KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – Three persons have been arrested in connection with the burglary of Tractor Supply on Highway 110 South. It was reported Friday morning around 2:30. Arrested walking east of the building was Ediel D. Jaramillo, 31 (pictured). He’s been charged with burglary of a building. Numerous items believed to have been taken in the burglary as well as drugs were found during a search of the suspect’s vehicle. The second suspect, whose mother said he was not home, was arrested climbing out a home on Haynie Avenue. Ronald Christopher Crank-Harris, 30. He was arrested after a brief foot chase. And his mother, Reina Melendez, 47, was arrested and charged with hindering apprehension.

ATHENS – A man convicted of murder in Louisiana has been arrested in Henderson County. The manhunt began with the arrest of one man but another man ran into a wooded area near loop 7 and Farm Road 59, south of Athens. About an hour later authorities arrested Rodney Wayne Baker, 47, (pictured) originally from Athens. He was taken to jail on a parole violation from a Louisiana homicide case. The other man, Richard Anthony Brown, 64, of Athens, was arrested for an outstanding warrant.

AUSTIN – The latest report out of Austin shows area unemployment continuing to fall. Tyler’s unemployment number is not only better than the state’s rate, it also easily beats the national jobless figure. Tyler’s July unemployment rate is 3.9%. This compares to June’s figure of 4.6%. In July of last year, Tyler’s figure was 4.9%. Longview’s unemployment rate went from 5.4% in June to 5.1% last month. A year ago, Longview’s unemployment rate was 7%. Both Texas and the nation had a 4.3% unemployment rate last month.

SMITH COUNTY — A portion of County Road 192 remains closed off. Heavy rain Thursday caused a washout of pavement in a section of the road, between Texas Highway 155 South and Crow Road (CR 159). Drivers will need to take an alternative route. Smith County Road and Bridge crews are working on repairs. Crews said exposed telephone and cable lines are causing delays. The road is expected to remain closed for several days.

TYLER — The White Nationalist rally in Charlottesville has sparked renewed attention to Confederate monuments and memorials across the country. KETK reports, some Tyler ISD parents are wanting to change the name of Robert E. Lee High School. DG Montalvo, who is behind the movement wanting change, said there is a lot of racial tension still in the city of Tyler. He has two children who went to the school and said this is the right thing to do. Another parent who would like to see the name changed said Robert E. Lee himself was not a fan of statues honoring Civil War Generals. An online petition to keep the name of the school showed close to 7,500 signatures. Continue reading Parents Push for Name Change at Robert E. Lee High School

TYLER – With just under two weeks left in the month, August 2017 is already the wettest August in Tyler since records started being kept in 1896. Through Thursday, The National Weather Service figures show Tyler has recorded 10.95 inches of rain. The previous August record was 10.25 inches in 1915. Three daily rainfall records have also been recorded this month. They are 2.99 inches on August 2nd, 2.54 inches on August 13th and 3.52 inches on August 17th.

TYLER – Smith County commissioners have called a meeting for Monday morning to discuss the capital improvement plan for roads and bridges. In several meetings over the past couple off weeks, the plan was discussed, including possibly undertaking the plan in stages. They have also discussed ways to fund it. The commissioners are considering a bond election to generate money for the improvements. If they decided to put the bond issue to a vote in November, the deadline to call the bond election is Monday. They have called a special meeting for Monday to discuss the issue. It will be at 10:30am in the commissioner’s court on East Ferguson Street.

CANTON – A man has been arrested in Tennessee after being accused of severely beating a woman in Van Zandt County. The U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force arrested Patrick Alan Bieber, 49. He is said to have put a 70 year old woman in her car in Terrell and beat her all the way back to Wills Point, where the two were living. When he found out she reported the incident to police, her took car, purse and rings and fled to Tennessee. He is charged with injury to the elderly and retaliation against a witness for threatening telephone and text messages he left on the victim’s phone.

DIANA – Upshur County authorities continue their efforts to find several bank robbers. Around 5:00 last Friday afternoon, the three men, one who was armed, took an undetermined amount of money from the Security State Bank in Diana. They then fled the bank on foot. No injuries were reported. Authorities have released a picture from a video that was made at a near by business. It shows two of the suspects just before the robbery and before they covered their faces. If you recognize them, you are asked to contact your local law enforcement agency.

MARSHALL – Marshall police detective Carlos Pacheo is promoted to sergeant. After three years in the U.S. Army, Pacheo became a sheriff’s deputy in Wilson County. He came to work in Marshall in 2007. Over the next ten years, he has worked in many areas. Besides currently being in the criminal investigations division, he is also a member of the department’s SWAT Team.

