KTBB News, Weather, Talk

MARSHALL – One person has been seriously injured in a vehicle/pedestrian accident in Marshall. It happened Shortly after 5:15 Wednesday afternoon. The person ran across several lanes of traffic from the west side of East End Boulevard and ran into the path of a southbound vehicle. The person was first taken to a Marshall hospital and later transferred to a Tyler hospital where he remains in ICU. The accident remains under investigation.

KILGORE – Pending board approval, D’Wayne Shaw has been named Kilgore College’s new Dean of Public Services and Industrial Technologies. He succeeds Randy Lewellen who retired earlier this year after almost 28-years at the school. Shaw has most recently served as KC’s Technical Dual Credit Coordinator since August of 2017 and has also served as the Technical Department Chair at KC since 2011. He was first hired at Kilgore College in 1999 where he served as an automotive instructor.

GLADEWATER – Funeral services have been scheduled for the former mayor of Gladewater and a longtime trustee at Kilgore College. James Walker was 82 when he died Thursday. According to the obituary from Croley Funeral Home, services will be Monday morning at 11:00 at the First United Methodist Church in Gladewater. Burial will follow services at Gladewater Memorial Park. The family will receive friends Sunday afternoon from 4:00 until 6:00pm at Croley Funeral home in Gladewater.

MARSHALL – A man wanted in connection with a Marshall shooting has been arrested. The warrant for Demetrius Tranell Williams was issued shortly after the March 7th shooting. It started with a fight near the playground at the Belaire Manor Apartments on West Rusk Street. A man received a non-life threatening gunshot wound. Officers found Williams on East End Boulevard shortly after 2:45 yesterday afternoon. He was arrested without incident. He is now in the Harrison County Jail, charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and and unrelated charges of manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance.

AUSTIN – Unemployment in the state and East Texas held steady in February. The state’s unemployment was placed at 4.0%, the same as it was in February. The nation’s jobless figure is 4.1 %. The state’s economy added 40,500 jobs, the 20th straight month of employment growth. Tyler’s unemployment rate in February was 3.8%, the same figure as January. Longview’s jobless rate for February was the same as January, 4.5%. And the jobless rates in Tyler and Longview are far below where they were a year ago.

TYLER — An enticing a child charge against a former East Texas high school volleyball coach has been dismissed due to “insufficient evidence.” According to records obtained by KETK, the Smith County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the charge against ex-Brook Hill volleyball coach Ricky Clements, 64, of Flint, on Friday, March 16. Clements, aka “Papa Ricky,” was arrested by the Bullard Police Department on October 21, 2015, after they said he was sending inappropriate text messages to a 16-year-old boarding school student. The DA’s office said due to the “unique facts” of this particular case, they did not have sufficient evidence to prove the element of “intent to interfere with lawful custody” as required by the statue.

CHEROKEE COUNTY — Six Jacksonville men have pleaded guilty following a drug trafficking investigation in the East Texas. Keyonta Monquan Johnson, 23, Carlton Deshan Johnson, 28, Lenard Donnell Atkins, 31, David Lee Williams, 32, Carlos Brejohn Battle, 33 (pictured) and Jimendrick Clenon Shedd, 37 each pleaded guilty to possession. The plea hearings were held on Mar. 21 and Mar. 22. The defendants were named in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Oct. 18, 2017, charging conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and other controlled substances. Continue reading Six East Texans plead Guilty to Drug Charges

PALESTINE – A man wanted in connection with a Palestine shooting has been arrested. Frank Potts, 42, of Palestine, had been wanted for the shooting of Carlos Scott, 34, of Palestine on March 12th. Scott was shot multiple times at a home on San Jacinto Street. He was taken to a Tyler hospital for treatment. Potts was arrested after speeding away from a police officer shortly after midnight on Thursday morning. His pickup was found in a ditch behind a convenience store on East Palestine Avenue. Potts was found hiding in the ditch near the pickup. The pickup had been reported stolen on Monday. Potts was booked into the Anderson County Jail on a charge aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His bond on that warrant had previously been set at $500.000. He is also charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and a Palestine Municipal Court warrant. Bond has not yet been set on those two charges.

