KTBB News, Weather, Talk

CUNEY — Authorities say a plane made an emergency landing in a field in Cherokee County. It happened Wednesday morning off of County Road 3414 north of Highway 175 near the town of Cuney. Officials say the pilot, Roger Willheim, 64, of Frankston, first reported engine trouble around 9:45 and shortly after landed the plane in the field barely missing power lines. Willheim, who was the only person on board, was not injured.

TYLER — Overnight storms Tuesday and Wednesday caused considerable damage throughout East Texas, especially in Wood County and Big Sandy. Fallen trees and downed power lines added to the chaos. Wood County officials say numerous fires occurred overnight as a result of the downed power lines but all had been put out as of Wednesday morning. Power company representatives report that several thousand people lost electricity for varying lengths of time because of the storms.

LINDALE — An early Wednesday morning fire has left one man homeless. Lindale and Mineola fire departments were dispatched to 22035 Highway 69 for a mobile home fire just after 4:00am. They say the home was fully engulfed when they arrived, but was out within 10-15 minutes of their arrival. Fire officials say that the owner of the home had lost power and was sleeping in his truck to stay cool. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

LONGVIEW — A Longview man remained jailed after police said he tried to pass two counterfeit $100 bills. Carlton Hollins, 41, was jailed on $5,000 bond, charged with two counts of forgery of a government instrument. Police said he tried to pay for his food at McDonald’s in the 100 block of West Loop 281 with a counterfeit $100 bill around June 7. Then, when the cashier gave him change for the bill, he asked the employee to give him change for another $100 bill. Several days later, police said, Hollins attempted to pass a $100 bill at the McDonald’s in the 3100 block of Estes Parkway.

TYLER – An Anderson County man has pleaded guilty in Tyler federal court to drug trafficking. Derrick Deon Hicks, 37, of Palestine pleaded guilty Tuesday to possession with intent to distribute and distribution of crack cocaine in an appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love. Hicks faces a minimum of 10 years in federal prison and forfeiture of $50,000.00 and firearms at sentencing. A sentencing date has not been set.

Federal prosecutors say up until last August, Hicks conspired with others to distribute more than 280 grams of crack cocaine throughout the East Texas area. Hicks was indicted by a federal grand jury in February and charged with federal drug trafficking violations.

PALESTINE – A former Anderson County couple is arrested in West Texas on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Anitia Fonville Reyes, 46, was arrested in Odessa and Tony Reyes Jr., 49, was taken into custody in Abilene. The offenses are said to have occurred in 2009 when they lived southwest of Frankston in the Brushy Creek area.

TYLER — Smith County’s financial stability has been recognized when financial institutes Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s gave the county bond ratings of Aa2 and AA+, which are both just a notch below the highest score possible, AAA.

According to an update from Specialized Public Finance, Inc. to the Commissioners Court, the exceptionally high bond rating, along with falling interest rates will make paying off the recently passed jail bond much faster and less expensive than originally anticipated.

A total of $40.875 million in bonds were issued on Tuesday; $35 million from the recently passes jail bond at an interest rate of 2.564% and the refunding of about $5 million in existing county debt at 1.7489% interest. “It’s good to know that we will be able to pay this off even sooner and save money for the citizens of Smith County because of these lower rates and our high bond rating,” County Judge Joel Baker said.

The jail bond component will be structured with a 12 year amortization schedule, which is three years shorter than originally anticipated and the refunding component will save the county approximately $376,000 in total interest expenses. “A county jail with an interest rate of 2.5 is about as low as I have ever seen in this business,” said Financial Analyst Steven Adams.

In addition, S&P revised its Financial Management Assessment to “strong” from “Good” due to the adoption of a formal, long-range capital plan and a formal debt management policy, which is the highest classification.

WINONA – A man has been injured when some bales of hay in a Smith County field caught fire. It was reported around 12:30 Tuesday afternoon off County Road 353 in the northern part of the county. The fire is said to have started when a hired hand began welding on a broken tractor.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has nominated four U.S. attorneys to serve as lead Justice Department prosecutors in each of the four federal judicial districts in Texas. The president nominated interim U.S. Attorney John Bales of the Eastern District of Texas to a full term in that position. Bales is a former FBI agent who has been a federal prosecutor since 1989 and was head of the Eastern District’s criminal division before his promotion in 2009.

