KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – Tyler police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man who forged a very large check at a local bank. It happened last month. If you have information on this suspect please contact Detective Wayne Allen at 903-535-0121, case #18-24079.

RUSK – A Jacksonville man has been killed and two persons injured in a one vehicle accident in Rusk. Pronounced dead at the scene was Thurman Massey, 71, from Jacksonville. Injured in the crash was George Smith, 37, of Jacksonville, and a 14 year old, who was flown to Children’s Medical center in Dallas. Rusk police say the pickup, which was driven by Smith, left the road and hit a tree, trapping the three in the vehicle. The cause of the accident, which occurred shortly before 6:45 Sunday night on U.S Highway 69, remains under investigation.

EAST TEXAS — TxDOT is planning to conduct the following construction and maintenance work throughout the district through Jan. 7, 2019. 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.

TYLER — Turn Lanes Project: The contractor is scheduled to continue concrete work on Rice Rd. at Broadway Ave. The project is removing the existing medians to extend the turn lanes and adding right turn lanes to various intersections in Tyler. Work locations include US 69, Cumberland Rd., Independence, South Donnybrook, Rice Rd., South Town and Grande Blvd. and Old Jacksonville Highway. Continue reading TxDOT Project Updates for the Week of Jan. 7

UPSHUR COUNTY — A weather balloon caught on fire Saturday after it crashed in Upshur County. According to our news partner KETK, the crash happened west of Gilmer, near Lookout Lane. Gilmer Fire Department and Upshur County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and found inflamed lithium batteries inside of the balloon. The Upshur County Fire Department say the flames started because of the batteries. The owner of the balloon have not been identified and there are no reports of injuries.

WASKOM – A vehicle/pedestrian accident in Harrison County had killed one person. It happened on Interstate Highway 20, about 10 miles west of Waskom. Dead at the scene was Allan Onucko, 42, of Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. The Department of public Safety reports that Onucko, was walking west in the middle lane when he was hit by a tractor-trailer rig. The accident occurred shortly before 5:30 Friday morning. The investigation into the accident is continuing.

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) – A Houston-area city has agreed to pay $145,000 to settle a free-speech lawsuit with its former city manager who took the job after he was fired from the southwest Missouri city of Joplin after a deadly tornado. The Joplin Globe reports that Mark Rohr was hired in League City, Texas, in 2014. The Joplin City Council fired him in a split vote after an investigator’s report described him as a vindictive manager who couldn’t get along with department heads. In 2016 he was fired from his League City post after he filed ethics complaints against the mayor. Rohr alleged in a federal lawsuit that his firing was an attempt to “chill” his speech. Rohr was hired last month as city manager for the city of Marshall, Texas.

TYLER – It is time to sign up for the annual weight loss challenge in East Texas. If you live in Tyler and near the Smith County area, then you can register for the annual Lighten Up East Texas Regional Weight Loss Challenge. Their kick off event will be on Saturday from 1:00pm till 2:00pm at the Broadway Square Mall. Door prizes will be raffled for anyone who registers. Just step on the scale and enter. The only requirements are that you are over the age of 18 and you enter at a weighing location in East Texas. You can go to https://www.fitcitytyler.com/2019weighinglocations for a location near you. Every registered person who loses 5% or more of their starting weight will be entered into their LUET Grand Prize Drawings in May.

AUSTIN – Two east Texans have won big money from the Texas Lottery. A Longview resident claimed a top prize winning ticket worth $1 million in the Texas Lottery scratch ticket game, Stacks of Cash. The ticket was purchased at Kwick Food Mart #2, on South Eastman Road in Longview. And a resident of Tennessee Colony, in Anderson County, claimed a $1 million prize in the Texas Lottery scratch ticket game, $500,000,000 Cash. That ticket was sold at a store in Gatesville. Both winners wanted to remain anonymous.

CHEROKEE COUNTY — Two people are jailed following a wild traffic stop in Cherokee County early Saturday morning. According to the Sheriff’s Department, a deputy was attempting to conduct a traffic stop on a vehicle for failure to maintain a single in the Jacksonville area. The deputy said he smelled an alcohol odor coming from the driver, identified as Cristian Diaz, 25, of Longview. Diaz attempted to run and was caught a short time later when the passenger, Corina Castaneda, 30, of Jacksonville, caught up with them and grabbed the deputy’s neck from behind. Diaz again ran off and was caught a second time when Castaneda again grabbed the deputy. Pepper spray was dispensed and Diaz was held by several passing motorists. Continue reading Two Arrests following Crazy Traffic Stop

