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KILGORE – A former Kilgore resident has become the second person named in connection with a Kilgore house fire. Kilgore police announced they are looking for Carlton James Green, 52, of Mansfield, Louisiana. He is wanted in connection with a September fire in a house on Martin Luther King Street. Sheaira Rondresia Grant, 23, who lived in the house with her sister, was charged with insurance fraud in the case. Her sister is missing. She was 8 months pregnant when she disappeared in August. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance. However, authorities say they don’t think the fire is linked to the woman’s disappearance. Continue reading Man Wanted in Connection With Kilgore Arson Fire

MARSHALL – An Elysian Fields man has pleaded guilty to murder a week before his trial was to have started. Rodris Webster, 27, entered the guilty plea to the March 2014 murder of his former girlfriend, Alicia Benefield, 19. Webster led investigators to her body, which was in a clay pit near the intersection of Farm to Market Road 31 and Elysian Fields Road in Marshall. He is now scheduled to be in court next week for sentencing.

PALESTINE – An East Texas man is killed and another one injured in a two vehicle accident in Anderson County. The wrecked occurred Tuesday on U.S. Highway 79, 17 miles north of Palestine. Dead at the scene was Dickie Lynn Duckworth, 49, of Wills Point. In stable condition at Palestine Regional Medical Center is Virgil Ray Dillard, 59, of Elkhart. The Department of Public Safety says that Duckworth’s truck and trailer jackknifed, hitting Dillard’s truck. Duckworth’s truck and the manufactured home it was hauling both caught fire.

PALESTINE – Palestine Fire Chief Alan Wilcher and Battalion Chief Mike Phillips have placed on administrative leave, with pay. No word on why the action was taken. A news release from Nate Smith, Communications and Best Practices Officer for the City of Palestine said they have started an investigation into the matter. Captain Shannon Davis was named interim Chief and Jeff Croft was named interim Battalion Chief.

LIBERTY CITY – The Sabine School Superintendent has been fired. School trustees fired Stacey Bryce during a Tuesday night school board meeting. The reason for the action was not immediately made known. Bryce was named the school district’s superintendent in 2004. His tenure became strained following a 2009 DWI conviction, with school trustees split on whether he should be fired. After Bryce’s dismissal, school trustees named Sabine Middle School Principal Bill Middendorf as interim superintendent.

LUFKIN (AP) – A foreclosed East Texas power plant has been sold for nearly $5 million. The Lufkin News reports the Aspen Power biomass plant in Lufkin was sold Tuesday to the lone bidder in an Angelina County court-ordered auction. An attorney represented the buyer, whose name wasn’t immediately disclosed. The Aspen Power plant was marketed as the first wood-waste biomass electric generation facility in Texas. The 57-megawatt plant opened in 2011 but was idle in 2012 amid challenging market conditions. Investors took over in 2013 and for a time restarted the plant to try to sell the unit, which closed earlier this year. A judge in September approved foreclosure. The newspaper reports creditors, lien holders and U.S. Bank, the trustee for $53 million in bonds owed, will share the purchase proceeds.

TYLER – Two suspects wanted in a Smith County burglary in early October have been arrested. Taken into custody by the US Marshal’s Task Force without incident on Monday was Lashumeica Renee Hicks, 21 (pictured) and Jaelyn Demarscott Allen, 20. Both have been charged with burglary of a habitation and their bonds set at $150,000. A woman told officers she had been awakened at her home on Wood Springs Road in northern Smith County by a woman standing over her and yelling at her. She said she had been sprayed in the face with a pepper spray. The suspect then went to the living room where another woman and two men were videoing the incident. Continue reading Two Arrested for an October Smith County Burglary

ANDERSON COUNTY – Two trucks have collided in Anderson County, killing one person. The accident happened on U.S. Highway 79 near the Neches River bridge. The head-on collision killed the driver of one truck. No word on the other driver. Names have not been released and the accident remains under investigation.

