KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — The City of Tyler adopted their 2025 budget, that totals $255.9 million and lowers the tax rate, during their Wednesday meeting. According to our news partner KETK, the budget, a 6% increase from last year, addresses improved roadways and traffic flow, enhanced drainage systems, upgraded water and sewer infrastructure and redeveloping public spaces. $50 million will go to water and sewer systems upgrades, while $41.4 million will be devoted to traffic signal improvements, street reconstruction, drainage and redevelopment of the downtown square funded by half-cent sales tax revenue.

The new tax rate is lowered to $0.240085, which the city says maintains their position as having the lowest tax rate in Smith County and among Texas cities with populations above 15,000. Projected property taxes are roughly $30.5 million, making up 32% of the general revenue fund. Continue reading City of Tyler approves $255 million budget

GREGG COUNTY — A man was sentenced to 55 years after pleading guilty to a 2017 murder. According to our news partner KETK, 28-year-old Cody Fortman from DeSoto was sentenced in a Gregg County court on Tuesday. He pleaded guilty back in June 2022 to the murder charge. He is charged in connection to the death of 22-year-old Nicholas Trevion Johnson, a Longview man who was found dead from gunshot wounds in a home on Annette Drive.

TYLER — According to our news partner KETK, a man died after a pursuit through several East Texas counties resulted in an officer-involved shooting in Smith County. DPS reports that they started a pursuit of a stolen box truck in Forney, stretching through several East Texas counties including Rains, Wood and Smith. Troopers tried to disable the vehicle several times to no avail.

“Through his driving behavior, the suspect demonstrated an egregious and reckless disregard for other motorists, leading Troopers to reasonably believe his actions of harming a bystander were imminent,” according to a statement from DPS. “A THP Trooper discharged his firearm at the suspect’s vehicle on State Highway 31 near Tyler, ultimately ending the pursuit.”

The suspect was taken to a hospital where he later died. His identity has not yet been released.

The Texas Rangers are investigating the situation as per standard procedure.

TYLER — Officials described the conditions of nearly 60 dogs that were found during the investigation of a Smith County dog fighting ring. According to our news partner KETK, on Monday the Smith County Sherriff’s Office and Animal Control Services responded to the address of 9444 CR 4136 in Tyler after receiving a call that a witness had seen a dog eating the carcass of a dead dog. When officials arrived, they reportedly found over 40 dogs in poor condition and “had reason to believe they were possibly being used to fight.” The detective on the case, Jacob Herman, said he had previously investigated reports of possible dog fighting at the address, but no dogs or evidence could be located on the property until Monday.

The detective, animal control personnel and property owner Kerry Jones walked through the property where they located several dogs in poor conditions, according to an affidavit.

“As I walked through, I observed several dogs to be locked in cages with their ribs showing and in a state of malnourishment. Many of the dogs had fresh injuries with visible blood and scars that were consistent with being fought,” Herman said. “Some appeared lethargic and unable to move. One dog in a cage had part of its bottom jaw missing and another looked to have had its nose removed possibly from a bite it sustained.” Continue reading Detective reveals horrific conditions of dogs found at fighting ring

TYLER – Our news partners at KETK report a pursuit of a box truck through Smith County turned into an officer-involved shooting on Wednesday morning. According to officials, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and DPS were in a pursuit through several East Texas counties including Rains, Wood and Smith that ended on Highway 31 W and FM 2661. An officer-involved shooting occurred, but details are limited at this time.

TYLER – Our news partners at KETK report a Tyler man was arrested Tuesday night after leading police on a pursuit and endangering a child, authorities said. Tyler Police Department Public Information Officer Andy Erbaugh said at around 8 p.m. officers saw a vehicle facing oncoming traffic. Witnesses told police the driver, identified as 34-year-old Courtland Lindsay of Tyler, appeared to have a young child on his lap and talked about harming the child with what looked like a drill. Sgt. Larry Christian with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office said Tyler PD initiated the pursuit and then deputies assisted. Erbaugh said Lindsay evaded officers until the pursuit ended on Loop 323 and U.S. 271. Police freed the child, who was unharmed, and they were picked up by a relative, Erbaugh said. Lindsay was charged with abandoning or endangering a child and placing them in imminent danger, evading arrest with a vehicle and marijuana possession. He was booked into the Smith County Jail.

