KTBB News, Weather, Talk

ARP – A Harris County man has been killed in a Smith County accident. It happened just after 3:00 Thursday afternoon on U.S. Highway 64, three miles west of Arp. Dead at the scene was Lejuan Keith Holmes, 47, of Humble. In stable condition in a Tyler hospital was James Whitney Callis, 43, of New London. The Department of Public Safety says Holmes changed lanes, hitting the car next to him. That car then hit a tractor-trailer rig driven by Timothy Julius Johnson, 53, of Bullard. Johnson was not injured. The crash remains under investigation.

TYLER – Tyler Police are searching for a Critical Missing Person who is identified as Anthony Patrick Dodds, 17. He is autistic and acts the age of 9-10. He was last seen in the area of Paluxy and Loop 323 around 7:30 Friday evening. He is 5’05 tall, 132 pounds, black short hair, brown eyes, wearing glasses. He was last seen wearing a green/white horizontal striped shirt “Guess”, blue jeans, blue/black Nike shoes. If you locate or have any information related to this subject please contact the Tyler Police Department immediately at 903-531-1000.

VAN ZANDT COUNTY – State troopers were called to the scene of a two vehicle fatal accident on State Highway 64 and County Road 2132 in Van Zandt County. One person has been killed. Highway 64 was shut down as emergency responders worked to secure the scene. The road has since been reopened. More information will be released as it becomes available.

TATUM – A Tatum high school school student has been arrested after being accused of bringing a gun on the campus. He is said to have showed the gun to other students around 4:30 Wednesday afternoon. They reported it to school officials on Thursday. The student and his belongings were removed from the classroom and searched, but no gun was found. Surveillance footage showed he had a real or fake gun, but he did not threaten anyone.

LONGVIEW – The Longview city council has approved the purchase of property for the police department headquarters. The building will sit on seven acres near their current building, which they share with the municipal court. The new building will nearly double the size of the current 31,000 square foot facility. The price tag for the new building on Luckett Street is $33.4 million. It should be ready to move into within three years.

HENDERSON COUNTY — An Athens man is fatally shot Thursday night. According to Henderson County Sheriff, Botie Hillhouse, William Lebleu, 33, was shot twice with a shotgun around 7:00 pm and was pronounced dead a short time later at a Tyler hospital. Stewart Prewitt, 53, of Athens, has been charged with felon in possession of a firearm. Hillhouse said an argument earlier in the day led to the shooting. Lebleu reportedly went to the residence on Brentwood Circle, south of Athens, with what appeared to be a handgun. When he brandished the weapon, which later proved to be an airsoft gun, Prewitt shot him. The case has been handed over to the Henderson County District Attorney. Continue reading Felon Arrested following Fatal Shooting

TYLER — The Tyler Economic Development Council Thursday held its 30th Annual Investors and Contributors Luncheon. President/CEO Tom Mullins says it was a time to look at how far Tyler has come in those 30 years. He says the community is now “much more diverse economically” than it was when his organization started up. Mullins has headed up the council since it came into existence, largely as a means of finding alternatives to the then-lagging oil and gas industry. He says in the past 30 years, Tyler’s economy has gained strength in such areas as technology, distribution, retirees, medicine, education, transportation, and finance. Laila Assanie of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas was guest speaker at the luncheon. She says the growth in Tyler’s median income was third in the state, right behind Midland and Austin, from 2010 to 2017.

SMITH COUNTY – A fatal accident in eastern Smith County remains under investigation. The three vehicle wreck occurred on U.S. Highway 64, just east of County Road 298, between Chapel Hill and Arp. The accident involved two passenger cars and a truck tractor towing a semi-trailer. One person was dead at the scene and one person was taken to a Tyler hospital for treatment.

TYLER – It’s life in prison for a Smith County murder. In a Thursday court appearance, Charles Edward Lennon III, 30, pleaded guilty to murder. He had been charged with the July 2018 death of Rachel Lynn Jackson of Bullard. She died after being beaten with a tire knocker. And, because he failed to pay probation fees, Lennon’s probation was revoked on two prior cases of possession of a controlled substance. On each of those charges he had been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Those sentences will run concurrently with the life prison sentence.

