KTBB News, Weather, Talk

AUSTIN — On March 12, Texans set their clocks ahead one hour, but one state lawmaker wants it to be the last time. State Representative Dan Flynn from East Texas has filed a bill to abolish the practice of springing forward and falling back, so that Texans don’t have to mess with their clocks twice a year. He says tens of thousands of Texans have contacted his office in support of the measure and other lawmakers are backing the bill. One problem seems to be that Texans are split on whether they should be on Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time year-round. Flynn filed a similar bill in 2015, to no avail.

TATUM — One person is dead following an accident at the Martin Lake Power Plant in Tatum. According to KETK, a Luminant electric company contractor died from an accident at the plant on Friday. The cause of death, as well as the name of the person killed is unknown. Luminant employees were not involved. The contracted company, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating.

GREGG COUNTY — Agents with the County Organized Drug Enforcement Unit arrested four Longview men Friday afternoon on numerous drug manufacturing or delivery charges after executing a warrant at a house in the 800 block of Noel Drive in South Longview. According to KETK, Terrence Domond Walton, 31, and Christopher Dejuan Slaughter, 36, were held on $650,000 bond. Jerry L. Boyd (pictured), 44, and Malcolm Abduol Madden, 40, were held on $725,000 bond. Longview police on Saturday said CODE agents found cash, five guns, two of which had been stolen, along with a cache of drugs valued at $115,000: marijuana, Xanax, Ecstasy, meth, crack, PCP and morphine.

TYLER — One person is dead and another is injured following an accident that occurred while working on a damaged power line in Tyler. Friday, around 1:00 am, Tyler police responded to a one-vehicle accident at the intersection of New Copeland Road and ESE Loop 323. Police say a pickup traveling eastbound on the Loop struck an electrical pole causing it to fall. The vehicle left the scene after the crash. Contracted employees with Oncor were on scene repairing the damaged power line shortly before 5:30, when two employees came in contact with a live wire. One of the workers, Wesley Ray Cain (pictured), 34, of Whitehouse, was electrocuted. Injured was Billy Titsworth, 42, of Wills Point. He was transported to Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital and then transferred to Dallas. Continue reading Oncor Worker Electrocuted While Repairing Line

TYLER – A sit down on top of the Smith County Jail is over. The inmate who is a murder suspect, has come down from his perch Friday afternoon. Gustavo Zavala-Garcia, and inmate on a suicide watch, began his sit-down around 2:00 Friday afternoon when he climbed to the top of a basketball goal. A Smith County sheriff’s spokesman says Gustavo Zavala-Garcia was finally removed after he spent 30 minutes looking for an exit through the top of the jail’s outdoor exercise yard and punching anyone trying to take hold of him. A fire truck was brought to the scene and what is called a suicide blanket was placed under the goal in case he decided to jump. KETK reports the blanket turned out to be a bounce house provided by Cindy’s Balloons Party Store. The man is currently under a murder indictment, which was returned January 23rd. He is charged with the November kidnapping and murder of Kayla Gomez-Orozco, 10. She disappeared from a Bullard church during worship service. Her body was found days later inside a well on the suspect’s property.

TYLER – Expect major delays Sunday night on the Loop 323 project at State Highway 31 West in Tyler. There will be demolition work as part of an ongoing construction project. Motorists should avoid the work zone beginning Sunday night at 7:00. District TxDOT spokesperson Kathi White says the contractor will be removing 10 concrete beams from the shoofly bridge at the railroad overpass on Loop 323. The northbound lanes will be reduced to one lane and shifted to the southbound side to set up a crane on the northbound side near the bridge. The southbound lanes will carry two-way traffic. The contractor will stop traffic on Loop 323 for about 15 minutes per beam during the removal process. The remaining substructure of the bridge will also be removed overnight Sunday. Traffic flow should return to normal by 6:00 Monday morning.

AUSTIN – An Anderson County man is one of nine persons appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the Trinity River Authority Board of Directors. He is Dr. Robert McFarlane of Palestine. He is a cardiologist with East Texas Physician’s Alliance, and was also the owner and sole proprietor of The BigWoods on the Trinity from 1995-2015. Most of their terms will expire on March 15th, 2021. Continue reading Appointments To the Trinity River Authority Board Of Directors

ATHENS – The recent term of the Henderson County grand jury saw nearly 45 indictments returned. One of those was against a man accused of the murder of his wife. Daniel Joseph Scott, 29, is accused of the shooting death of his wife Alicia, 29. The shooting occurred at the couple’s home in the Long Cabin area of Henderson County. The shooting happened shortly after midnight on December 28th. He was arrested at East Texas Medical Center in Athens where his wife died. Scott remains in the Henderson County Jail under a $3,500,000 bond.

SMITH COUNTY – The man injured in a Smith County shooting Wednesday afternoon has been identified. Hospitalized in stable condition is Willie Bennett, 61, of Tyler. The shooting occurred near the intersection of County road 1250 and Indian Creek Road. The suspect is said to have gotten out of a black passenger car and shot Bennett while he was on the side of the road. The shooter was previously said to be an Hispanic male. Investigators say they know who he is, but have not released his name.

