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LONGVIEW – A Gregg County man has been sentenced to 340 years in prison for numerous robberies in Gregg County. Darrin Gerrard Brinkley, 26, of Kilgore, pled guilty to committing 17 robberies. He was given 20 years in prison for each robbery, with the terms to be served concurrently.The robberies were in numerous Gregg County towns, including Longview, Kilgore, and White Oak. His last robbery was on Estes Parkway in January. He led authorities on a chase from Longview to Smith County, where he crashed into a pond off Farm Road 1252.

TYLER – The City of Tyler has been presented a couple of awards. At Wednesday’s city council meeting, budget and beautification awards were given to the city.

The City of Tyler has received the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its fiscal year 2015-2016 budget document. This is the tenth consecutive year that the City of Tyler’s budget document has received this special recognition. The award comes from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. The city had to meet nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation to be considered for this award. Continue reading Tyler Wins Two Awards

MARSHALL – Marshall police are looking for a man accused of robbing a grocery. The Save-A-Lot store on East End Boulevard South was robbed shortly before 6:45 Sunday evening. A man wearing an oversize raincoat with a hood indicated he had a gun, and demanded money. He left with an undisclosed amount of cash. No injuries were reported. He is described as a white male who stands about 5’6” to 5’8” tall, has a medium build, mustache and is believed to be in his 40s.

LONGVIEW — A former Longview police officer facing several child indecency charges has been released after posting a reduced bond of $30,000, according to Gregg County court records. Michael Patrick Healy, 67, was arrested in August on grand jury indictments of indecency with a child sexual contact and attempt to commit indecency with a child sexual contact stemming from an incident in March 2011. KETK and the Longview News-Journal report Healy also previously was arrested March 18 on a separate indecency with a child sexual contact charge stemming from incidents in the 1980s and 1990s, while he was a Longview police officer. He posted $100,000 bond on that charge and was released the same day he was arrested. Continue reading Ex-Longview Lawman Free on Reduced Bond in Child Sex Case

LONGVIEW — A Gladewater man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual abuse of a child younger than 14. That’s according to KETK and the Longview News-Journal. Assistant Gregg County District Attorney Madison Hood said Chesley Dean Hayes, 40, was sentenced under the 2007 Jessica’s Law that enhances punishment for continuous offenses. “The statute requires at least two or more acts of sexual abuse at least 30 days apart,” Hood said. “There is no parole; the defendant will do 25 years flat.” Hood added that Hayes was also set to plead guilty to Smith County charges that will run concurrently with this punishment. Continue reading Gladewater Man Pleads Guilty, Gets 25 Years in Child Sex Abuse Case

LONGVIEW — A Longview girl who was considered a runaway has been located, according to the Longview Police Department. KETK reports that prior to being found, Mirtha Martinez, 14, was last seen around 10:00 p.m. Thursday at the Flamingo Mobile Home Park on Pine Tree Road. The investigation into why she ran away is ongoing.

POYNOR — A Frankston man has been charged in the death of his brother-in-law, who was killed Tuesday night in Poynor. According to KETK, Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse says Travis Hollis Taylor, 44, was charged with murder. Hillhouse said Taylor allegedly shot his brother-in-law, Michael Barton, with a shotgun during an argument and killed him. At around 9 p.m., deputies were dispatched to a home on N. Elm Street in Poynor. Authorities found the 47-year-old victim with gunshot wounds at the scene. Taylor’s body has been sent to Dallas for autopsy. Continue reading Frankston Man Accused of Killing In-Law

LUFKIN – The victims have been identified following a fatal accident in Lufkin, with one victim flown to a Tyler hospital. The crash occurred around 11:30 Tuesday morning on Loop 281 at Martin Luther King Drive. Lufkin police say the car, driven by Armando Zamora, 59, Lufkin, pulled into the path of a pickup and was t-boned by the pickup. The passenger, Juanita Hernandez, 56, Lufkin, was pronounced dead at the scene. Zamora was flown to Tyler’s East Texas Medical Center. The pickup’s driver, Dee Mark Alan, 27, Center, was taken to a Lufkin hospital.