TYLER – Two African elephants from San Diego, California, are now living at Tyler’s Caldwell Zoo. They come from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. They are both 8 years old. Such a big transfer takes a lot of time and effort. It has taken over two years to plan the transfer. The move to Tyler came as a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan. All AZA-accredited facilities work together to manage populations, participate in breeding programs, and promote conservation and education goals. Zoo officials say the elephants have made the transition even quicker than expected. Continue reading New Tyler Zoo Arrivals

TYLER – A capital murder defendant appeared in a Tyler court Thursday for a pretrial hearing. Gustavo Zavala-Garcia, 26, of Bullard, is accused of the November 2016 death of Kayla Gomez-Orozco, 10. Her body was found days later inside a well on the suspect’s property following her abduction from a Bullard church. During the hearing, several routine motions were handled. Still pending are defense motions to suppress statements he made to authorities after his arrest and a defense request for a change of venue. State District Judge Jack Skeen said those will be handled at a later date.

TYLER – Don’t be surprised to see a Tyler Fire Department truck on the campus of U-T Tyler Friday night. The truck will be there in connection with the school’s homecoming activities. One of the events is a fireworks display. It had originally been scheduled for Saturday evening. But, with rain in the forecast, the fireworks were moved to Friday night. The fire truck will be on stand-by during the fireworks to provide services, if needed. The display is expected to begin at around 9:00pm and should last for 15 to 20 minutes.

HENDERSON – The Henderson Police Department is alerting area residents of a SWEPCO scam. Someone has been calling claiming they work for SWEPCO. They say that the person they called needs to make a payment with them or their services will be cut off. The company says they don’t make such calls. They say, if you are in doubt, call SWEPCO using your bill statement to check billing inquires. The SWEPCO number is 1-800-611-0964.

FLINT – Night work has started on the new Farm Road 2493, Old Jacksonville Highway, project in Smith County. The project, with limits from Farm Road 2813 in Gresham, south to Farm Road 346 in Flint, will widen the existing two-lane road to five lanes with curb and gutter and bike lanes. Night work started Thursday night at the intersection of FM 2493 and FM 346 in Flint. Motorists can expect a slow-down in their evening commutes at this location with work being conducted daily from 8:00pm to 500am. The contractor will be placing detour pavement in preparation for concrete paving work at the intersection. TxDOT says the anticipated completion date of the $14.5 million project is the fall of 2022.

EAST TEXAS – A discount store chain is closing some of its stores around the country, including several in this area. Fred’s discount chain is closing 159 stores. The Memphis-based company said the closures are taking place at “underperforming” and “unprofitable” stores. Included on the list are stores in Tyler, Whitehouse, Lindale, Kilgore and Gladewater. The company plans to close the stores by the end of next month.

EAST TEXAS – State troopers in East Texas are joining others in the state in being equipped to combat opioid overdoses.The state troopers are receiving NARCAN kits, along with tactical emergency training. The kits can help reverse a known or suspected opioid overdose. This tool can also help save the lives of law enforcement or first responders who may be exposed to a lethal levels of substances such as fentanyl on the job. Last year state troopers seized 94.5 pounds of fentanyl, which constitutes more than 23 million lethal doses. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 80-100 times stronger than morphine.

TYLER – A Tyler man is heading to prison after pleading guilty to a Smith County shooting death. Larry Cowart, 41, entered his guilty plea in state district court Thursday morning. Cowart had been charged with murder. In a plea deal, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Judge Christi Kennedy sentenced him to 13 years in prison. He was accused of the shooting death of Heath Bearden, 43, last June. The shooting occurred at a home on County Road 1145.

TYLER — The Tyler City Council Wednesday awarded a contract to conduct a traffic study to the firm Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., a national company with offices in Dallas. According to our news partner KETK, the firm said it will spend about a year looking at the city’s varying types of equipment and technology. Engineers say much of that equipment and technology is out of date. The city operates more than 160 traffic lights and none of them are automated. Many of them have been deemed obsolete or structurally deficient. Continue reading Tyler City Council Awards Contract for Traffic Study

TYLER – Tyler has recorded its first 90 degree day of the year. The National Weather service says Tyler’s downtown station recorded 90 degrees at 3:00 Wednesday afternoon. The airport’s high was 89. The 90 degree reading in Tyler is about three weeks earlier than normal. The last 90 degree reading in Tyler was last October 4. There were new temperature records recorded on Wednesday by five Texas cities. Del Rio hit 107 for their highest reading ever in April, and Rio Grande Village in Big Bend also hit 107. It was 99 in both San Angelo and Midland and it was 93 in Austin.

LONGVIEW – A man has been arrested after being accused of assaulting a nurse at a Longview hospital. Jail records show Jason Carroll Wellborn, 35, of Gilmer is charged with assault on a public servant and a warrant for contempt of court disobedience of court order. The Longview News Journal reports a nurse went into a trauma room to check on why Wellborn was moaning. The nurse said Wellborn punched and scratched him after he gave Wellborn a pen and paper to write down why he was moaning. When Wellborn was medically cleared to leave the hospital Longview police arrested him.

