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MARSHALL – The Marshall Police Department is asking for the public’s help with finding a woman who has been missing since Tuesday. Francine Robertson, 29, of Marshall, was last seen walking in the 2300 block of West Rusk Street. Francine is described as a black female who stands about 5’7” tall and weighs around 270 pounds. She was last seen wearing a gray t-shirt with black sleeves, blue jeans and no shoes. It is believed she may suffer from some sort of mental illness and family members are concerned about her welfare. Anyone who has seen Francine Robertson or knows where she can be found is urged to call the Marshall Police Department at 903-935-4575.

MARSHALL — A Marshall man is behind bars after police say he broke into an apartment and assaulted a female resident. On Friday at approximately 6:01 a.m. officers were called to the Belaire Manor Apartments on Julie Street in Marshall regarding a burglary in progress. When officers arrived, they discovered a window air conditioner unit had been removed from a front window of an apartment and the window was left open. After hearing a female inside the apartment screaming for help, officers say they entered through the window of the apartment and found a male suspect assaulting a female victim. Continue reading Man Held in Burglary, Assault

MARSHALL — The Marshall Police Department is investigating a stabbing that left one woman seriously wounded. On Friday at approximately 1:58 a.m., officers were called to the Days Inn Motel located on East End Boulevard regarding a fight. The brawl started at a bar inside the motel and escalated into the parking lot, where a female victim, identified as 48-year-old Betty Davis, was stabbed. Davis was transported to CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Medical Center in Marshall with serious injuries, but is expected to survive. A male victim, identified as 26-year-old David Gomez, was also treated at the hospital for injuries sustained in the fight after he was struck over the head with a pool cue. Continue reading Marshall Police Investigate Stabbing

COFFEE CITY – A one vehicle accident in Coffee City has left one person dead and one injured. The wreck was reported shortly before 10:45 Thursday night on State Highway 155. Dead at the scene was Elizabeth Kopycinsky, 23, of La Porte. Hospitalized is Allison Blanton, 18, of La Porte. Both were thrown from their car during the accident. Their car was traveling on a rim because of a blowout when it left the road and hit a tree and then rolled. The Department of Public Safety says the accident remains under investigation.

LONGVIEW – Keep Longview Beautiful has once again earned the Governor’s Community Achievement Award. The award is given each year to ten cities by the Texas Department of Transportation and Keep Texas Beautiful. It goes to cities they feel has the best grassroots environmental programs in the state. The competition distributes $2 million in funding from TxDOT based on population size. Keep Longview Beautiful last won the award in 2013. The $270,000 was used to plan, design and install the new entryway located at State Highway 31 and Spur 63. On the west side of this area is where Keep Longview Beautiful is preparing to build The Green, a nine acre outdoor event venue.

KILGORE- The public has helped the Kilgore police identify a theft suspect. The man in the picture is said to have stolen several adult items from an adult entertainment store on Industrial Boulevard. The man refused to pay and left the store with the clerk chasing him. He rode off on a motorcycle. The theft occurred on March 1st at 7:45pm. They said if the man doesn’t come forward, they would list on their Facebook page the items he is accused of taking. Friday afternoon they posted on their Facebook page, “Thanks to all the FB friends that helped identify this suspect. Great Job.”

PALESTINE – A traffic switch for State Highway 294 southwest of Palestine, originally scheduled for Friday, has been delayed until Tuesday, March 21. TxDOT says the contractor is having to make some additional updates to a temporary detour. The contractor is preparing to realign Highway 294’s intersection at U.S. Highway 79. TxDOT says once the detour updates are place, the contractor will demolish the existing intersection and reconfigure it. This will create a standard “T” intersection with Highway 79. TxDOT says once completed, the new intersection will improve safety and mobility through the area. Traffic will remain on the detour for about two months, weather permitting, as the permanent intersection alignment is completed.

