KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — Tyler Junior College announced Friday the arrest of a student who allegedly exposed himself to a female victim at the Vaughn Library on October 28. KETK reports Fabian Sewell was taken into custody Friday morning by TJC Police and charged with indecent exposure. His bond was set at $40,000. Police say the investigation was aided by several factors: the victim’s immediate report to TJC Campus Police; surveillance cameras in place on campus that allowed TJC Campus Police to track the suspect to his vehicle; and a witness that recognized the individual after receiving the timely alert. Continue reading TJC Student Arrested for Indecent Exposure

MT. PLEASANT — An East Texas man is behinds bars for allegedly shooting a woman he then reportedly drove around for several hours. KETK reports that on Thursday afternoon, Titus County Sheriff’s Deputies were contacted by Upshur County officials who were investigating a shooting in their county. Investigators were attempting to locate the suspected shooter, Steve Seth Rosewell, 30, of Cookville. Upshur County officials say Rosewell shot a female companion causing life-threatening injuries. Authorities say Rosewell then drove the victim around several hours before dumping her out in Longview near a hospital parking lot. Continue reading Officials: Man Drove Shooting Victim Around for Hours

HAWKINS — The dispute over land along U.S. 80 in Hawkins where a controversial sign still sits is headed to a courtroom. That’s according to KETK and the Longview News-Journal. “We’re standing for our constitutional rights and our deed,” Marie McDonald said. Her husband, Mark McDonald, is trustee of Jesus Christ Open Altar Church, which in September 2015 took control of property in Hawkins where a sign reading “Jesus Welcomes You to Hawkins” greets motorists traveling into town. Continue reading Jesus Sign Case Headed for Court

PRICE — An East Texas high school is in mourning following the loss of one of their own. KETK reports standout Carlisle football player Taylor Chote was killed following a vehicle accident Thursday night — just a day before the Indians’ game against San Augustine. Taylor is also the son of Henderson Fire Chief Rusty Chote. Taylor played guard and defensive tackle for the Indians. The school district says counselors are available for anyone needing help dealing with the loss.

TYLER — A reception was held Thursday evening for retiring UT Tyler President Rodney Mabry. The retirement is official next month. He’s been at the school for 18 years. Dr. Mabry shared his thoughts on retiring with KETK, saying, “I’m happiest with the total picture. I think we have launched a university that will be one of true substance.” After retiring, Mabry plans to focus on writing.

EAST TEXAS — Early voting across the state will wrap up today. There are five early voting locations in Tyler, Noonday, Whitehouse and Lindale, as well as a temporary branch location in Overton. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today. Election Day is Tuesday, November 8. Voters have been casting ballots at the polls in record numbers during the two weeks of early voting in Smith County. A reported 52,414 people have voted since October 24, 2016. With one more day to go, that’s already more than the 50,567 people who cast ballots during early voting in the 2012 Presidential Election. Smith County Elections Administrator Karen Nelson is expecting a large turnout today, but Election Day will most likely be even busier. Continue reading Early Voting Ends Today

NACOGDOCHES — A Nacogdoches home builder has been taken into custody following an ongoing investigation by the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office for theft. According to KETK, Richard Epps, 56, is accused of stealing more than $100,000 from a home owner in Etoile. Epps admitted he used the money on other construction projects and for personal use. Sheriff Office investigators have been able to verify that the homeowner has suffered a loss of nearly $175,000 to Epps who is operating a construction business by the name of 2 Bar E. Continue reading East Texas Builder Charged with Theft

TYLER – A man involved in a standoff in May has been indicted by the Smith County Grand Jury. It was announced Thursday that Michael Greenlee, 32, who had been charged with deadly conduct, was indicted last week. The standoff occurred on Hancock Drive just southeast of Tyler near the Trane plant. Greenlee is said to have gotten into a dispute with a construction worker and fired a shot into the ground. No one was hit. A negotiator contacted Greenlee and talked him out of his house.

TYLER – A Longview man is facing a lengthy prison sentence after pleading guilty in Tyler federal court. Gerald Dwayne Templeton, 56, who has 3 prior felony drug trafficking convictions, pleaded guilty to felon in possession of a firearm. At sentencing, Templeton is facing a maximum punishment of 10 years in imprison and a $250,000.00 fine. Charges against a co-defendant are still pending. On March 1st, the Gregg County Organized Drug Enforcement Unit served a search warrant at a Longview home where Templeton and Teresa Ann Bean were found. Besides recovering around 35 grams of cocaine, officers found items indicating drug trafficking and two shotguns, one of which had been “sawed off,” and multiple rounds of ammunition of various calibers.