BIG SANDY — Classes started at their normal time on Thursday in Big Sandy. They were canceled Wednesday following an online threat. On the district’s Facebook page, school officials say they have been working with a variety of law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and the Texas Rangers. They say “persons of interest” who may have created a Snapchat post in which the school system was threatened have been identified. The investigation is continuing. Our news partner KETK says all of this comes almost one year after Big Sandy I.S.D. was put on a precautionary lock-down following an online threat.

AUSTIN – Sales tax allocations from the state continue to increase for Tyler and Longview. The April sales tax allocations for the cities are based on sales made in February. Tyler’s April check is for $3,463,204.44. This is a 12.3% increase from April of last year. Tyler’s year to date total comes to $15,158,370.77. The reflects a 7.77% hike over the same period last year. Longview’s April check is for $2,427,165.18. This is an increase of 8.49%. And Longview’s year to date total has increased by $3.88%, to $10,982,782.18.

LONGVIEW – Bond has been increased on a Longview man accused of assaulting a woman. Daniel Odell Wright, 28, is accused of assaulting a woman and then pouring gasoline on her. He was arrested Monday night after police responded to a family violence call on Harmon Drive. He was charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury and bond set at $10,000. But, during a Wednesday afternoon hearing, State District Judge Alfonso Charles assessed a new bond of $100,000. District Attorney Tom Watson said ” domestic violence in Gregg County will not be tolerated.”

TYLER – The Smith County Peace Officers Association held a luncheon Wednesday to honor a former Tyler policeman. The luncheon honored retired officer Herbert Hayter. He joined the Tyler police department in June, 1995. He retired in May, 2008. While over the police department’s training unit, Hayter was instrumental in starting up the Tyler Junior College Police Academy in 1999. In March, 2014, he accepted the position of Academy Coordinator at the police academy as was promoted to Lieutenant for the Tyler Junior College Police Department. As one officer said, “he is one of the best leaders I have ever had the privilege to work under.”

TYLER – Thursday night at 6:30, Habitat for Humanity of Smith County will hold an information meeting in Tyler for potential new homeowners. The session will be held at Tyler’s Glass Recreation Center. They will look at the applicant’s level of need. They also look for families who are willing to put in 300 to 500 sweat equity hours on their homes. And they also review their ability to repay the mortgage loan with an affordable monthly payment. There are other qualifications, including criminal and background checks. You can go to http://www.smithcountyhabitat.org for detailed information.

TYLER – Area law officers are gathering in Tyler today to receive special training in child abduction. The training is provided by special agents of the FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team, which is known as CARD. The officers on hand are receiving training based on the FBI’s Child Abduction Response Plan. It is the national model for best practices when responding to and investigating cases involving children who are missing under mysterious or suspicious circumstances. The CARD team has nearly a 90% success rate in identifying and apprehending child abductors.

BIG SANDY — Classes were canceled at Big Sandy I.S.D. Wednesday following an online threat. Big Sandy Police, the Upshur County Sheriff’s Department and the Texas Rangers are all investigating the threat. According to our news partner KETK, school officials were made aware of a social media threat around 10:00 Tuesday night after parents notified the district. After reviewing the post, Big Sandy I.S.D. made the decision to cancel all classes scheduled for Wednesday. This comes almost one year after Big Sandy I.S.D. was put on a precautionary lock-down following a threat made online.

TYLER – A Tyler man is one of the four finalists to become the next president of Tyler Junior College. School trustees narrowed the list during a Tuesday meeting. The four finalists are:
*Dr. Juan E. Mejia, President for Branch Locations and District Provost at Tyler Junior College
*Dr. Robert J. Exley, President of Snead State Community College in Boaz, Alabama
*Dr. Elizabeth U. Lewis, Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas
*Dr. Deana Sheppard, Vice President of instruction at Lone Star College – CyFair in Cypress, Texas Continue reading TJC a Step Closer to Getting a New President

LONGVIEW – A convicted felon has been arrested by Longview police on drug and weapons charges. The Longview News Journal reports the arrest of Thomas Ricardo Hubbard, 39, of Longview, came after a police SWAT team and the Gregg County Organized Drug Enforcement Unit executed a search warrant at his residence. Jail records show Hubbard charged with three counts of manufacture or delivery of between 200 and 400 grams of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. He is in the Gregg County Jail on bonds totaling $250,000. He was arrested at his home on Hubbard Street just before 9:45 Monday morning. Police say they found crack cocaine in his vehicle and crack cocaine, methamphetamine, PCP and weapons in his home.