TYLER – Tyler police are looking for a man wanted in connection with a stabbing. It occurred around 7:15 Tuesday night on East Commerce. An arrest warrant has been issued for Steven Bryant Chastain, 55. He is around 6’03” tall weighs 175 pounds. He has has gray hair and green eyes and may have sleeve tattoos on both arms. The man he is said to have stabbed was taken to East Texas Medical Center for surgery. If you know where Chastain can be located, you are encouraged to call 911 for police assistance or the Tyler Crime Stopper’s Unit at 903-597-CUFF.

ATHENS – A competency hearing held in Athens Tuesday found Stacie Parsons, 27, competent to stand trial in the death of her four year old daughter. A similar hearing back in April found her incompetent. With the latest ruling, Parsons’ trial is set to start November 7th. She has been charged with the death of her daughter Victoria in July, 2014. She went to the Athens Police Department and confessed to killing her daughter. Her body was found in the yard of their home. She is said to have died from head and chest trauma.

BEAUMONT – The Justice Department has made plans to, what it calls, protect the election process in East Texas. Acting United States Attorney Brit Featherston has announced an assistant U.S. Attorney has been named Election Officer for the Eastern District of Texas. Michelle Englade has been appointed to oversee the district’s complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuse in the November 8th election. In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office, including Tyler, and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day.

TYLER – Warrants have been issued for two Tyler robbery suspects. Both were easy to find. They were in the Smith County Jail on other charges. Named in the warrants were Jordan Taylor Devers, 18,(pictured) and Vernon Jones-Bigham, 20, both of Tyler. They are charged with the robbery of The Pac-N-Sac convenience store on the Loop at East Front Street on October 18. Nothing was taken from the store. The store’s clerk threatened the robber with a taser and chased the suspect, who was armed with a pocket knife, from the store. Police say Jones-Bigham robbed the store and Devers drove the get-away vehicle. Investigators are still looking into other armed robbery cases to determine if these suspects may be responsible.

PALESTINE – The Palestine City Council has named a new City Manager. He is Kevin Coleman, who is currently the city manager for Yoakum, which is north of Victoria. He has held that post since December, 2011. He was named to the position Monday night following a 45 minute executive session. Coleman and two other finalists interviewed with city officials October 18th and 19th. They were among the 40 applications from 17 states that were received for the post. The search was conducted by Strategic Government Resources of Keller, a government executive search firm. Continue reading Palestine Selects a City Manager

TYLER – A motorcyclist is in East Texas Medical Center with life threatening injuries following a Tyler accident. It started when a Tyler motorcycle officer tried to pull a motorcycle over for speeding. It occurred in a school zone on North Forest Avenue near Fun Forest Park. According to police spokesman Don Martin, the motorcycle operator, Demarcus Keyshawn Johnson, 29, of Tyler, tried to evade the officer. In the process he wrecked on Garden Valley Road just inside the North Northwest Loop.

LUFKIN – An East Texas coach, who was arrested last week, is now facing another charge. Richard Warren Cratty Jr., 31, of Nacogdoches, was charged last week with online solicitation of a minor. Cratty turned himself in Tuesday morning after a second felony warrant for his arrest was issued. He is now facing the additional charge of improper relationship between educator/student, which is a second degree felony. He is now accused of fondling a student who he had been sending improper emails to. Cratty, who had been a Zavalla High School baseball coach and also taught social studies at the Junior High, resigned on Monday.

KILGORE – The Gregg County Sheriff’s Department is asking the public’s help in locating a teenage runaway. Joshua Young, 14, was reported Tuesday to be a runaway from the Kilgore area. They believe he is still in the East Texas area. Anyone with information about Young is asked to contact Investigator Ben Reynolds at 903-237-2544 or call the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office at 903-236-8400.