TYLER — Oprah is out with her annual “Favorite Things” list, and it includes one East Texas company. The former talk show host says Janie’s Cakes, which is based in Tyler, has the best pound cake she has ever had. The bakery’s Katherine Crow says since the announcement was made, their phone has been ringing off the hook. Crow says, “Christmas, naturally, is our busiest time of the year — so at this point, we see that Christmas came early.” She says they’ve known for months — and keeping that secret was almost impossible.

LONGVIEW – A Kilgore woman has been arrested in connection with the Thursday death of Longview woman. Charged with murder is 28 year old Kayla Ann Wheeler. She is charged with killing her mother in her mother’s apartment at the Hidden Hills Apartments on Gilmer Road. She is currently in The Gregg County Jail under a $150,000 bond. Police were investigating the woman’s death when Wheeler came to the apartment. She is said to have told investigators she stabbed her mother in the neck following an altercation.

TYLER – The Texas Health and Human Services Commission awarded a new contract for Early Childhood Intervention Services in the area. The State has granted $815,000 to Community Healthcore of Longview, to continue the services. The services had been administered by the Andrews Center in Tyler. This is a statewide program for families with children, from birth to age three, with disabilities and developmental delays. According to a news release from State Representative Matt Schaefer of Tyler, Community Healthcore will provide the same services to the same seven county service area with no changes to what clients pay. And they will be establishing new offices in the Tyler area. Continue reading Early Childhood Intervention Services Returning

LONGVIEW – A Longview death is under investigation. The person was found dead in a unit of the Hidden Hills Apartments on Gilmer Road. Investigators have called the death “suspicious,” and the body is going to a Tyler lab for autopsy. No other information has been released.

TYLER – A John Tyler High School senior has won a state-wide oratorical contest. Triston Ferguson the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Joseph S. Rumbaugh Historical Oration Contest held in Austin. Triston received a $2,500 scholarship and a gold medal at the state competition. He now advances to compete in the National SAR Oration Contest to be held July 10-11 in Boston, Massachusetts. Continue reading Tyler Student Wins State Title

BULLARD — A nationwide Amber Alert continues for a 10-year-old girl reported missing from Bullard. Kayla Gomez went missing from the First Assembly of God off Highway 69, in Bullard, early Tuesday evening. A press conference was held Wednesday afternoon at the First Baptist Church in Bullard. According to KETK, FBI Dallas agent Thomas M. Class said the case is being treated as a missing child, however, an abduction has not been ruled out. The agent said Kayla was last seen at 7:30 p.m in the church lobby. Anyone with information is asked to call 972-559-5711. Agent Class reiterated no piece of information is too small and all leads will be aggressively pursued to bring Kayla home. Continue reading Amber Alert Continues for East Texas Girl

TYLER – One person has been killed in a vehicle/pedestrian accident in Tyler. It happened just before 7:00 Wednesday night on Loop 323 at Highway 110 North, Van Highway. The initial report indicated the pedestrian was walking from east to west across the Loop just north of the intersection when he was hit by a pickup. Charles Lee Sharrai, 60, was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials said it appears the pedestrian was at fault. No charges have been filed against the driver.

KILGORE – A former Kilgore resident has become the second person named in connection with a Kilgore house fire. Kilgore police announced they are looking for Carlton James Green, 52, of Mansfield, Louisiana. He is wanted in connection with a September fire in a house on Martin Luther King Street. Sheaira Rondresia Grant, 23, who lived in the house with her sister, was charged with insurance fraud in the case. Her sister is missing. She was 8 months pregnant when she disappeared in August. Foul play is suspected in her disappearance. However, authorities say they don’t think the fire is linked to the woman’s disappearance. Continue reading Man Wanted in Connection With Kilgore Arson Fire

MARSHALL – An Elysian Fields man has pleaded guilty to murder a week before his trial was to have started. Rodris Webster, 27, entered the guilty plea to the March 2014 murder of his former girlfriend, Alicia Benefield, 19. Webster led investigators to her body, which was in a clay pit near the intersection of Farm to Market Road 31 and Elysian Fields Road in Marshall. He is now scheduled to be in court next week for sentencing.

PALESTINE – An East Texas man is killed and another one injured in a two vehicle accident in Anderson County. The wrecked occurred Tuesday on U.S. Highway 79, 17 miles north of Palestine. Dead at the scene was Dickie Lynn Duckworth, 49, of Wills Point. In stable condition at Palestine Regional Medical Center is Virgil Ray Dillard, 59, of Elkhart. The Department of Public Safety says that Duckworth’s truck and trailer jackknifed, hitting Dillard’s truck. Duckworth’s truck and the manufactured home it was hauling both caught fire.

PALESTINE – Palestine Fire Chief Alan Wilcher and Battalion Chief Mike Phillips have placed on administrative leave, with pay. No word on why the action was taken. A news release from Nate Smith, Communications and Best Practices Officer for the City of Palestine said they have started an investigation into the matter. Captain Shannon Davis was named interim Chief and Jeff Croft was named interim Battalion Chief.