QUITMAN – Wood County Judge Kenneth Bryan Jeanes has been given a public warning by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Judge Jeanes was arrested in April for DWI. In August he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to ten days in jail and ordered to pay more than $1,800 in fees. He was released after serving two days. Tuesday, the commission publicly released the warning that was given to the judge on October 20th following the Commission’s meeting earlier that month. Continue reading Wood County Judge Gets a Public Warning From a State Commission

TYLER – Tyler’s home sales are outpacing state figures. Home sales in Texas increased 0.2% in the third quarter. In Tyler, home sales were up 1.4% to 811. Statewide, Texas home sales maintained the strong pace generated in the summer and continues to stay on pace with last year’s record breaking home sales. State home sales increased 0.2% year-over-year to 91,248 home sales. In Tyler, the median price of a home rose 2.8% percent to $175,000 in the third quarter. In the state, the median home price increased 7% from last year’s 3rd quarter to $214,000. Continue reading Tyler Homes Sales Continue to be Strong

MARSHALL – The execution of a search warrant has turned up a suspected Marshall drug suspect. The warrant was served Tuesday morning at a home on Spruce Street. Taken into custody on drug and a weapon’s charge was Kelvin Dewayne Brown, 39. Besides seizing various drugs, officers also recovered stolen property and several firearms at the home. Along with drug violations, Brown has also been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. And additional charges may be filed.

TYLER – A Tyler woman, accused of an accident that caused south Tyler traffic problems has been arrested. Shirlee Joyce Bradshaw, 70, has been charged with DWI. She was arrested after being treated at a Tyler hospital. She is currently free on bond. Her vehicle hit a utility pole at South Broadway and Winchester Drive Monday afternoon. The accident caused police to direct traffic at several busy south Tyler intersections until Oncor could replace the pole.

CHAPEL HILL – A burglary suspect has been arrested in the Chapel Hill area. Monday night a burglary was reported at a home off Highway 64 East. Tuesday morning they called again to report noises coming from their barn. Sheriff’s deputies went to the area and took a suspect in custody. More information, including the suspect’s name, remains pending.

LONGVIEW (AP) – Golfers at a Longview driving range can take a swing at Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump before next week’s election. Alpine Target Golf Center in Longview has put large photos of the faces of Democratic and Republican presidential candidates on round hay bales as targets. Golf center officials promote the swing-away opportunity, to hit golf balls at either candidate, as a way for people thinking about next Tuesday’s election to get some relief. Owner Mike Williams says the goal is to alleviate a little stress. The targets have been in play since late October.

KILGORE – The sister of a missing Kilgore woman has been arrested in connection with fire at the home the women rented. Booked into the Gregg County Jail Monday afternoon was 23 year old Sheaira Rondresia Grant. She has been charged with insurance fraud between $2,500 and and $30,000. This was in connection with the fire at their home on Martin Luther King Street in September. Her bond was set at $10,000. Her sister was 8 months pregnant when she disappeared in August. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance. However, authorities say they don’t think the fire is linked to the woman’s disappearance.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. Supreme Court has denied an appeal from an East Texas nurse sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing five dialysis patients by injecting them with bleach. Justices on Monday let stand, without comment, a 2015 appeals court ruling that upheld the conviction and sentence for Kimberly Saenz. She was convicted in 2012 of capital murder in the deaths of patients at a Lufkin clinic where the licensed vocational nurse worked. Saenz also received three 20-year terms for aggravated assault in the cases of several injured patients. Attorneys for Saenz challenged the jury instructions and said she was denied due process of the law. Saenz was fired in 2008 after a rash of illnesses and deaths at a clinic in Lufkin.

TYLER – Traffic along a portion of South Broadway is back to normal. A vehicle struck a telephone pole at South Broadway and Winchester. The pole had to be replaced. Due to the work Oncor had to do to replace the power pole, the traffic signals were not working for a while at the intersections of Broadway/Amherst, Broadway/Troup and Broadway/8th. Officers had to traffic in those intersections. But, as of 7:45pm, all lanes of traffic are open once again and all signals are working properly.