GREGG COUNTY — The Gregg County Sheriff’s Office said an intoxicated driver hit a sheriff’s deputy while he worked a rollover accident Tuesday afternoon. According to the sheriff’s office and our news partner KETK, responders were working a one-vehicle rollover on FM 1252 around 3:45 p.m. when a eastbound Honda hit and injured a sheriff’s deputy. DPS troopers arrested the driver, Rigoberto Meza, 71, of Longview.

“We’re relieved to report that the deputy has been treated for his injuries at a local hospital and has been released,” GCSO said. “He is in good spirits and is expected to make a full recovery.”

DPS troopers arrested the Honda driver and officials said the driver was charged with driving while intoxicated, no driver’s license and no insurance.

TYLER — The University of Texas at Tyler celebrates another record-breaking enrollment year, seeing its highest total enrollment. UT Tyler’s fall 2024 preliminary enrollment as of the Sept. 9 census date is 10,541 students, which is a 7.75% increase over the previous year.

“We are energized by the growth on our campus,” said UT Tyler President Julie V. Philley, MD. “I want to thank our admissions team, faculty and staff for their dedication to supporting our students, as well as our recruitment and retention initiatives.”

First-time-in-college freshmen enrollment made up 1,426 of the total preliminary enrollment, which is a 7.5% increase over the previous record year of 2022. Additionally, UT Tyler continued enhancing retention rates among graduate/professional students. Graduate enrollment saw a second consecutive year of substantial growth by 14.02%, with a preliminary enrollment of 2,765. Continue reading UT Tyler celebrates largest enrollment in institutional history

RUSK COUNTY — Rusk County authorities said minor injuries have been reported after a crash involving a Tatum ISD school bus Wednesday morning. According to the Rusk County Emergency Management Office and our news partner KETK, shortly after 7 a.m. they were notified of a crash involving a school bus that was carrying students. “A large response was initiated and we do have confirmation from first responders on the scene of some minor injuries,” Rusk County officials said.

Tatum ISD said they have contacted immediate contacts of all that were involved. DPS is investigating the crash. If anyone has questions they are urged to contact the district at 903-947-0167 or 903-947-0161.

PALESTINE — An investigation into a stolen vehicle in Palestine has led to multiple arrests and two people who are wanted. According to the Palestine Police Department and our news partner KETK, on Sept. 2 at approximately 3:36 p.m. officers responded to the Woodside Village Apartments at 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd for recovery of a stolen vehicle. The victim had told PPD that their vehicle had been stolen from the Texas A&M University campus the night before and a tracking device in the vehicle showed that it was at the apartment complex, officials said.

According to officials, when officers arrived at the apartment they located the vehicle and three men walking from the vehicle into an apartment. PPD reported that when the officers approached the building, two of the men ran out of the apartment’s back door. Continue reading Vehicle theft investigation leads to several arrests

HAWKINS – The Hawkins ISD Board of Trustees accepted Superintendent Susan Morton’s retirement on Monday following her recent arrest for driving while intoxicated, according o our news partners at KETK. Morton was arrested after a minor accident in La Marque, Texas on Aug. 23 by the La Marque Police Department. Morton was then booked into the Galveston County Jail for charges of driving while intoxicated and collision involving damage to a vehicle less than $200. The Hawkins ISD Board of Trustee’s meeting agenda for Monday night’s meeting included plans to consider Morton’s retirement and interim superintendent candidates. Board president Blake Warren shared that during the meeting they voted to hire Marc Levesque for interim superintendent.