LONGVIEW – Extra patrols for the holidays took suspected drunk drivers off Longview’s streets. The extra patrols were part of the Texas Department of Public Safety’s STEP IDM Grant. The enforcement period started on December 20th and ran through January 1. During that time, 20 suspected drunk drivers were arrested. There will be additional officers deployed for the stepped up enforcement program through out new year. They will be out during the spring break, and over the Independence Day and Labor Day holidays.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate has confirmed John Garrison as U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Texas in Tyler. Garrison has spent his entire 28-year career with the marshal’s service in the Eastern District of Texas. He has served as the District’s Sex Offender Investigations Coordinator, Judicial Security Inspector, and Acting Assistant Chief. He has also served as a member of the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force and the Special Operations Group within the marshal’s service. The announcement of his conformation was announced Thursday by Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.

LONGVIEW – A third man has been arrested in a Longview murder just over 3 months ago. Thursday morning, Longview police arrested Erik JaVonte Jefferson, 26, of Longview. He was arrested in connection with the murder of Henry England Williams, 32, on September 29. He was found bleeding and sitting in a chair on the front porch of his home on Clover Lane. He later died at a Longview hospital. The other two suspects, Ladadrian Deontae King, 23, and Decharleston LaVaughn Stanley, 17, both from Longview, are still in the Gregg County Jail.

WINONA – A man wanted for a shooting in Louisiana has been arrested in Smith County. Shreveport police tipped off Smith County authorities that the suspect, and his 6 year old daughter, were in a car off Interstate Highway 20 in the Winona area. After finding the vehicle, around 2:00 Thursday morning, the deputies called in the department’s SWAT team. They were able to quickly remove the child and arrest Luther Lee Wilson Jr., 41, of Glenn Heights, Texas, which is just south of Dallas. Wilson is believed to the the uncle of the wounded man, who was taken to a Shreveport hospital following the shooting around 11:00 Wednesday night.

HENDERSON COUNTY — The trial for an East Texas mother found competent has been moved. According to our news partner KETK, Sarah Nicole Henderson, 29, will now stand before a jury April 1. A pretrial hearing was originally scheduled for Thursday, January 3, but was canceled and moved to the 17th. She is charged with capital murder after the deaths of her daughters, KayLee Danielle, and Kenlie in November 2017. Henderson had been ordered to go under a psychiatric evaluation in April. The notice of insanity defense was given August 22, 2018. A competency hearing was held the following day where she was found competent to stand trial.

LONGVIEW – The death of a homeless man in Longview is now being investigated as a homicide. The body of Donald Woodlief, 61, was found on December 20th, behind a former convenience store on South Mobberly Avenue. At the time, investigators said there were signs of trauma to his body. An autopsy was ordered to help in identifying any injuries and the cause of death. There is no word at this time on what led investigators to say the death was a homicide.

TYLER – For a veteran receiving a pension, some of the rules have changed. Veterans or surviving spouses receiving a pension, from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, no longer have to turn in an updated medical expense or financial status report every year, unless specifically told to do so by the VA. That’s the word from Smith County Veteran Services Officer Michael Roark. His office was recently notified by the Texas Veterans Commission about the change. He said other changes made by the VA include changing the network ceiling of the pension system. You can contact his office if you have questions about any of the changes.

LONGVIEW – The Longview Municipal Court is offering a warrant amnesty program. It is now underway through the end of March. Anyone with an outstanding warrant through the court is encouraged to save some money and get a fresh start. When a person comes in voluntarily and either pays in full or pays a minimum of ½ the total amount due, and starts a payment plan for the balance owed, all warrant fees will be removed. As an added incentive, anyone who pays in full will save an additional 20% off the fine amount. The percentage savings is only on the fine, not the court costs. Continue reading A Warrant Amnesty Program Starts in Longview

TYLER – A case of domestic violence between a husband and his wife has left one person dead and one injured. The shooting occurred shortly before 10:30 Monday night on County Road 383, just off U.S. Highway 21 just northeast of Tyler. Sheriff’s deputies found shot to death Rodney Kilman, 50, and wounded was Tena Kilman, 47. She is the one who called 911 to report the shooting. She is listed in stable condition at a Tyler Hospital. According to sheriff’s department spokesman Deputy Larry Christian, investigators have contacted the Smith County District Attorney’s Office and recommended this investigation be presented to a Grand Jury.