TYLER – Smith County Commissioner JoAnn Hampton has been appointed to serve on the Education Committee of the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas. Commissioner Hampton will represent the North and East Texas Region on the seven-member board. The committee approves the continuing education hours required each year by County Judges and Commissioners serving in the state. Commissioner Hampton took office as County Commissioner for Precinct 4 on January 1, 2003, and serves the county’s northwest district.

LONGVIEW – A Gladewater man has been arrested after breaking into a man’s motel room. Longview police say 47 year old Myron Gould Price broke into the man’s room at the Budget Motel on West Marshall. According to the Longview News Journal, Price was looking for his wife. After breaking into the man’s room, Price is said to have started repeatedly punching him. He is currently in the Gregg County Jail on a charge of burglary of a habitation. His bond is $10,000.

TYLER — A couple Smith County wanted on sex charges are in custody. Sheriff Larry Smith says Johnny and Angela Crocker have been arrested near Shreveport, Louisiana. According to Sheriff Smith, they been in contact with the local U. S. Marshal’s Task Force and they in turn were in contact with the Louisiana based U. S. Marshal’s Task Force. Johnny Floyd Crocker, 57, a former law officer, and his wife Angela, 41, had been on the run as they faced charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child and tampering with physical evidence. The pair had been considered to be armed and dangerous. We could know Friday if the couple will waive extradition back to Texas.

NASHVILLE – A couple of East Texan’s names surfaced in the announcement for the annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Lindale’s Miranda Lambert has six nominations. If she wins again for female vocalist of the year, it will extend her record in that category to eight straight years. She is also nominated for album of the year, single of the year, and song and video of the year. Continue reading Two East Texans Up for CMA Awards

LONGVIEW – East Texans got a chance on Thursday to see the Texas Supreme court in action. It started with the court hearing two cases at Longview’s LeTourneau University. The first case was an inheritance rights case out of Amarillo. The second case was about medical malpractice and government immunity out of Houston. The oral arguments were held in the Belcher Center. Following the oral arguments there was time for a question and answer session with the justices. In the afternoon the justices held breakout sessions on campus for students and at the Gregg County Courthouse for attorneys and other legal professionals. The Texas Supreme Court’s visit was designed to educate students and the public about Texas government and how the highest court in the state, for civil appeals, operates. Continue reading The Texas Supreme Court Session in Longview

COFFEE CITY – Coffee City police say they are looking for a suspected burglar. He is Anando “Lanny” Robert, 40. He has been named in a warrant for burglary of a building. He is said to bounce between the Athens, Trinidad, Frankston, and Palestine areas. If you know where he can be located, you are asked to contact the Coffee City Police Department or your local law enforcement agency.

CARTHAGE – A Kilgore woman, who finally came to trial for a murder over a dozen years ago, has been found guilty and sentenced to prison. A jury in Carthage this week found Deborah Smiley McFadden, 55, guilty of the 2003 shooting death of her boyfriend. Visiting Judge Diane DeVasto of Tyler sentenced McFadden to 40 years in prison. She was living in Beckville with Edward Eugene George Junior at the time George was shot and killed. She was living with George while she was getting a divorce from Terry Smiley, who police say she had wounded seven months earlier.

AUSTIN – State representative Matt Schaefer of Tyler has filed legislation he says will bring pro-life changes to the Texas abortion law. He says the bill prohibits discriminatory abortions at all stages of pregnancy, based on the preborn child’s race, ethnicity, sex or probability of disability. He said the measure would close the loophole for late abortions for preborn children diagnosed with disabilities that are life-threatening. The Disabled Preborn Justice Act would also require giving information to mothers about comfort care services, perinatal hospice, if their baby has been diagnosed with severe fetal abnormalities. According to Schaefer, “What is considered homicide for a baby that is even one minute old, should also be illegal when that person is still in the womb.” Continue reading Disabled Preborn Justice Act Filed by Tyler Legislator

LONGVIEW – Longview police have identified the victim of the city’s 4th homicide of the year. Officers on a welfare check just before 7:30 Wednesday night found Ricky Nelson Miles Jr., 33, of Longview. He was lying in a vacant lot near the intersection of South 12th Street and Travis Avenue. Miles was transported to Christus Good Shepherd Medical where he died from a gunshot wound. Police spokesperson Kristie Brian says the investigation is continuing.

TYLER – A group of Tyler business leaders said there is a skills gap in Texas. The gap is between job seekers and job qualifications. At a Thursday news conference, the gap was discussed by Tyler Economic Development Council CEO Tom Mullins, former Tyler Chamber of Commerce Chairman Bob Westbrook and Genesis Group CEO Phil Burks. They said 11% of all high school students fail to graduate on time. They feel a way to fix that is with early childhood education. They’re calling on the Legislature to increase funding, or at least to refrain from cutting funds, for early childhood education in public schools.

SMITH COUNTY — The Smith County Sheriff’s Office says a shooting took place Wednesday afternoon near the intersection of County road 1250 and Indian Creek Road. According to KETK, Sheriff Larry Smith reports a Hispanic man got out of a black passenger car and shot a 61-year-old man.while he was on the side of the road. The victim has been taken to a local hospital. The shooter was described as wearing a black shirt and black pants. Anyone with information on this case should contact the sheriff’s office.