LONGVIEW – The Gregg County Sheriff’s Department is warning that scammers are calling claiming to be with your utility company. The claim your bill is past due by several months and without immediate payment, the service will be disconnected. The sheriff’s department says on their Facebook page, do not give these callers any of your information, after all, they called you about your account and they should know the pertinent information. Their advice to you is, if you have questions about having a past due bill based on a call you receive, you should contact your utility company using a customer service phone numbers on your monthly billing statement or look up the number yourself. They remind you to never use the phone number you are given by the person calling without checking it first.

LONGVIEW – A Longview man will spend a long time in prison for sexually assaulting a teenage boy. A jury on Thursday found Lester Levelle Reedy, 44, guilty of the assault. Then, state district Judge Alfonso Charles sentenced him to life in prison. Reedy had been accused of pulling a 16 year old boy into a dressing room in the Longview Mall and sexually assaulting him in July of 2015. The Longview News Journal reports Reedy is registered in Texas as a high-risk sex offender after a 2004 conviction in Dallas County for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy

TYLER – The former CEO of Pharmaceutical Technologies in Nebraska has been sentenced for making unlawful kickback payments in East Texas. He pleaded guilty to the charges in February of last year. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield, in Tyler, sentenced Douglas M. Pick, 58, of Omaha, Nebraska, to one year and one day in federal prison. He was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and restitution in the amount of $348,195.50.

TYLER – Six Jacksonville men have pleaded guilty following a drug trafficking investigation in East Texas. The plea hearings were held in Tyler before U.S. Magistrate Judge John D. Love on Wednesday and Thursday. The men are Lenard Donnell Atkins, 31, Keyonta Monquan Johnson, 23, Carlos Brejohn Battle, 33, Carlton Deshan Johnson, 28, Jimendrick Clenon Shedd, 37, and David Lee Williams, 32. Under federal statutes, the defendants face sentences ranging from five to 80 years in federal prison. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the U.S. Probation Office.

NACOGDOCHES COUNTY – A young boy has died in an accidental shooting in the Martinsville area east of Nacogdoches. It happened around 1:45 Wednesday afternoon at a resident on Highway 7. Sheriff Jason Bridges said the 11 year old boy went into the parent’s closet for some unknown reason and found a pistol. The gun somehow went off, hitting the boy in the head. He later died at a Nacogdoches hospital. His name was not released. Sheriff Bridges said the boy who was an avid hunter and very familiar with guns. He had also taken a hunters education class. An autopsy has been ordered.

TYLER – As many as 400 employees have accepted voluntary severance, job re-assignments or have been laid off following the purchase of ETMC Regional Healthcare System by Ardent Health Services of Nashville and the concurrent combining of the ETMC clinical operations with those of UT Health Northeast. The reductions amount to about 5% of the combined workforces and affect employees at UT Health Northeast and employees at the former ETMC. Continue reading Layoffs and Staff Reductions at UT Health/ETMC

LONGVIEW – A Longview woman has been arrested after she was found sleeping in the wrong bed. Arrested shortly before 11:00 Tuesday night was Kelly Latain Chaney, 52, of Longview. She was arrested after police were called by a man who said he found a woman asleep in his bed. She told officers they could take her ID out of her wallet. That’s where they found a plastic bag of methamphetamine. They also found a Xanax bar and a pipe. Chaney is in the Gregg County jail on two charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her bonds total $8,500.

TYLER – It is now easier for Texas College students to transfer to the University of Texas at Tyler. The two schools have signed a memorandum of understanding. It took place Thursday morning as the officials from the schools signed the document in the Ratliff Library on the U-T Tyler campus. With this partnership, undergraduate students from Texas College will be able to transfer into selected undergraduate programs at UT Tyler. Also, well-qualified students from Texas College will begin limited study in selected master’s programs at UT Tyler as they complete their baccalaureate degree from Texas College.