Levesque began in the position on Tuesday and will serve until Hawkins ISD names a permanent superintendent. Continue reading Hawkins ISD Superintendent retires following DWI arrest

TYLER — According to our news partner KETK, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office have arrested two men in connection to a dog fighting bust north of Tyler on Monday where nearly 60 dogs and two cats were seized.

The sheriff’s office said at around noon on Monday the Smith County Animal Control were notified after someone found wounded dogs near a home on CR 4136. On Tuesday, the sheriff’s office arrested 34-year-old Kerry Jones of Tyler and 31-year-old Michael Jones. Kerry has been charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals and participating in the earnings of or operations of a facility used for dog fighting. He is being held at the Smith County Jail under a combined bond of $560,000. Continue reading Two arrested in connection to dog fighting bust in Smith County

TYLER – On Monday, more than 50 dogs were taken in an alleged dog fighting bust, now the dogs are receiving care at a clinic in Smith County according to our news partner KETK. Six seriously injured dogs were rushed to Spence and White Veterinary Hospital in Tyler. They are some of the dozens taken from a Smith County property on Monday. These dogs suffered some of the worst abuse, and are suspected to have been used for dog fighting. They have marks visible to their faces, legs and stomachs. Some wounds were even stapled by their owners.

The almost 60 other dogs and two cats seized are being cared for by Smith County Animal Control. Continue reading Update on conditions of almost 60 seized dogs

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue spoke at Commissioners Court on Tuesday warning residents of increased grass-fires. According to our news partner KETK, Hogue told the court that if Smith County doesn’t see rain in the next week there may be a need for a burn ban. From Aug. 27 to Sept. 3 there were nine grass-fires in Smith County and from Sept. 3 to Sept. 10 there were 27, Hogue reported. The Fire Marshal urged that residents be extra cautious when doing burning of any kind, and to refrain from burning on windy days.

“There is a chance of rain on Wednesday from Tropical Storm Francine, but Hogue said he is afraid it will be little or no rain with heavy winds,” Smith County officials said.

On Tuesday, the Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) for Smith County went up to 659 from 641 the previous week, the KBDI measures forest fire risk and maxes out at 800, according to the release.

HAWKINS – The Hawkins ISD Board of Trustees accepted Superintendent Susan Morton’s retirement on Monday following her recent arrest for driving while intoxicated, according o our news partners at KETK. Morton was arrested after a minor accident in La Marque, Texas on Aug. 23 by the La Marque Police Department. Morton was then booked into the Galveston County Jail for charges of driving while intoxicated and collision involving damage to a vehicle less than $200. The Hawkins ISD Board of Trustee’s meeting agenda for Monday night’s meeting included plans to consider Morton’s retirement and interim superintendent candidates. Board president Blake Warren shared that during the meeting they voted to hire Marc Levesque for interim superintendent. Continue reading Hawkins ISD Superintendent retires following DWI arrest

SMITH COUNTY – Our news partners at KETK say that a burning car was found with the 20-year-old owner’s body in the trunk and now arrest documents for three people accused of his murder reveal phone records led to their arrests. Shortly before 5 a.m. on Sept. 1, a vehicle was reported to be on fire on CR 4132 and CR 4135 in Turnertown. The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office said after the fire was put out they located human remains inside. 20-year-old Kameron Montre Anderson from Bedford was identified as a shooting victim and owner of the vehicle during a press conference on Saturday. During the same press conference, Rusk County and Smith County officials said two adults and a juvenile were arrested in connection to the murder. Continue reading Phone location data leads to arrests of homicide suspects

BIG SANDY — According to our news partner KETK, a suspect has been arrested after allegedly making threats against Big Sandy ISD campuses on Friday. The Big Sandy Police Department said they received calls on Friday at around 11:30 a.m. of someone making threats to attack Big Sandy ISD schools. Officers were stationed at Big Sandy ISD campuses and requested for additional assistance from other law enforcement agencies in Upshur County.

