat, or even residential treatment center. The college property will be offered in multiple parcels and as an entirety.

LONGVIEW — A group of citizens has announced the formation of the “Longview United for Growth Committee,” a special purpose political action committee, to ask voters to support limited alcohol sales for Longview’s current boundaries. Longview United for Growth will need to collect approximately 6,000 signatures of registered Longview voters on a petition calling for the election in May 2013.

The petition will allow a vote for the legal sale of beer and wine in stores for off-premise consumption only; it will not allow additional package liquor sales or liquor stores, except those already approved by voters in previous elections. Currently, Longview alcohol sales are based on elections held after Prohibition that legalized alcohol sales on the southern and eastern part of the city to the Gregg-Harrison County line. In 2007, Longview citizens voted to allow mixed beverage alcohol sales in restaurants.

Longview United feels the economic development of northern and western parts of Longview are being hampered because beer/wine off-premise sales are not allowed on most of the Loop 281 northern corridor from approximately Tryon Road East to Harrison Road West. According to Longview United, changing this law would allow those areas to be able to recruit more supermarkets and grocery stores, allow the existing grocery stores to compete with stores in the “wet” area, and would also bring east Longview under the same rules. You can go to http://longviewwins.com to learn more. Thus far, no group has announced opposition to Longview United’s effort.

TYLER — The Tyler City Council has passed several city ordinances in relation to the newly passed alcohol propositions. KETK reports councilmembers took into consideration four ordinances — three pertaining to the regulation of beer and wine sales. Beer and wine stores’ property lines are required to be 300 feet from any church property line. The distance for schools and hospitals has not been determined due to possible differences in city and state restrictions. Stores will not be allowed in “RPO” zones, which are residential and professional office areas.

The opening of “beer barns,” or packaged drive through food and beverage businesses, will require special use permits and will limited to M-2 Zones, or General Industrial District areas only. Beer and wine stores will only be allowed one sign, unless the business is on a corner, thus permitting two signs. The sign’s content will be regulated by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the sign’s size by the city, which is no more than 50 square feet per banner. The City of Tyler restricts animated, flashing, blinking, or electronic message signs within the city. However, the use of “static,” or non-moving, signs, including neon signs, is permitted as long as they meet the TABC five foot distance requirement from any store front window or door. Heather Nick with the city’s planning and zoning department says there’s a business kit available on the city’s website outlining the process of implementing beer and wine sales.

Meanwhile, a petition to contest results of Tyler-area alcohol elections this month is filed by the district clerk. The petition alleges the city clerk and county election office did not comply with election law requirements during the certification process.

TYLER — TxTAGs will be available for sale at the Texas Department of Transportation in Smith County this week. TxDOT’s Larry Krantz says customer service specialists will be on hand at the Tyler area office, at the interchange of Toll 49 and Highway 155 South in Noonday. You can meet with them between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, and until noon on Thursday, to purchase a new TxTAG or get help with existing account questions. The tags are good for use on any toll road in Texas. “This is a limited time offer,” said Krantz, “and we’re staying open until 6 to make it as convenient as possible to get a TxTAG.” After noon Thursday, those wanting to buy a TxTAG can or log on to http://www.txtag.org or call 1-888-Go-TxTAG.