AUSTIN – The Texas Water Development Board has approved financial assistance totaling $12,605,000 for 4 water and wastewater systems in the state. Two of the systems are in East Texas. The TWDB approved $750,000 to the city of Chandler and $1.9 million to the D&M Water Supply Corporation in Nacogdoches County. Both will use the money to finance the planning, acquisition, design, and construction costs associated with water system improvements

WASHINGTON – Tyler Congressman Louie Gohmert stands behind President’s Trump’s comments about the violence that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia. It occurred during a white nationalist rally that saw one person killed and 19 injured. Gohmert says everything the president said was appropriate, there was hate on both sides, and it is to be condemned. Gohmert tells KTBB, there is an insidious part of America that wants this country in flames and wants to destroy our freedom. Gohmert says, “We can’t let them do it. We’ve got to call out hate where ever it is.”

TYLER — A Tylerite is on the host committee welcoming President Trump to Texas in September. The President’s trip to Dallas on September 27th would be his first visit to the area since his election. Fundraiser invitations went out Wednesday. Ticket prices range from $2,700 – $100,000. The event will raise money for the Republican National Committee and for the President’s 2020 re-election fund. The Dallas Morning News reports several Texas Republicans have confirmed the event although the White House has not yet listed the trip. The host committee includes Gaylord Hughey, of Tyler, and Dennis Nixon, from Laredo.

TYLER – Smith County has approved an application for an anti-hate rally in Tyler. The hour long “Don’t Participate in Hate Rally” is scheduled to start at Thursday night at 7:00 in downtown Tyler. There will be prayers for the people of Charlottesville, Virginia as well as prayers for more unity in Tyler. While a group of counter-protesters were demonstrating in Charlottesville last Saturday, a car plowed into the crowd, killing one person and injuring 19.

LONGVIEW – A shooting has sent a man to a Longview hospital. He was shot in the leg and the injury is said to be life threatening. It was reported around 4:15 Wednesday afternoon at the American Fidelity Apartments on Morrison Street. We will have more information when it becomes available.

TYLER – Tyler Municipal Court has appointed Amy McCullough as Presiding Judge of the Court. She has been serving as interim judge of the court since February. McCullough is a graduate of Tyler Junior College. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Mississippi and her masters from the University of Oklahoma. She then earned a law degree from South Texas College of Law. As an attorney, she practiced as an Assistant District Attorney in Harris County and in municipal government as the City Attorney of Pearland in the 1990s. She then went into private practice.

McKINNEY (AP/STAFF) – A North Texas man must serve life in prison without parole for the 2016 fatal shooting of his estranged wife and her twin sister. Investigators say Kelley Bigham, 51, of McKinney, was upset that his wife wanted a divorce. He shot the two in June of last year while stopping at the house to get some belongings. Both were shot in the head. The couple’s adult daughter fled unharmed with her young son and called police. A few minutes later he sent a text to his daughter saying, “I’m sorry.” Bigham was later arrested at his father’s home in Point, northwest of Emory, in Rains County.

QUITMAN – Because of an incident near Mineola a couple of years ago, an Arizona man received a lengthy prison sentence. A jury this week found John David Hill, of Tuscon, guilty of evading arrest with a vehicle. He was then sentenced to 99 years in prison. The lengthy sentence stems from his eight previous felony convictions. Two of them were for evading arrest. In October, 2015, a Wood County constable tried to stop Hill. After a while, after running red lights and speeding through a service station parking lot, he finally stopped only to run away. He was arrested after a brief foot chase.

TYLER — With the special legislative session now history, Tyler State Representative Matt Schaefer says, “We had some good, bad, and ugly.” Among the pluses, the District 6 Republican points to pro-life bills and health care funding for retired teachers. But Schaefer says, “We failed on spending limits, and we had a really ugly end on property tax reform when the House quit before we were supposed to.” As to where things go from here, Schaefer tells KTBB, “That’s up to the governor. There’s a lot of unfinished business for some conservative priorities, so it’s gonna be up to Governor Abbott to determine whether we can accomplish more.” Continue reading Schaefer: Special Session a Mixed Bag

HENDERSON – East Texas law enforcement is warning the public about a scheme leaving drivers empty handed and without a car. According to KETK, the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office reports a vehicle tailgated and flashed its lights at an off-duty deputy to pull over. Knowing this is part of a carjacking con, the deputy called 911 and the car quickly disappeared after he did not pull over. Officials say many times when the drivers pull over, their valuables and vehicle are taken by the person who tricked them. Law officers say if this happens to you, do not stop. Call 911 and drive to a police or sheriff’s department.

LONGVIEW — A Longview man accused of stealing more than $40,000 worth of gold jewelry is indicted. KETK reports that police responded in May to Ana’s Hats on South Eastman Road about a robbery. The owner says two men came into the store and stole her purse, which had the jewelry and $6,000 in cash. A Gregg County grand jury has indicted 20-year-old Terry Walker for aggravated robbery. Originally arrested in june, walker remains in jail.