(NEW YORK) — Last month, JCPenney announced it would be closing up to 140 of its stores in an effort to sustain profitability and compete against online retailers. And now, the company has revealed which of its locations will be affected. In East Texas, the Tyler and Longview stores will stay in business, but the outlets in Athens, Marshall, and Nacogdoches will be shutting down. In all, 138 stores will be closed, along with a supply chain facility in Lakeland, Florida. Another supply chain facility in Buena Park, California will be relocated. JCPenney said most stores will close in June but begin the liquidation process on April 17. Continue reading Three JCPenney Stores Due to Close in East Texas

TYLER – Two babies were hospitalized after being born in a Tyler apartment. One died and the other is listed in stable condition. Shortly before 4:30 Thursday afternoon, a woman brought one of the babies into the lobby of the Faulkner Park Police Station thinking it was a Safe Drop Zone. EMS took the baby to the hospital. While at the police station, the woman received a call that the mother of the baby had just delivered another baby at the Cumberland Place Apartments. When officers found the mother, the baby was unresponsive. Both were taken to the hospital where the baby was pronounced dead. Tyler police spokesman Don Martin says the name of the 33 year old woman who gave birth to the babies is not being released at this time.

LUFKIN – A Lufkin woman, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, has been arrested on drug charges. Raychel Jaylin Clark, 24, has been charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, and misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of a dangerous drug. She was sitting in her car when a Lufkin plain clothes officer walked by and smelled burning marijuana. Inside the car he found a plastic baggie with a small amount of methamphetamine, Xanax, and K-2. By the way, she was parked about a block from the Lufkin Police Department.

TYLER – There have been a rash of auto burglaries reported in Smith County. And the sheriff’s department reports most have involved unlocked vehicles. The suspects are targeting neighborhoods, looking for unlocked vehicles, then taking unsecured items. You’re being asked to remove valuables, or place them out of sight, then lock the vehicle. Try to park in a lighted area. And, if you see any suspicious activity, you are asked to report it immediately. If you have any questions about these offenses, or information regarding possible suspects, please contact Smith County Detective Lohmeyer at 903-590-2956.

KILGORE – The Kilgore Police Department has issued a warning about door to door sales. The alert comes after people were going door to door trying to sell products, and obtain donations, using the Kilgore High School Soccer Team as a backdrop. One of those sales persons, who lives in Arkansas, is now facing a charge of deceptive business practices. Kilgore police say, as a general rule, they consider these types of businesses suspicious and warns residents not to visit with them. If a door to door sales person comes to your house, ask to see their city permit. If they don’t have one, call the police.

TYLER – Tyler police say a woman, who appeared to be a robbery victim, was actually a co-conspirator in the robbery. Arrested on Wednesday was Jamie Michelle Hardy, 33, of Tyler. Previously arrested in the case was Chad Allen Boening, 34, of Dallas. Tyler police say Boening and Hardy planned to rob a man who she had met on line. Investigators secured an arrest warrant Wednesday and arrested Hardy, charging her with aggravated robbery. Hardy is in the Smith County Jail on a $50,000 bond. Continue reading Victim Said to Be Involved in Tyler Robbery

NEW SUMMERFIELD – Three persons are now in custody in a Cherokee County murder that occurred last October. Arrested in Cherokee County over the weekend was Jose Garcia. His brothers, Maximino Garcia and Emmanuel Garcia had been earlier arrested along the Texas-Mexico border. They are all now being held in the Cherokee County Jail with a $1 million bond on each man. They are accused of the shooting death of Mario Rodriguez, 27, of New Summerfield. His pickup was found at County Road 4415 and Farm Road 2274, just outside of new Summerfield. His body was on the floorboard of the truck.

TYLER – A Bullard man, who was said to be naked when he bit a sheriff’s deputy, is in the Smith County Jail. The bond on Justin Carsten, 22, is $30,000. He’s charged with resisting arrest and assault on a public servant. When they responded to a disturbance call on Deer Cove Road, deputies found Carsten, high on something, naked and armed with a shovel. When he wouldn’t put down the shovel, they used a taser on him. He was not affected by it. While bringing him under control, he is said to have bit a deputy on the leg. Both were treated and released at a Tyler hospital.