Also nominated are Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District for the district’s top job, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Ruth Saldana of the Northern District to that district’s top job, and U.S. Magistrate Robert Pitman of the Northern District for the top Western District job.

The nominations are subject to Senate confirmation.

TYLER — Henderson resident Larry Eugene North, 53, has pleaded guilty to possession of an illegal firearm or destructive device, use of a weapon of mass destruction, and obstruction of mail in Judge John Love’s federal courtroom in Tyler. North is set for sentencing in Judge Leonard Davis’s court this afternoon.

North was accused of placing more than 30 explosive devices into mailboxes and at other locations across East Texas. On April 8, 2010, authorities arrested North as he was placing an explosive in a Tyler mailbox.

He had been under surveillance for about a week before his arrest; a pipe bomb was found in the van he was driving and bomb-making materials were discovered in his home, authorities said. He could face 10 years in prison if convicted. Authorities believe North was responsible for planting 36 devices between February 5 and April 7. No injuries or explosions resulted from the devices.

TYLER — Tyler narcotics investigators have arrested Tara Kay McSwain, 37, owner/manager of East Texas Billing and manager of Apple Swim & Fitness Center, on seven counts of fraudulent possession of controlled substance, a 3rd degree felony. On June 16, an employee of Walgreens at 5415 S. Broadway called police and said there was a woman in the drive-thru attempting to pick up a fraudulent prescription for hydrocodone. Patrol officers and vice investigators arrived on the scene and took McSwain into custody after further investigation.

Investigators say they found several pieces of paper with physicians’ and patients’ names on them in McSwain’s purse. Police say the materials were discovered during the search incident to arrest and were believed to be used in a fraudulent manner. Police say because of her billing service for physicians, McSwain had access to doctor and patient information.

After investigators contacted several physicians and former patients, they say they developed probable cause that on six different occasions in 2011, McSwain provided fraudulent information to obtain a controlled substance from pharmacies in Tyler. On June 23, investigators arrested McSwain on six warrants for fraudulent possession of controlled substance. McSwain was booked into Smith County Jail on a total bond of $120,000, set by Judge Randall Rogers. Investigators say they are still looking into further incidents involving McSwain.

NEWTON COUNTY — A Lufkin man dies in an industrial accident in Newton County Sunday. Kyle Helton, 22, was working on a pipeline when a manifold fell on him and crushed him. OSHA was called in to investigate.

TROUP — It’s been a little more than a month since Troup became the second city voted wet in Smith County. KETK reports that the Brookshire’s there is now clearing shelves and making space for its first beer and wine shipments. They’re due to arrive sometime this week — just in time to kick off the Fourth of July weekend. So far, Brookshire’s is the only place in the city that’s applied for a liquor license and has been approved to sell alcohol at its store for off-premise consumption.

GLADEWATER — Investigators are following up on a plane crash that happened yesterday morning. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, a small plane crashed at Gladewater Municipal Airport on U.S. 271 South. One person was injured in the crash. Gregg County Sheriff’s Office deputies were notified at about 7:00 and DPS troopers were dispatched at about 7:45.

According to a Federal Aviation website, the tail numbers on the airplane were registered to a Hallsville man named Ronald Wayne Baker. Good Shepherd Medical Center officials said they had a man listed under that name who was listed in fair condition around 10:00. DPS officials said the man had built the airplane himself and was taking it for its first spin when the plane went down during takeoff. The Longview News-Journal reports the man was 64 years old.

LUFKIN — One man is arrested after an argument with a Lufkin Police Officer. The officer was reportedly responding to a disturbance complaint around 7:45 Saturday night on the 500 block of Homer Street. Gustavo Rodriguez, 33, allegedly started moving toward the officer in an aggressive manner when she used pepper spray to slow him down. He was arrested for assault on a public servant, a second degree felony.