TYLER – As it gets ready for the new school year, Tyler Junior College will be conducting emergency drills on Wednesday. The active shooter drill will be conducted on the main campus as well as the west campus from 2:30 to 3:00pm. During the drill, campus police will send out a series of messages which will state “this is a drill” at the beginning of each communication. Officers from various law enforcement agencies including Tyler Police and FBI will assist in the drill along with representatives from Trinity Valley Community College, Kilgore College and UT Tyler. Following the drill, a weather emergency informational meeting will be held.

COFFEE CITY – The Coffee City Police Department is seeking help in solving a burglary. It occurred sometime between July 19th and the 23rd. Someone broke into the Jungle Adult Store and Patriot Games game room on Highway 155. They got in by forcing open a rear door. Besides causing significant damage to both buildings, they stole sexually oriented items, copper, surveillance camera equipment and smoking materials such as pipes and hookahs. If you have any information, you are asked to contact the Coffee City Police Department or your local law enforcement agency.

MARSHALL – Five persons have been arrested after members of the Marshall Police Department’s SWAT Team served a search warrant at a home on East Fannin Street. The action was part of an ongoing narcotics investigation. Seized were 50 grams of methamphetamine, 37 grams of ecstasy, 7 grams of powder cocaine, 20 grams of crack cocaine, 29 grams of Xanax, 55 grams of marijuana and an undisclosed amount of money. They also seized three firearms, one of which had been reported stolen. Arrested on drug and firearm charges were Brian Dewayne Davis, 26, Louis Dewayne Talley, 23, Cecilia Davis, 48, Gerald Wayne Talley, 56 and Willie Earl Brown. All are Marshall residents.

MARSHALL – After several hours of jury deliberations Monday and Tuesday morning a mistrial was declared Tuesday afternoon in the trial of former Hallsville ISD coach Dean McDaniel. The mistrial came after information was received by State District Judge Brad Morin. He did not say what that information was. McDaniel’s defense attorney, Mark Lassiter of Dallas, told the Marshall News Messenger, the judge had no choice but to declare a mistrial after an alternate juror told members of the jury false information about McDaniel during the lunch break. Continue reading A Mistrial in a Former Coach’s Trial

POYNOR – A Smith County man is being held in Henderson County for stealing a backhoe. Arrested was Ethan Lee Christian, 25, of Whitehouse. The backhoe was taken from a construction site in the Poynor area. When the backhoe was found, nearby was a pickup, stuck in mud. A search of the area turned up Christian. He was arrested for theft of property over $30,000 and he also had three outstanding warrants in Smith County.

PALESTINE – City Manager Mike Alexander has named Andy Harvey to be the Palestine’s new police chief. The Palestine City Council approved Harvey’s selection at Monday’s meeting. Harvey has been with the Dallas Police Department for 22 years. He is currently in the department’s crime scene response section. He starts his new duties August 28th.

TYLER – Marvin Lamond Rockmore, 21, of Dallas, has been arrested following a chase in Tyler and Smith County. It started around 4:30 Tuesday morning with a report of a stolen pickup on Highway 110 north of Tyler. When sheriff’s deputies found the truck, it drove off at a high speed and into Tyler. He continued, even after driving over a spike strip Tyler police put down. When deputies decided to end the chase, they bumped the rear of his car, causing it to go out of control and hit a house at the intersection of the Loop and Sunnyhill. He was then arrested and taken to a hospital for treatment. Rockmore was charged with evading arrest and was booked into the Smith County Jail. His bond was set at $150,000.

HOUSTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has rejected an appeal from a Northeast Texas man on death row for strangling his girlfriend 17 years ago. Attorneys for Daniel Acker, 45, unsuccessfully argued to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that he’s innocent of the March 2000 slaying of Marquetta George, 32, of Sulphur Springs. They also contended Acker’s trial court erroneously excluded evidence of his innocence, that appeals he previously lost were based on false evidence and that he had poor legal help in earlier appeals. George’s body was found on a Hopkins County road. Trial attorneys said she jumped from Acker’s truck and then was hit. Prosecutors said he killed her and dumped her body. A jury deliberated 90 minutes before convicting him. Acker doesn’t yet have an execution date.

LONGVIEW – A man accused of burglary has been arrested by Longview police. Kendric Earl Rider, 21, of Longview, is said to have entered several apartments on South Green Street Monday night. Among the items stolen was an air conditioner. With Rider’s arrest, officers recovered the air conditioner and other stolen items. He was booked into the Gregg County jail on a charge of burglary of a building. His bond was set at $5,000.