TYLER – Tyler’s Meals On Wheels Ministry has now started serving breakfast. Zoe Lawhorn says once a week, they take to their clients a box of items like dry cereal, dried fruit, milk and juice, which is designed to complete seven breakfast meals.The breakfast meal program is designed to meet the nutritional needs of the organization’s most nutritionally at-risk clients. The program is an initiative detailed in the organization’s 2016 Strategic Plan, which was created as a collaborative effort between the Board of Directors and members of the Meals On Wheels Ministry’s Executive staff. Continue reading Meals On Wheels Now Delivering Breakfast

LONGVIEW — A preliminary autopsy report released Tuesday indicated Victorria Sam, 28, died of a gunshot wound to the head. The report shows Sam died of a “close range penetrating gunshot wound to the left side of the face.” According to KETK, on December 19th, Longview police responded to a home on Duncan Street, where they found Sam dead inside her car that was stopped in the middle of the residential street. Christopher Wade Pleasant, 26, of Longview is under indictment for the murder of Sam. He is currently being held in the Harrison County Jail awaiting arraignment on the murder charge.

MARSHALL – Authorities are looking for two persons responsible for a theft from a Marshall business. The man and woman are accused of stealing from Walmart on East End Boulevard North. The two are said to have gone in the store shortly after 2:45am on March 5th. The man went to the electronics department, while the woman left the store and got into a small white 4-door car. The man took several video cameras and left through a fire door. They both left in the car. Continue reading Marshall Theft Suspects Sought

NEW YORK (AP/STAFF) — Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus says it’s exploring strategic alternatives including a possible sale of the company. The announcement Tuesday came as the retailer, which also operates Bergdorf Goodman, reported a loss in its second fiscal quarter that ended January 28 and its sixth consecutive quarterly drop for a key revenue measure. The company has a distribution center in the Longview Business Park. it has 278 employees, which the Longview Economic Development Corporation says makes it the city’s 18th largest employer. Continue reading Neiman Marcus: Exploring Options Including Sale

MARSHALL – The autopsy report on the body of a Longview toddler shows the youngster died from accidental intoxication by opioid. The Marshall News Messenger reports the autopsy shows numerous drugs in the system of the 18 month old. Among them was methadone and ibuprofen. When the youngster died in Harrison County in late February, the mother, April Gibbons, 33, first told police one twin rolled on top of and smothered the other one. But investigators found she had given both twins adult sleeping medication. She was charged on March 8th with murder. Also arrested were her parents, Gary Evans, 60 and Carla Evans, 57, who have been charged with endangering a child.

MOUNT PLEASANT – A woman said to be part of a Titus County crime spree that left three persons dead, has been charged with two count of murder. They were filed against 18 year old Cheyenne Bigelow of Omaha. Authorities say Bigelow and her boyfriend, 29 year old Michael LaPlace of Mount Pleasant, went on a drug induced crime spree that started when LaPlace tied up his grandmother and killed his grandfather. Up the road, LaPlace is said to have killed a cousin. Another cousin, who had been tied up, got free and, in an exchange of gunfire, killed LaPlace. Bigelow is in the Titus County Jail, charged with two counts of murder, two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of possession of a controlled substance.

LONGVIEW – A former Hallsville school teacher has pleaded guilty to a Longview hit and run accident. Wendy Lee Edney, 41, of Longview, was sentenced Monday to two years probation, 100 hours of community service and 180 days of confinement in Gregg County Jail. Investigators say her blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit at the time of the accident, last April 27th. She had two daughters, ages 7 and 11, in her vehicle when the wreck occurred at the intersection of North Eastman Road and Hawkins Parkway. The other driver involved in the wreck is said to have followed Edney to her Tryon Road home where authorities arrested her.

