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TYLER – Earlier this month, the Smith County grand jury returned indictments agsinst 25 persons. Starting Thursday morning a contingent of law officers began arresting the suspects. At last report, 21 of the suspects were in custody. They were arrested in Smith, Henderson and Van Zandt counties. Nineteen of the indictments were for engaging in organized criminal activity, five were for theft and one indictment was for aggravated assault on a public servant. The investigation started in mid December with the arrest of a suspect west of Tyler for stealing a vehicle and a motorcycle. The following investigation identified numerous persons accused of thefts, burglaries and drug offenses in the area. That led to the indictments and Thursday’s arrests. Continue reading Arrests Made in an Organized Crime Ring

GREGG COUNTY — A Gladewater man has been arrested after police said he threatened to shoot White Oak police officers. According to the Longview News-Journal, the threats were made in videos shared via Snapchat. Ross Lagrande Lindsey, 21, was being held in the Gregg County Jail under $50,000 bond, charged with obstruction or retaliation. Gregg County Sheriff’s deputies arrested him Friday. In one video, police said Lindsey posted from inside the lobby of the White Oak Police Department. Lindsey had posted the videos without a username, but officers recalled seeing him in the department lobby and had previously arrested him. Continue reading Gladewater Man Arrested following Online Threats

HOUSTON (AP) – A new analysis finds that Latinos and African-Americans in five Texas metro areas, including Longview, were more likely to be denied a conventional mortgage loan when compared to non-Hispanic whites. The review of millions of federal records by Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting found that redlining has persisted in 61 metro areas around the U.S. Redlining is the practice of charging more or denying services such as loans based only on reasons related to such things as race, national origin and religion. In Texas, the review of data from 2015 and 2016 found this modern-day redlining in Corpus Christi, the Killeen-Temple area, Longview, the San Antonio-New Braunfels area and Waco. Fair housing advocates and researchers in Texas say they’re not surprised by the review’s findings.

TYLER – A Mexican national illegally residing in Carthage, has been found guilty of drug trafficking violations in East Texas. Following a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge Ron Clark, Conrado Depaz Arellano, 48, was found guilty Wednesday of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Arellano also pleaded guilty on Monday to being illegally in the United States after having been deported. Under federal statutes, Arellano faces up to 40 years in federal prison at sentencing. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office. Continue reading Carthage Man Convicted of Drug Trafficking

TYLER – A mistrial has been declared in the trial of Smith County commissioner JoAnn Hampton. With both the prosecution and defense reaching an agreement, District Judge Jack Skeen declared a mistrial shortly after 4:00 Wednesday afternoon. The jury was then discharged. Hampton was also ordered to enter a 90-day diversion program. Hampton then apologized to the woman she had been accused of pushing. Hampton had been accused of assaulting the 73 year old woman last April. Hampton and the woman got into an argument about setting up the communion table at their church. Hampton was accused of pushing the woman down. She had been facing two different charges of elderly abuse.

TYLER – The Tyler city council has recognized Fire Marshal Paul Findley for his completion of the National Fire Academy course. The program provides senior fire officers with a broad perspective on various facets of fire and emergency services administration. The courses teach officers how to exercise leadership when dealing with difficult or unique problems. Students in the program are given the opportunity to enhance their professional development through a series of four graduate and upper-division-baccalaureate equivalent courses taken over a four-year period.

TYLER – The Tyler city council has approved applying for grant funds for new equipment for the police department. The police department will be pursuing grants for $105,000. Some of the funding is for replacing 150 body cameras. They typically have a two year life span and Chief Jimmy Toler said they have stretched their current equipment past that time. And the rest of the funds will be to purchase equipment that will test substances by scanning directly through plastics, bottles and other translucent packing materials. This will reduce officers’ contact with potentially dangerous drugs by reducing the risk of toxic exposure. Continue reading Funds Sought for New Police Equipment

COFFEE CITY – A raid on a Henderson County game room has resulted in 5 arrests for engaging in organized criminal activity and there may be more in the future. A warrant was served around 9:00 Wednesday morning at the Spin and Win game room on Highway 155. Besides the arrests, sheriff’s deputies seized around 100 games as well as $130,000. Besides the arrests, 11 of the 17 people in the room at the time of the raid were cited for gambling. Sheriff Botie Hillhouse said this was a major operation.

HENDERSON COUNTY — The fugitive parents of a baby that was shot in the face have been arrested. According to Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse, Bryanna Timms, 34, and David Whittick, 33, were caught in Hopkins County near Sulphur Springs late Tuesday. Hillhouse said the couple fled the his county to avoid arrest but his office received a tip that they had been apprehended. An arrest warrant had been issued Tuesday morning and they had reportedly agreed to surrender later that day. The two are charged with endangerment of a child and making a firearm accessible to a child. The 18-month-old survived the shooting and has since been placed in foster care.

MARSHALL – A Marshall man has been arrested for for shooting at a passing vehicle. Arrested Tuesday afternoon was Brian Davis, 27. He is said to have fired several shots at a vehicle traveling on East Houston Street around 1:00 Tuesday afternoon. No one was injured. He then ran away. An officer found him a short time later on East Bowie Street near Merzbacher Street. The gun he is said to have used, which was reported stolen, has been recovered. He was booked into the Harrison County Jail on charges of aggravated assault with a firearm and theft of a firearm. The shooting remains under investigation.