TYLER – UT Tyler officials have confirmed the identity of a man found dead on campus Wednesday night as psychology professor Dr. Ronald Livingston. According to KETK, Tyler police said the body was found inside a vehicle. The chief of the UT Tyler Police Department says preliminary reports indicate Livingston died from natural causes. The university did not immediately release a statement on his death.

TYLER — A school crossing guard is hospitalized after he’s hit by a car Thursday morning. The accident happened around 7:15 at the intersection of Roanoke Lane and ESE Loop 323, near Clarkston Elementary School. The driver, identified as Trupti Madane, 26, Tyler, told officers that she didn’t see him in the roadway as she turned onto the Loop from Fairfax Street. Clayton Meshell, 73, Tyler, was transported to ETMC by ambulance with non-life threatening injuries. Madane was issued a citation for failure to obey a crossing guard.

TYLER – We are getting a report of a body found on the campus of the University of Texas at Tyler. Initial reports are the body was found in a vehicle. The chief of UT Tyler Police Department tells KETK that preliminary reports indicate that the person died from natural causes. We will have more information when it becomes available.

LONGVIEW – Longview police are investigating their 4th homicide of the year. Officers on a welfare check just before 7:30 Wednesday night found a man lying in a vacant lot near the intersection of South 12th Street and Travis Avenue. He was transported to Christus Good Shepherd Medical where he died from a gunshot wound. Longview Police are investigating the shooting as a homicide and ask that anyone with information contact Detective Rebecca Reeves at 903-237-1199 or Gregg County Crimestoppers at 903-236-7867

MARSHALL – An illegal immigrant from Mexico has been sentenced to prison in Marshall for the death of his girlfriends little girl in 2015. In a plea agreement, Jose Luis Casiano-Aburto, 31, pleaded guilty to the death of 2-year-old Yeli Madalyn Jimenez. State District Judge Brad Morin, who accepted the plea agreement Wednesday, sentenced him to 20 years in prison. Casiano-Aburto was arrested in the case in Mexico in December 2013. He was then extradited back to Harrison County.

LONGVIEW – A Longview burglary suspect has been arrested fleeing the scene of the crime. Just before 2:00 Wednesday morning, officers responded to a reported commercial burglary on East Highland Avenue. They were told an employee had chased the suspect from the building. When officers found the suspect nearby, he started to run. After a short chase they arrested Lauro Palencia Sanchez, 21, of Longview. He was arrested for burglary of a building, evading arrest, giving false identification and a class C misdemeanor warrant. He’s in the Gregg County Jail under bonds totaling $12,500.

TYLER – Only one suspect remains at large in connection with a social media robbery in Tyler. They are accused of robbing a person they contacted by way of the social media to buy a car. When the victim arrived, they pulled firearms and robbed him. 21 year old Keelan Rashod Smith has been arrested by the US Marshal’s Service Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force following a Crimestoppers tip. Previously arrested were 21 year old Harley Dee Linton and 22 year old Kendrick Shaun Warfield. Authorities are still looking for Terryaun Lamar Rodgers, 22. Continue reading Tyler Robbery Suspect Busted

TYLER — Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith says a former law enforcement officer and his wife are on the run as they face charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child and tampering with physical evidence. 41-year-old Angela Elaine Crocker is believed to be traveling with Johnny Crocker, who Smith says should be considered armed and dangerous. According to Smith, statements have been made by the Crockers that they “will not be taken alive.” He says Angela Crocker is known to drive a gold 2010 Subaru Outback. She’s described as 5’8″ in height, 180 pounds, with hazel eyes and brown hair. Contact the Smith County Sheriff’s Office at 903-566-6600 with any information.

TYLER — New life is on the way for the old New York Store in downtown Tyler, a favorite of shoppers in years gone by. Hearts designed by local residents covered the building this week — a so-called “heart bomb” aimed at showing love for the space. And starting this summer, the building will be transformed into eight apartment lofts. During a Valentine’s Day announcement, new owner John O’Sullivan told KETK he plans to maintain some of the building’s history during the renovation process. “We’ll go in with an engineered structure but at the same time save every beam — and we’ll probably convert some of these huge beams into brand new late 1800s flooring.” O’Sullivan has renovated other downtown properties including Rick’s on the Square. The apartments are expected to be move-in-ready by summer of 2018.

LONGVIEW – As part of Thursday’s Law As a Career Day at Longview’s LeTourneau University, members of the Texas Supreme Court will be on campus. The court will hear oral arguments in a case concerning inheritance law and medical malpractice. This will give you a chance to see first hand how the highest court in the state for civil appeals operates. The oral arguments will be followed by a public question-and-answer time. Doors open at 8:00am, a full hour before oral arguments begin. Those planning to attend are asked to arrive at least 45 minutes early to pass security screening. Activities will continue at 11:00 with a Legal Career Fair. These activities will be held in the Belcher Center on the LeTourneau campus.