KILGORE – A third person has been arrested in the disappearance of Sheryia Grant of Kilgore. She was 8 months pregnant when she disappeared August 20th, 2016. Arrested Monday in Rusk County was a juvenile from Arp. The arrest was made because of a directive to apprehend order which was the result of a two count indictment in the case, which was returned March 1st. Arrested last Wednesday in the case were Allen Lamont Sutton, 28, and Laneshia Lashae Young, 22, both of Overton. All three are charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence (human corpse), felony 2, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence Felony 3. Grant’s body has not been found. However, evidence uncovered during the investigation indicates she was murdered shortly after she was reported missing. Investigators say additional forensic evidence is still being evaluated and processed as the investigation is continuing.

AUSTIN — As we kick the cobwebs out of our heads from another weekend of springing forward, the experts are increasingly questioning the benefit of Daylight Saving Time. Sleep expert Dr. Richard Castriotta of the UT Health Science Center in Houston is one of them. He says, “It has an enormous cost to the transportation industry, and…people have to change their schedules for things” — along with sometimes facing medical problems that can arise. Daylight Saving Time was supposed to save energy, but in states like Texas with hot summers, having to keep the A/C humming later in the evening actually costs energy. THere are three separate bills before texas lawmakers to do away with Daylight Saving and just stick with Standard Time. One of those bills filed by state Representative Dan Flynn (pictured) of Van.

LINDALE – Lindale police have issued a scam alert. It’s about a man who used deception in soliciting money. He is said to have called a business posing as a frequent customer requesting help and that someone he knew would be at the business shortly. They were asking for money in order to get their broken down car towed away. The caller gave little information but fed off information given to him by the unsuspecting victim. A Lindale police detective says a store employee lost money to this scam. And he added, by giving them money, you are doing so willingly and it eventually puts you in a financial bind. You can see a suspect’s picture at KTBB dot com.

AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott has appointed 5 persons and reappointed three others to the One Call Board of Texas. One of those reappointed to the board was Janie Walenta of Quitman. She was reappointed for a term set to expire on August 31, 2018. Walenta is a retired telecommunications manager. The board has authority over Call Before You Dig systems that notify the underground facility operators for excavation plans so pipelines and utility lines can be marked to prevent accidents.

TYLER – Recently, Macy’s announced it was closing it’s Tyler store. Now, more stores are following suit. The discount store chain Gordmans announced Monday they will be filing for bankruptcy, and liquidating their stores, including the one in Tyler. It opened in 2014 in The Village at Cumberland Park. The company has not given a time frame for closing its stores. Gordmans president and CEO Andy Hall said, “Until further notice, all Gordmans stores are operating as usual without interruption.” Also closing will the Radio Shack store on the Troup Highway in Tyler. The company has not announced a date for its closing.

ATHENS — A Smith County man is one of two persons shot and killed Sunday on Hopson Drive in the Athens area after they invaded a home and attempted to rob two residents. The men are identified as 49 year old Steven Kelley of Winona and 31 year old Cecil Spain of Grand Saline. The two are said to have posed as customers looking to purchase a dog from a man and woman at their home. The two were restrained and suffered minor injuries at the hands of the suspects, who were armed with hanguns. Both were shot and killed during the incident. The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, Henderson County District Attorney’s Office, and the Texas Rangers are continuing the investigation.

TYLER – Tyler native and former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel is said to be engaged. The announcement comes as Manziel tries to get back in football. On Friday, Manziel told TMZ, the celebrity news site, he was engaged to model Bre Tiesi. The proposal, complete with a big ring and roses, came during a recent trip to Paris. The two have been dating since last December. He credits her with helping him achieve sobriety after multiple failed stints in rehab. He told TMZ Sports, “When you find a girl as amazing as I did that saved me from where I was in my life, you absolutely put a ring on it..” Manziel’s attempt to make a comeback and drew interest from several teams at the recent NFL Scouting Combine, but no team made him an offer.