TYLER – Tyler police have arrested a suspect in a Tuesday morning robbery. Hunter Dean Milligan, 22, of Tyler, is accused of robbing the Food Fast on West Houston Street. It happened at 12:05am. He is said to be the man who was armed with a butcher knife who took an undisclosed amount of money and then fled on foot. He was booked into the Smith County Jail on a charge of aggravated robbery. His bond was set at $200,000.

TYLER – Six Robert E Lee High School seniors have been presented Presidential Fellow Scholarships by the University of Texas at Tyler. The scholarships were presented Tuesday morning to Kyle Ferrer, Kaleb Hill, Madison Hysell, Idara Imoh, Katherine Jennings and Mercedes Ojeda. To earn the scholarship, a student was receive ACT scores of 29 or above or 1350 or above on SAT examinations, along with various other academic requirements. The scholarship covers the full cost of tuition, fees, books, room and board.

GREGG COUNTY – Gregg County authorities are continuing their investigation into a weekend shooting that injured a Smith County man.The shooting occurred around 4:00 Sunday morning at Club Sensation on State Highway 31 near Kilgore. The victim was found in a car in the parking lot of a convenience store on Highway 135. Ashtin Javon Arnett-Adams, 26, of Tyler, was taken to the hospital with a non-life threatening injury. Investigators are still trying to determine the circumstances that led up to the shooting and put together information on a possible shooter. Anyone with information is asked to contact Gregg County Sheriff’s Office Investigator David Falco.

LINDALE – A Lindale teacher has been named as a finalist for the 2018 H-E-B Excellence in Education Awards. The award spotlights the best educators in in the state. Lindale High School teacher J.P. Fulger has been presented a $1,000 check for himself and a $1,000 check for his school. As a finalist in the Rising Star Secondary category, Fugler has the opportunity to compete at the statewide level against four others in his category for a cash prize of $5,000 for himself and $5,000 for his school. All of the finalists are invited to Houston on May 5th and 6th to compete on a statewide level for larger cash prizes totaling $430,000.

TYLER – Young Audiences of Northeast Texas announces the winners of the 2018 Arts in Education awards. This year, two persons will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Amy Baskin, Executive Director said “After reviewing the judge’s findings, it was impossible to choose one or the other.” The winners are are Johnny Ray, music teacher at All Saints Episcopal School in Tyler and Denny Whitley, recently retired as band director at Whitehouse High School, Whitehouse ISD. Continue reading Area Teachers to Be Honored

SMITH COUNTY – A gas skimmer that turned up in Bullard has resulted in the arrest of two persons. The skimmer was found at a station on East Houston Street. A Tyler police detective, with the North Texas Financial Crimes Task Force, saw two known suspects from prior investigations pull up to the station to retrieve the skimmer. They fled when they saw the skimmer had been found. A state trooper stopped their car near Loop 49 and Farm Road 2493. The two men, both from the Metroplex were already under investigation by the task force. The investigation had already established that this criminal organization had previously made 780 fraudulent transactions on at least 187 different credit cards in 29 cities and 3 different states. Continue reading Two Arrested in Connection with a Smith County Gas Skimmer

MARSHALL – East Texas Baptist University has been recognized by the Annual RegisteredNursing.org Registered Nurse (RN) Program State Rankings as the eighth ranked RN Program in Texas. This is out of 114 programs evaluated and 50 ranked. The rankings were measured by analyzing the percentage of graduates who pass the exam. ETBU Nurses have consistently achieved 100% passing rates on the National Council Licensure Examination and 100% of the ETBU Nursing School graduates within the last three years have received job offers upon degree completion. Continue reading ETBU Nursing Program Gets High Ranking

ATHENS – One person remains in the hospital from a Henderson County wreck that killed two persons. The wreck occurred around 2:00 Sunday afternoon on U.S. Highway 175, about 5 miles southeast of Athens. Dead at the scene was Ingrid Munoz Perdomo, 24, of Jacksonville. A passenger in her car, Brandon Munoz, 3, of Jacksonville, later died at an Athens hospital. Two youngsters were treated and released and a third is in stable condition at an area hospital. The DPS says the Perdomo vehicle went out of control on the icy road and crossed the center stripe. It was then hit by a tractor trailer rig and then collided with an SUV.

TYLER — The trial for a Smith County commissioner is underway. According to KETK, JoAnn Hampton reportedly assaulted a woman in her 70s in April of 2017. Police say Hampton and the woman got into an argument about setting up the communion table at a Tyler church. Hampton is accused of pushing the woman down. Hampton is facing two different charges of elderly abuse, one of which carries a penalty of 10 years in prison. The other carries a two-year sentence and a $10,000 fine.