Police said all law enforcement remained on campuses from noon until school was released. Officers then provided extra security at the football game that night. Throughout the weekend, the police department continued their investigation and located the suspect who reportedly made the threats against the schools.

An arrest warrant was served at a home in Upshur County at around 2:30 p.m. on Monday and the suspect was taken into custody. Continue reading Big Sandy PD arrests suspect after threats to ‘shoot the school up’

Two arrested in connection to dog fighting bust in Smith CountyTYLER — According to our news partner KETK, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office have arrested two men in connection to a dog fighting bust north of Tyler on Monday where nearly 60 dogs have been recuperated.

The sheriff’s office said at around noon on Monday the Smith County Animal Control were notified after someone found wounded dogs near a home on CR 4136. On Tuesday, the sheriff’s office arrested 34-year-old Kerry Jones of Tyler and 31-year-old Michael Jones. Kerry has been charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals and participating in the earnings of or operations of a facility used for dog fighting. He is being held at the Smith County Jail under a combined bond of $560,000.

Michael has been arrested with cruelty to non-livestock animal and is being held at the Smith County Jail on a $500,000 bond. Continue reading Two arrested in connection to dog fighting bust in Smith County

TEXARKANA — A 7-month-old was taken into Child Protective Services’ custody after East Texas officials located her inside a vehicle at a hospital parking garage according to our news partners at KETK. The Texarkana Police Department received calls of a baby reportedly locked inside a vehicle at a hospital parking garage. When officers arrived, they found security officers and several nurses surrounding the car. “They told us that someone had noticed the parked car’s motor was running and then saw an infant alone in a safety seat inside the car,” the Texarkana Police Department said. “They were able to get into the car through a window that had been left cracked and got the baby out.” While trying to locate the owner of the vehicle, Britney Petro went up to officers and said the vehicle and the child were hers. She reportedly told officers she had left her 7-month-old baby alone in the car because she could not find a babysitter that morning. Continue reading Mother leaves 7-month-old in hospital parking garage

NACOGDOCHES – Arrest documents for a 23-year-old charged with murder depict a firearm robbery according to our news partners at KETK. According to the Nacogdoches Police Department, officers responded at around 1:01 a.m. on Sep. 9 to Fulgham Street and found a shooting victim. The victim was taken to a local hospital where he later died. 23-year-old Jalen Boughton was arrested for murder and was taken to the Nacogdoches County Jail. Boughton’s arrest papers say he reported being involved in the shooting to police and claimed to investigators that the victim took a firearm from his vehicle and took off running. The documents said Boughton chased down the victim until he caught up with him and the victim appeared to make suspicious movements and that’s when Boughton shot him.

LONGVIEW — The Longview Police Department is investigating the validity of a threat made by a student online, according to Pine Tree Independent School District. On Monday, district officials said they were made aware of a student’s online “threatening remarks” during Friday’s home football game. According to our news partner KETK, the issue was quickly dealt with in cooperation with Longview PD, the district said.

“While our local PD investigates the validity of this threat, we want to remind parents to talk to their students about the seriousness of making any type of threatening comments,” Pine Tree ISD said. “We will always take every threat seriously because nothing is more important than the safety of our students and staff.”

UPDATE: Nine local fire departments worked together to contain a 13-acre pasture fire Sunday evening and two structures were saved, Elderville-Lakeport Volunteer Fire Department said.

“We ask that you use extreme caution when burning outdoors,” officials said. “The relative humidity will be low for the next few days, and fires will grow rapidly with the wind.”

Elderville-Lakeport VFD said it took over two hours to contain the fire.

Rusk County Commissioners had discussed a burn ban for the county but decided that the weather doesn’t require that right now. Continue reading Several fire departments contain 13-acre pasture fire

TYLER – Two adults and a juvenile have been taken into custody for capital murder after a man’s dead body was found in the trunk of a burning vehicle in Turnertown on Sept. 1. At a press conference on Saturday, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith and Rusk County Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez, described how the body of Kameron Montre Anderson, a 20-year-old Black male from Bedford, was found in the back of his own car after he’d been shot and killed.

