KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — Officials across Smith County continue working to fund a regional anti-gang center in Tyler. According to our news partner KETK, Tyler police are now submitting documents to take the next step in the application process and then assign personnel from the department. The center will join six other “TAG centers” already in operation across the state. Chief of Police Jimmy Toler says centers such as these will not only tackle gang activity, but also organized crime such as card skimming. Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith says he hopes the center will be up and running by September.

RUSK COUNTY — A single vehicle wreck Monday night claimed the life of a Jacksonville man. David Allan Cooper, 43, was pronounced dead at the scene just before midnight. According to the DPS report, Cooper was traveling south on US-79, about 5 miles outside of Henderson, when his vehicle drifted off the west side of the roadway, struck a culvert and went airborne. The vehicle rolled several times and ejected Cooper. He was not wearing a seatbelt. A crash investigation is underway.

LONGVIEW – A woman is in custody of Dallas police in connection with a Longview murder over 41/2 years ago. The Longview News Journal, quoting Dallas County online records, says Latoddra Quenice Pratt, 24, was arrested last Thursday on a murder warrant out of Gregg County. She will soon be returned to Gregg County. She is being held in the death of Tyson Patterson, 33. He was one of two persons shot just before 4:00am on August 28, 2014. The shooting occurred at an apartment on West Garfield Street. While Patterson was killed, another man was treated and released from the hospital after being treated for injuries in the shooting.

TYLER – In a couple of weeks there will be a partial closure of Tyler’s Old Bullard Road. The partial road closure is to improve drainage structures on Old Bullard Road near Rice Road. It is expected to begin on Monday, April 22nd and should be closed through late August. The project will include the installation of three additional 5’ x 3’ concrete box culverts under Old Bullard Road, as well as new curb inlets and channel improvements just upstream. Motorists can expect delays throughout the construction period. Southbound traffic will remain open to one lane, having through access along Old Bullard while northbound traffic will be rerouted along Rice Road to Richmond Road to Timberwilde Drive. Four electronic message boards are up notifying motorists of the upcoming construction.

TYLER – A student at Tyler’s T. K. Gorman High School is a finalist in the National Merit Scholar Program. He is Aidan Boyne. According to the school’s Facebook page, he has earned a perfect composite score of 36 on the ACT test.

TYLER – The Macy’s building on South Broadway in Tyler is getting a new tenant. Officials with Hobby Lobby have told our news partner KETK that its store is moving into the building. The store is expected to be open in the 65,000 square foot building in July.

LINDALE – County Road 484, north of Lindale, is back open to drivers after a bridge was repaired. A portion of the road was closed in February while Smith County Road and Bridge crews replaced a wooden deck on the bridge with a concrete deck and reworked the guard rail. The road just south of the Sabine River, from County Road 431, west to County Road 452.

TYLER – Tyler’s firefighter of the year is Matt Ford, seen pictured with Chief Coble. He was one of the persons honored over the weekend at the 28th annual award banquet of the Tyler Fire Department. Also during the ceremony, firefighters, along with retired firefighters and civilians were honored for their actions and service to Tyler. Additionally, firefighters receiving promotions over the past year were also recognized. Battalion 2 A-Shift received the Outstanding District Award and 21 firemen received Lifesaving Awards.

TYLER – An associate professor of management at the Soules College of Business at the University of Texas at Tyler has been elected to serve in various leadership roles for the Southwest Decision Sciences Institute. Dr. Venugopal “Venu” Gopalakrishna-Remani will serve as vice president for programs and meetings for 2019-20, program chair for 2020-21, president-elect for 2021-22 and president for 2022-23. Gopalakrishna-Remani holds a Ph.D. in business administration and currently serves on the UT Tyler Faculty Senate. He has presented his research at various national and international conferences.

TYLER – Three persons have been arrested in Tyler trying to pass a phony check. The four are all from Fort Worth. Tyler police say that this is an organized group of suspects working out of the Metroplex. They have been specifically targeting East Texas businesses. The three are currently in the Smith County jail, charged with engaging in organized criminal activity. A woman was detained and then released due to her having an infant with her. A warrant has been issued for her arrest. The check they tried to pass in Tyler had Miller Tire & Wheels of Tyler as the payee. The business does not exist. Additional locations where the checks may have been passed, or attempted to be passed, are not known at this time. Any business that has come in contact with someone trying to pass a check on this mythical business is asked to contact Sergeant Colby at 903-531-1098 or Detective Hale at 903-535-0121.