RUSK – Two persons are dead in Cherokee County in what appears to be a murder/suicide. The bodies of 61 year old James Allan Garner and 58 year old Patricia Garner were found in a yard Monday morning on County Road 2303 South of Rusk. Both had been shot by a shotgun. Authorities feel the man shot his wife and then turned the gun on himself. Their bodies were sent to Tyler for autopsy.

LONGVIEW – A resident of Buckner Westminster Place in Longview, Puett Willcox, was recognized Tuesday afternoon by Congressman Louie Gohmert. Willcox, who is believed to be the last prisoner of World War II remaining in East Texas, received nine awards. Wilcox was 17 days shy of his 20th birthday in May, 1944, when his B-24 was shot down over Austria. He was a ball turret gunner aboard the plane. He was captured by the Germans and declared a prisoner of War. He would be held captive for a year before being released. In a special ceremony, Wilcox was presented such awards as the Purple Heart, Prisoner of War Medal, A Korean War Service Medal, 5 bronze oak leaf clusters & 4 bronze service stars.

TYLER — A Tyler man was arrested in Caddo Parish after agents allegedly found methamphetamine in his vehicle. According to KETK, on October 19, agents conducted surveillance at a home on Herndon Street in Shreveport, where they saw a truck and its driver believed to be involved in drug activity. Authorities said they found a pound of meth hidden in a compartment inside the truck. The meth was valued at $53,760. The driver, Juan Olvera, 25, was arrested and booked into the Caddo Correctional Center for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

LONGVIEW – A man is dead, a woman critically injured in a weekend Gregg County wreck that occurred as the two were on their way to the first annual Riders, Rockers, and Ribs biker rally. Around 9:07 Saturday morning, troopers responded to a one vehicle crash on U.S. 259 in Gregg County near Longview. According to DPS, preliminary crash investigation revealed that a group of motorcyclists were traveling northbound on 259 when the group slowed to make a right turn. A rider in the group braked, losing control of his motorcycle, ejecting both rider and passenger. Continue reading Fatal Gregg County Wreck

ATHENS – A Henderson County man, who was arrested in Smith County, has been indicted in an Athens murder. The Henderson County grand jury indicted last week Jeremy Robert Lane, 25, of Athens, He had been charged with the August 6th murder of Mark Groendyk, 27, of New Jersey. The victim was stabbed multiple times at a party early that morning. Lane was arrested around 17 hours later at a friends home on County Road 1100 near Flint.

MARSHALL – A 100-year-old time capsule has been discovered on the Campus of East Texas Baptist University in Marshall. It was found in the Marshall Hall building’s cornerstone. Inside the the cornerstone capsule were items dating from 1916 when the University’s Marshall Hall building was constructed. The items were displayed during the Founder’s Day celebration over the weekend. According to the school’s website, the capsule included a copy of the Marshall News Messenger paper from February, 21, 1916 as well as a wheat penny, Indian head penny, bread tag, Baptist Standard issue and a copy of The Harrison County Newspaper from February 17, 1916. The university first learned of the capsule last fall when a freshman began research on the Marshall Hall building and its cornerstone. Added to the items from 1916 will be items from 2016. The time capsule will be sealed and placed back into the cornerstone for future generations to discover.

LONGVIEW — Police are asking the public’s help in finding a runaway Longview teenager. Mirtha Martinez was last seen around 10:00 Thursday night at the Flamingo Mobile Home Park on Pine Tree Road. According to the police department’s Facebook page, they do not have a clothing description of what she was wearing when last seen. Officials ask anyone with information about Mirtha’s whereabouts please call Longview police at 903-237-1199.

LONGVIEW – Starting today, a new traffic signal is operating at Fourth Street and Eastman Road (US 259) in Longview. It will be flashing yellow until October 31, at which point it will become a fully operational traffic signal. Motorists are asked use caution while work is being completed. This traffic signal work is funded from the available street bond funds as well as private funding. This project consists of installing a traffic signal with ramps and pedestrian walk-way.