According to our news partner KETK, Anderson was shot at a home near Troup on County Road 2163. He was then put in the trunk of his own car, which was then driven to Turnertown in Rusk County and burned with an accelerant.

An investigation by Rusk County Sheriff’s Office, Smith County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas Rangers determined that Nathaniel Hall, 18 of Troup, was a suspect. Hall was arrested by the Tyler Police Department on Wednesday after a traffic stop in which a stolen 9mm handgun and an AR15 were reportedly found. Continue reading Three in custody after dead body found in trunk of burning car

UPDATE: The Longview Police Department said that Creer has been found safe.

LONGVIEW – According to our news partner KETK, the Longview Police Department is searching for an 85-year-old Black woman who was reported missing on Saturday. Gracie Creer, 85 of Longview, is 5’7″ tall, weighs around 100 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. Creer was last seen near Toler Road at 1 p.m. on Saturday while wearing a black jacket, dark pants and a black wrap around her head.

She was last seen driving a silver Dodge Journey with the Texas license plate RXV4402 and a dented front left fender.

Anyone who’s seen her is asked to contact the Longview Police Department at 903-237-1199.

KILGORE – Our news partners at KETK report that Kilgore-native and Oscar winning songwriter Will Jennings died at 80-years-old in Tyler on Friday. Jennings, who co-wrote Celine Delion’s Oscar winning song “My Heart Will Go On” from “Titanic”, was at his home in Tyler when he died on Friday morning. No immediate cause of death was reported but his health was declining for several years. The 2006 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee attended both Tyler Junior College and Stephen F. Austin State University.

PALESTINE – The Palestine Police Department is searching for three people after several different kinds of drugs were found in a local residence. According to our news partner KETK, on Aug. 29, 51-year-old Jerryl Mims Sr, was arrested by officers at his home on Texas Avenue. Mims was reportedly clutching a bag of suspected methamphetamines and had another bag of suspected methamphetamine in the seat of his vehicle. Palestine PD said he had over 13 grams of methamphetamine. Continue reading Palestine PD looking for three people on drug and distribution charges

TEXARKANA – Our news partners at KETK report a 38-year-old man was arrested Tuesday afternoon after Texarkana police said he ran away from a four-vehicle crash that he caused. According to the police department, Frederick Duckett, 38 of Texarkana, caused a crash on W. 7th Street and Jarvis Parkway and then took off running. An official, who was there when the crash happened, caught up to him and took him into custody, the Texarkana Police Department said. TPD said Duckett claimed he could not use his legs or move his body, “despite having just ran more than a quarter mile moments before.” Duckett was medically cleared at a hospital and was then taken to the Bi-State Jail. Texarkana police said one of the drivers involved in the four-vehicle crash was injured, therefore Duckett is facing a felony charge. Duckett is being held on a $15,000 bond for collision involving injury.

MORRIS COUNTY — Omaha police are searching for a man who has not been seen since mid-August and are asking the public for assistance in locating him. According to our news partner KETK, Dustin Perkins was last seen Aug. 15 in Naples, Texas. Perkins is approximately 6 feet tall and about 175 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray shirt and blue jeans. Officials in Omaha said that with information on Perkins, to call the Omaha Police 903-844-2305 or the Morris County Sheriff’s Office at 903-645-2232.

JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville Police Department said that a pedestrian is dead after being hit by a train at the crossing on North Gillespie Avenue on Friday according to our news partners at KETK. According to Jacksonville PD, the crash happened in 100 block of North Gillespie Avenue near Highway 79 at around 11:01 a.m. when the pedestrian was walking in front of the train. The man was pronounced dead at the scene and officials are notifying his family members. The railroad crossing has reopened to traffic, Jacksonville PD said.