LONGVIEW – LeTourneau University’s Sting Precision Flight Team won first place at the 2016 Regional SAFECON collegiate flight competition, hosted by Central Texas College. This marks the fourth year in a row that the team has brought home the gold. The team scored over 600 points in a combination of flight and ground events, which beat the nearest competition by 72 points. In addition to the championship, the team took home the sportsmanship award, which is based upon votes cast by other competing teams. Continue reading LETU Flight Team Wins First Place at Regional SAFECON

TYLER — One person is in custody in connection with a robbery just north of Tyler. A man has told authorities he was robbed around 2:00 Monday afternoon near Camp Ford, off U.S. Highway 271. Sheriff’s deputies stopped a vehicle off Loop 323 matching a description of the suspect’s vehicle. After interviewing three men inside, one man was arrested and most of the property was recovered along with a pellet pistol used in the robbery. The identity of the suspect will be released once the suspect has been formally charged.

There is a traffic flow problem on South Broadway. A vehicle struck a telephone pole at South Broadway and Winchester. The pole will need to be replaced. Oncor will be working to replace it and work is expected to impact rush hour traffic. The two northbound lanes of traffic on South Broadway are being diverted into the turning lane. Northbound traffic on Broadway will be moving slow for some time. Due to the work Oncor has to do to replace the power pole, the traffic signals are not working at the intersections of Broadway/Amherst, Broadway/Troup and Broadway/8th. Officers are actively directing traffic in these intersections. Motorists are encouraged to find alternate routes. Traffic will be moving slowly in these areas.

PALESTINE – The investigation is continuing in the shooting deaths of two Palestine residents. The bodies of Michael and Maryl Matthews, both 41, were found Saturday afternoon at a home on North Jackson Street. They were found by police responding to a domestic disturbance call. Both were declared dead at the scene from gunshot wounds. Based on the evidence, the deaths are being investigated as a murder/suicide.

LONGVIEW – A child playing with a lighter has started a fire that seriously injured a Longview man. The fire was reported shortly before 9:45 Sunday night in a mobile home on Lafamo Road. Fire crews found the man with burns and respiratory injuries due to fighting the bed room fire with a water hose. He was first taken to Good Shepherd Medical Center, then transferred to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. The child who started the fire, and two children who were asleep when the fire started, were able to get out without injury. The fire caused major damage to the bedroom and contents, and heavy smoke damage throughout. The structure damage is estimated at approximately $20, 000.

PALESTINE – To coincide with the declaration of a burn ban in Anderson County, Fire Marshal Kyle Betterton placed the City of Palestine under a temporary burn ban. The ban will last 90 days, or until lifted by the Fire Marshal.

TYLER — Last week was a busy one for early voting in East Texas. KETK reports that in Smith County, more than 6,000 people went to the polls on Friday alone according to county election officials. On Friday, voting locations at “The Hub,” Noonday, and Whitehouse saw more than 1,000 come out. Lindale saw just short of the century mark. And on Saturday, Smith County saw more than 30,000 people take advantage of early voting. Early voting runs through Friday. Election Day is November 8.

TYLER – The United States has obtained a civil judgment for $1,223,414.50 against Tariq Mahmood of Cedar Hill, who owned and operated multiple rural hospitals across Texas, including East Texas. That announcement came Monday from Acting U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston. In July 2014, a federal jury in Tyler found Mahmood guilty of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, seven counts of health care fraud, and seven counts of aggravated identity theft. Following his conviction, the United States brought a False Claims Act action against Mahmood. The Government alleged in its Motion for Summary Judgment that Mahmood was stopped from denying liability under the False Claims Act as a result of his criminal health care fraud and conspiracy convictions. Continue reading United States Prevails in Civil Action against Convicted Doctor