TYLER – The month of December 2018 was warmer and wetter than normal in Tyler. The National Weather Service says, compared with December 2017, the month was 1.8 degrees warmer, and 0.01 inch drier. Total yearly rainfall was 4.09 inches more in 2018 than in 2017. Both years saw well above normal rainfall. 2018 was, though still warmer than normal, 1.3 degrees cooler than 2017. The mean temperature was 67.2 degrees. The mean temperature was 1.6 degrees warmer than normal, and rainfall was 11.51 inches greater than normal. Continue reading December in Tyler was Warm and Wet

PALESTINE – Beginning at midnight on Tuesday, Palestine’s yearly Water Distribution System Burnout will begin. They do this by turning the ammonia off at the treatment plant. This produces a free chlorine residual that will kill bacterial growth in the distribution system. This procedure is recommended by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to help achieve and maintain the required .5 parts-per-million chlorine residual. Residents may experience chlorine smell or red water for approximately one to three weeks. The ammonia will be turned back on at midnight on January 21. If residents experience red water, they may pick up a product called Red-B-Gone for free at the Public Water Works Utilities Office at 1620 West Palestine Avenue or at City Hall, 504 North Queen Street.

LONGVIEW – Longview police say a suspect wounded by an officer fired multiple shots at the officer before he returned the fire. Randy Carl Jeffrey, 33, of Mount Pleasant, was treated and released at a Longview hospital, then booked into the Gregg County Jail. On December 23rd, Officer William Smeltzer responded to a suspicious person call on East Marshall Avenue near American Legion Boulevard. Authorities say there was soon a confrontation with Jeffrey. The officer was not injured. As is the department’s normal practice in an officer involved shooting incident, Smeltzer was placed on administrative leave pending the investigation which is being conducted by the Texas Rangers. Continue reading More Information on Officer Involved Shooting

MARSHALL – A missing Marshall teenager has been located. A report says Denisha Mathews, 16, was found safe in Marshall on Sunday. No other information was released. She had last seen on the high school campus on October 31st.

TYLER – Crews from the Texas Department of Transportation are preparing area roadways for potentially icy conditions. Operations are currently being conducted on Interstate Highway 20, from U.S. Highway 69 moving west. Portions of various other roads, such as but not limited to U.S. Highway 271 and State Highway 31, would be included. TxDOT says the pre-treatment of major roadways allows them to get ahead of wintry weather conditions. The process is a fast-moving mobile operation with minimal impacts to traffic. Additional work will be conducted Wednesday, if needed, in advance of the wintry conditions.

TYLER – Two would be robbers got nothing for their efforts but trouble. A 15 year old and a 16 year old, matching the suspects description, were found a couple of blocks away from the robbery scene. A CO2 pellet gun was found in the area where the suspects were arrested. They are said to have tried to rob a man at the the intersection of West Queen Street and North Moore Avenue just before noon on Monday. The two pulled a gun on a man. When he said he didn’t have anything, the two left. Both have been charged with aggravated robbery.

TYLER- With your New Years celebration, Tyler police warn you about fireworks and gunfire. Everyone is reminded that unauthorized fireworks are prohibited in the city. You need a special permit from the city to discharge them. If you are caught in the park discharging fireworks you will be asked to leave and are subject to a citation. All alcohol, smoking and fireworks are not allowed in city parks, and that includes Lake Tyler Parks and Lindsey Park. They also remind you that the shooting of firearms into the air in celebration is a violation of the law. There are documented cases of persons being killed by celebratory gunfire in the U.S.

TYLER – The Department of Public Safety continues the investigation of a two vehicle accident that left one person dead and one injured. Dead at the scene was David D. Nelson, 43, of Tyler. His car was hit by a pickup that was on the wrong side of the road. The pickup driver, Caleb Marsh, 21, of Rusk, is in serious condition in a Tyler hospital. The accident happened shortly after 7:00 Friday night on State Highway 64, seven miles east of Tyler.

LINDALE – An accident involving a Lindale police officer and a pedestrian is under investigation. Brennon Green, 20, of Lindale, is listed in stable condition in a Tyler hospital, following the accident on South Main just before 7:00 Monday morning. He was walking southbound in the inside lane, wearing dark colored clothing, when hit by a car driver by Lindale officer Trent Taylor, 39. He has been a Lindale officer since May. The accident is being investigated by the Department of Public Safety.

TYLER – Tyler police are in the final days up a stepped up traffic enforcement for the holidays. The police department is participating in a state grant that is providing funding to the department to enforce traffic laws. This is being done in order to reduce the number of traffic accidents especially in high crash areas throughout the city. The program has proven to be an effective tool to help reduce the number of crashes by having the high visibility of patrol units in areas where crashes are reported to have occurred. The intent of the enforcement program is to act as a deterrent, persuading people to avoid speeding, running red lights, texting, driving while intoxicated because they know that officers are on the look-out. This special enforcement project is running till January 2nd.