MARSHALL – The Marshall Police Department says it has received help in identifying a man who passed counterfeit money. In late January, man went into the Family Dollar store located on East Grand and passed 10 counterfeit $50.00 bills. The suspects vehicle appears to be a silver Dodge Charger with black racing stripes on the hood. It is possible that the man is from Louisiana, since the vehicle did not have a front license plate. Since they released this information and his picture Monday morning they have identified the suspect. His name has not been released and he is not yet in custody.

AUSTIN – The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has appointed a Tyler educator as a member of the Political Science Field of Study Advisory Committee. He is Tyler Junior College’s Department Chair of Government and Economics Geoffrey Willbanks. The committee is composed of 24 voting members, 12 from public community colleges and 12 from public universities. They come from a representative sample of institutions of varying sizes, peer groups, and regions of the state. The is charged with identifying the block of courses that students may transfer to a general academic teaching institution. Continue reading Tylerite Named to State Advisory Committee

WODEN – A former Woden teacher is being charged with two counts of improper relationship between educator and student. Kelly Diann Searles, 45, of Nacogdoches, was also charged with two counts of Indecency with a child when she was arrested around 9:00 Monday morning. Nacogdoches County Sheriff Jason Bridges says warrants for her arrest came after after analyzing hundreds of texts messages, pictures and other information.

PALESTINE – A naked man, identified as Tiron Billups, has been arrested in Palestine. According to the department’s Facebook page, the arrest came after they received several reports of a naked man walking the streets. He was arrested after climbing onto the hood of a police car. According to the posting, “He was arrested for public intoxication, unknown narcotic.” The photo was taken by a Palestine resident.

LINDALE – Three persons have been killed in a two vehicle accident in a northern Smith County wreck. The accident happened around 12:30 Sunday morning on State Highway 110, 8 miles west of Lindale. Dead at the scene were a passenger in a pickup driven by Gilberto Gomez, 26, of Saginaw and Jaewoong Jang, 34, of Lindale. A passenger in Jang’s car, Mikyung Ji, 29, of Lindale, was also killed. Gomez is in stable condition in a Tyler hospital. The Department of Public Safety reports the truck, driven by Gomez, was heading south when it crossed over the double yellow lines and hit the northbound car. Both vehicles burned. The accident remains under investigation.

NEW YORK — Tyler native Johnny Manziel is speaking out — revealing he’s been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. And he wants to get back to the NFL. In an interview with “Good Morning America,” the former A&M football standout admits he’s struggled with depression — and turned to drinking and partying as a way of coping. Manziel says he would self-medicate with alcohol, only to wake up to nothing. Manziel says about a year ago he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is now on medication for that. He also says he’s stopped drinking. Manziel hasn’t played an NFL game since 2015 but says he’s working on a comeback and is asking NFL owners to give him another chance.

PALESTINE – Begining at midweek the Palestine Municipal Court is offering amnesty to those with outstanding warrants. Persons who have failed to appear in court and have arrest warrants or defendants who have been convicted and failed to pay their fine and have capias warrants will both be given amnesty. Beginning Wednesday through March 29, defendants who appear in open court before the judge can take advantage of this offer. The judge will be available every Wednesday, excluding March 14, at 9:00am or 1:30pm and March 1 and 29 at 9:00am. Continue reading Palestine Municipal Court Offering Warrant Forgiveness

ATHENS – The Henderson County Jail in Athens has passed state inspection. The unannounced review took place late last week. Sheriff Botie Hillhouse said the inspector from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards performed a top to bottom inspection. Every aspect of the jail was reviewed including maintenance records, general paperwork, medical records, mental health reports, logs and time-check records. The sheriff said the two-day inspection left no stone unturned.

HENDERSON COUNTY — An East Texas man is arrested on drug charges Sunday. Henderson County Deputies were patrolling the Seven Points area looking for a woman wanted on outstanding warrants. Instead, they found a man with methamphetamines and several pipes. Gary Dewayne Ramsey, 42, of Kemp, was arrested in a camper trailer behind a home on Spring Velley Drive in the Seven Points area. A glass pipe was initially discovered inside the camper. Continue reading East Texas Man Arrested for Outstanding Warrant, Meth

TYLER – Here’s a look at work planned in the district during the Week of Feb. 12, 2018. These schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure or other unforeseen issues. Slow down and pay attention when traveling through work zones. In Smith County, the contractor for the Lindale Relief Route will be conducting single lane closures of the I-20 westbound mainlanes and the frontage road for Toll 49 bridge work. The closures of the various lanes will occur throughout the week. Local law enforcement will be assisting with work zone traffic control. Message boards have been installed to provide advance notice of the closures. Motorists should remain alert when traveling through this and all work zones. Continue reading TxDOT Project Updates for the Week of Feb. 12

HENDERSON COUNTY — A three vehicle wreck east of Athens has left one person dead. According to the DPS report, around 2:00 Sunday afternoon, a passenger vehicle traveling west on US-175 toward Athens and possibly have hydroplaned on the wet roadway. The car veered into the path of a truck tractor semi-trailer that was traveling eastbound. The female driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene. Two juvenile passengers were transported to ETMC- Athens, their condition are unknown. A third vehicle struck the disabled passenger car. The crash remains under investigation. Identities have not been released.