TYLER – We could know late Tuesday afternoon the names of the finalists for the position of president at Tyler Junior College. School trustees will meet in closed session Tuesday afternoon to come up with the finalists who will be invited to town for interviews. They are scheduled to come out in open session at 5:30 to announce the finalists. Over 80 persons have applied to become Tyler Junior College’s next president. They come from throughout the United States and Canada. The search for TJC’s next president began in January after TJC’s Chancellor and CEO Dr. Mike Metke announced he would retire this summer.

EAST TEXAS – A weekend storm has brought a good amount of rain to Texas. According to the National Weather Service, the two day storm total at Tyler Pounds Field was 2.68 inches while downtown Tyler recorded 1.47 inches. The two day storm total for Longview was 0.97.

GREGG COUNTY — The pastor of First Baptist Church of Longview’s Hispanic ministry died Friday after a lawnmower he was operating rolled over on top of him, according to our news partner KETK. Longview Police Lt. Shane McCarter said Fabio Gimenez, 50, was operating a zero-turn lawnmower when the accident occurred about 3 p.m. on Glenda Drive. He said Gimenez died at the scene. Gimenez was the Puertas Abiertas (open doors) pastor at First Baptist. “Pastor Fabio Gimenez was involved in a serious lawnmower accident and tragically passed away from his injuries,” the church posted on Facebook. Continue reading Longview Pastor Dies in Lawnmower Accident

MARSHALL – A Marshall foster parent has pleaded guilty to injury to a child. After entering her plea on Thursday, Michelle Lee Hayes, 44, was sentenced to 10 years deferred adjudication. She took an 18 month old child to a Marshall hospital in May of 2017. She said she was carrying the child and was intoxicated when she tripped and fell. She later admitted she bruised the child’s head and face when she slammed his head into the side of his crib. The youngster was later transported to a Dallas-area hospital with severe injuries. Hayes was licensed to be a foster parent in 2016 and had three children in her care when the incident occurred.

GILMER – A fatal Upshur County accident remains under investigation. The accident occurred around 7:45 Thursday morning at the intersection of State Highway 300 and Farm Road 726. Dead at the scene was Whitney Emmel Petrick, 30, of Diana. The Department of Public Safety says Patrick pulled out in front of of a pickup driven by James Sterling Jones Jr., 29, of Longview. The report said Jones was stable at the scene.

SMITH COUNTY – A Smith County death is under investigation. The man’s body was found just before noon on Thursday. It was found near a tractor on his property off Farm Road 850 east of Tyler. Investigators first said he appeared to have suffered a shotgun wound. Justice of the Peace Mitch Shamburger has ordered an autopsy and the body was sent to to Forensic Medical in Tyler.

TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler has announced that Dr. Robert Beatty has been named the new dean of the school’s Soules College of Business. He assumes his new duties this summer. With five academic departments, 62 full-time faculty and nearly 3,000 students, the Soules College of Business is one of UT Tyler’s largest colleges. Soules awards nearly 900 bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees per year in 12 different majors. Last year, the college received its full accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Only 5% of business schools globally hold this accreditation.

LONGVIEW – If you are looking for something to do this weekend, Longview’s Dalton Days is a family adventure. The activities were inspired initially by the story of a bank robbery. It has evolved into a celebration of our western heritage and has become a fun, family friendly tradition. Saturday’s activities start that morning at 10:00 with a bang. It’s the first of four reenactments of the infamous bank robbery in 1894. Then there’s western entertainment. There are exhibits, such as a blacksmith, soap maker, wood craftsman, chuck wagon demonstrations, root beer saloon and many others. The Dalton Day activities will be held downtown in front of the Gregg County Historical Museum and are free to the public.

LONGVIEW – A busy Longview street, that had been closed, has reopened. High Street had been closed in both directions from Nelson Street to South Street because of a gas leak. Workers have repaired the leak and the road was reopened.

KILGORE – A third person has been arrested in connection with a recent shooting in Kilgore. Xiavier Epps, 21, of Ore City, has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His bond was set at $150,000. Previously arrested were Isaiah Orange, 17, of Kilgore. He is charged with aggravated robbery and possession of marijuana. His bonds total $153,500. Treylon Stephenson, 18, of Kilgore, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His bond is set at $100,000. Their arrests stem from a shooting earlier this week on Miles Street. The shooting occurred during a dispute between two groups. One of the shots hit an 18 year old woman in the neck.