LIBERTY CITY – The Sabine School Superintendent has been fired. School trustees fired Stacey Bryce during a Tuesday night school board meeting. The reason for the action was not immediately made known. Bryce was named the school district’s superintendent in 2004. His tenure became strained following a 2009 DWI conviction, with school trustees split on whether he should be fired. After Bryce’s dismissal, school trustees named Sabine Middle School Principal Bill Middendorf as interim superintendent.

LUFKIN (AP) – A foreclosed East Texas power plant has been sold for nearly $5 million. The Lufkin News reports the Aspen Power biomass plant in Lufkin was sold Tuesday to the lone bidder in an Angelina County court-ordered auction. An attorney represented the buyer, whose name wasn’t immediately disclosed. The Aspen Power plant was marketed as the first wood-waste biomass electric generation facility in Texas. The 57-megawatt plant opened in 2011 but was idle in 2012 amid challenging market conditions. Investors took over in 2013 and for a time restarted the plant to try to sell the unit, which closed earlier this year. A judge in September approved foreclosure. The newspaper reports creditors, lien holders and U.S. Bank, the trustee for $53 million in bonds owed, will share the purchase proceeds.

TYLER – Two suspects wanted in a Smith County burglary in early October have been arrested. Taken into custody by the US Marshal’s Task Force without incident on Monday was Lashumeica Renee Hicks, 21 (pictured) and Jaelyn Demarscott Allen, 20. Both have been charged with burglary of a habitation and their bonds set at $150,000. A woman told officers she had been awakened at her home on Wood Springs Road in northern Smith County by a woman standing over her and yelling at her. She said she had been sprayed in the face with a pepper spray. The suspect then went to the living room where another woman and two men were videoing the incident. Continue reading Two Arrested for an October Smith County Burglary

ANDERSON COUNTY – Two trucks have collided in Anderson County, killing one person. The accident happened on U.S. Highway 79 near the Neches River bridge. The head-on collision killed the driver of one truck. No word on the other driver. Names have not been released and the accident remains under investigation.

QUITMAN – Wood County Judge Kenneth Bryan Jeanes has been given a public warning by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. Judge Jeanes was arrested in April for DWI. In August he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to ten days in jail and ordered to pay more than $1,800 in fees. He was released after serving two days. Tuesday, the commission publicly released the warning that was given to the judge on October 20th following the Commission’s meeting earlier that month. Continue reading Wood County Judge Gets a Public Warning From a State Commission

TYLER – Tyler’s home sales are outpacing state figures. Home sales in Texas increased 0.2% in the third quarter. In Tyler, home sales were up 1.4% to 811. Statewide, Texas home sales maintained the strong pace generated in the summer and continues to stay on pace with last year’s record breaking home sales. State home sales increased 0.2% year-over-year to 91,248 home sales. In Tyler, the median price of a home rose 2.8% percent to $175,000 in the third quarter. In the state, the median home price increased 7% from last year’s 3rd quarter to $214,000. Continue reading Tyler Homes Sales Continue to be Strong

MARSHALL – The execution of a search warrant has turned up a suspected Marshall drug suspect. The warrant was served Tuesday morning at a home on Spruce Street. Taken into custody on drug and a weapon’s charge was Kelvin Dewayne Brown, 39. Besides seizing various drugs, officers also recovered stolen property and several firearms at the home. Along with drug violations, Brown has also been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. And additional charges may be filed.

TYLER – A Tyler woman, accused of an accident that caused south Tyler traffic problems has been arrested. Shirlee Joyce Bradshaw, 70, has been charged with DWI. She was arrested after being treated at a Tyler hospital. She is currently free on bond. Her vehicle hit a utility pole at South Broadway and Winchester Drive Monday afternoon. The accident caused police to direct traffic at several busy south Tyler intersections until Oncor could replace the pole.

CHAPEL HILL – A burglary suspect has been arrested in the Chapel Hill area. Monday night a burglary was reported at a home off Highway 64 East. Tuesday morning they called again to report noises coming from their barn. Sheriff’s deputies went to the area and took a suspect in custody. More information, including the suspect’s name, remains pending.

LONGVIEW (AP) – Golfers at a Longview driving range can take a swing at Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump before next week’s election. Alpine Target Golf Center in Longview has put large photos of the faces of Democratic and Republican presidential candidates on round hay bales as targets. Golf center officials promote the swing-away opportunity, to hit golf balls at either candidate, as a way for people thinking about next Tuesday’s election to get some relief. Owner Mike Williams says the goal is to alleviate a little stress. The targets have been in play since late October.