MARSHALL – Funeral services have been scheduled for Marshall school trustee Barbara Carraway Alexander. She died at her home Tuesday afternoon following a lengthy illness. Funeral services will be held at 1:00pm on Saturday, April 13, at the Texas & Louisiana Baptist Association Building in Marshall. Viewing will be from 4:00 to 7:00pm on Friday, April 12, at Peoples Funeral Home in Marshall. Burial will be in Marshall’s Rosehill Gardens Cemetery. She would have celebrated her 69th birthday on Friday, April 5th. She represented District 2 on the Marshall school board, serving two terms on the board. The first was from 1990 to 2004. She was currently in her second term, which started in 2011.

HOUSTON – A judge has ruled that a Henderson County animal shelter can keep a tiger that was rescued from an abandoned Houston home. The Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison has looked after the tiger since February. That’s when when some people entered a house to smoke marijuana and found the big cat. The 350 pound tiger was improperly secured in a small cage, and was sitting on hay and its own waste. The Houston Chronicle reports that the judge ordered the tiger’s owner to pay about $11,600 to cover the cost of the tiger’s care. Houston police have filed a civil lawsuit accusing Brittany Garza of animal cruelty. She refuses to explain how she obtained the tiger.

TYLER – The 35 Annual Taste of Tyler comes to Harvey Hall this evening from 6:30 to 8:30. You will be able to sample the food and beverages with around 60 Tyler restaurants participating this year. Along with the food and drink there will also be live entertainment provided by the Tuxedo Cats. If any tickets remain they will be available at the door for $30. This city-wide event raises money to support East Texas culinary and hospitality students.The Taste of Tyler hosted by the East Texas Restaurant Association.

LAIRD HILL – One person has been arrested in connection with a burglary that turned into a Rusk County homicide. Last Friday, Griselda Contreras, 41, the mother of five, was shot to death in her Laird Hill home. Investigators tell our news partner KETK, a man took a picture of a car parked in the area about the time of the killing. After putting the picture on Facebook, they started getting calls, which led them to Dylan Page Rachal, 19. Word is, he planned to steal a PlayStation 4 and a gun, but something went wrong. He has been arrested and charged with capital murder. He is in the Rusk County Jail under a $1,500,000 bond.

MARSHALL – A suspect in a Marshall shooting is in custody in Louisiana. Derrick Dewayne Johnson, 30, turned himself into the Bossier City Police Department on Wednesday. He was wanted in a Monday night shooting that occurred near the intersection of Dogan and Winston streets in Marshall. The warrant affidavit said that Johnson intentionally fired into a vehicle, injuring Savannah Carpenter, 17, who was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Johnson is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

SMITH COUNTY — A San Antonio area man convicted of criminally negligent homicide is seeking an appeal of his conviction. According to our news partner KETK, in December 2017, James Fulton, 43, of Bulverde, was convicted in connection with the death of Haile Beasley, 21, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Fulton’s attorney is looking to overturn the conviction of criminally negligent homicide and grant a new sentencing trial. On the night of May 14, 2016, Fulton’s truck hit Beasley’s car head-on in the eastbound lanes of Grande Boulevard in Tyler. Continue reading Man Convicted of Criminally Negligent Homicide Seeking Appeal

BEAUMONT – A federal grand jury in Beaumont has indicted an Upshur County man on child exploitation charges. He is Jeremy OKieth Kyle, 38, of Ore City. He also goes by the names of Corey Webster and Rick. The indictment charges him with coercion and enticement, sexual exploitation of children, traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual contact, and penalties for registered sex offenders. The indictment says that on various dates in 2016 and 2018, Kyle, a convicted sex offender, is said to have committed numerous offenses against minor girls. If convicted of all counts, Kyle will receive life in federal prison.

TYLER – An East Texas bank has been named one of the best companies to work for in the state. Austin Bank was honored at the Texas Association of Business Awards dinner in Austin. This is the 11th consecutive year for Austin Bank to receive this award. Companies from across the state entered the two-part process to determine the Best Companies to Work for in Texas. The 2019 list is comprised of 100 companies which benefit the state’s economy, its workforce and businesses. Austin Bank ranked #18 in the medium sized company category. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Austin bank has over 480 employees in 33 locations, 24 cities and twelve counties.