GILMER – An Upshur County man has been identified as the victim of a two vehicle accident near Gilmer. Pronounced dead at the scene was 29 year old Dexture Domona Carr of Gilmer. His car hit the rear of a tractor trailer rig that had stopped to turn from State Highway 300 on to Flamingo Road, about 4 1/2 miles southeast of Gilmer. The truck’s driver, 39 year old Dewan Tyrel Mosley, of Henderson, was not injured.

TYLER — Tyler ISD board members will vote Monday on a complete revision of elementary school attendance zones. It’s a followup to recent approval of new middle and high school attendance zones for 2018-19. Several elementary schools have split zones dating to TISD’s days under a federal desegregation order that has since been lifted. Two notable examples are Bell and Clarkston elementary schools. Their zones reach to areas between Loop 323 and I-20, nowhere near the schools, making for some excessively long bus trips. Officials point out that demographics have changed significantly since the 1970 desegregation order, with the district now about 72 per cent minority.

TYLER — Another delay is requested in a high-profile Smith County murder trial. Gustavo Zavala-Garcia is facing the death penalty for reportedly killing 10-year-old Kayla Gomez-Orozco in 2016. The trial was set to proceed in October, but KETK reports current District Attorney Matt Bingham requested the court move that date to 2019. That’s when newly-elected DA Jacob Putman will be taking over that office. Jury selection is currently set for August. Police say Kayla went missing from a Bullard church and that her body was found inside a well on Garcia’s property a couple of days later. There’s still no official word on when that trial will be moved, if moved at all.

TYLER — The City of Tyler says it is not responsible for damage to vehicles due to the slag/sand mixture it used to de-ice roads in January. According to KETK, Tyler drivers had complained of ruined tires after driving on slag-covered roadways and blamed the city. Jenny Wells, public relations specialist for the City of Tyler, said the city had received a total 34 claims notices related to the use of the slag/sand mixture. The claims were forwarded to the City’s Third Party Claim Administrator, Innovative Risk Management, for review. INR “performed an independent evaluation and found that the City is not liable for property damage caused to tires by the use of this material on the streets during this ice event,” Wells said. Continue reading City of Tyler Not Responsible for Slag Damage

TYLER– Following approval by UT regents, resident student tuition at UT Tyler will go up 4.99 percent a year over the next two years. The regents recently approved such hikes for the Tyler school and other colleges around the state. UT Tyler had requested the tuition increase in December. At that time, UT Tyler President Dr. Michael Tidwell pointed to the importance of student success and the need for the resources necessary to make that happen. University officials note that some won’t be happy with any increase. But they say many students still see UT Tyler as the
best higher education value in East Texas.

AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott has named Mark Dunn of Lufkin as chairman of the Texas Workforce Investment Council. Dunn is president of Dunn’s Construction. A state news release says the council assists the Governor and the legislature with strategic planning for and evaluation of the Texas workforce system to promote the development of a well-educated, highly skilled workforce for Texas.

LUFKIN – A three year old girl who was pulled from a Lufkin motel swimming pool has died. She has been identified as Arianna Smith of Lufkin. She died Wednesday afternoon at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. Police say the girl got out of her family’s downstairs room which faced the pool while her father was asleep and her mother was running errands. She was able to enter the fenced pool because the gate latch was broken. After the girl was pulled from the Motel 6 pool on South Timberland Drive, a bystander administered CPR. She was first taken to a Lufkin hospital and then flown to the Houston. The incident remains under investigation, but based on preliminary information, police do not anticipate charges being filed.

MARSHALL – Marshall police are asking the public’s help in finding Jerry Lee Pope, 72. He was last seen leaving his Marshall home last Sunday. Family members say he missed his doctor appointments on Tuesday and they are concerned for his welfare. Pope was last seen wearing blue overalls, a camouflage jacket and Platinum Collision ball cap. He was driving a white 2016 Nissan Frontier pickup truck with Texas plates DV90020. If you know where he can be found, you are asked to call the Marshall Police Department.

TYLER – Earlier this month we told you about a phony delivery driver who stole over $60,000 worth of jewelry from a Tyler store last December. A suspect is now in custody. Investigators obtained a warrant for 49 year old James Albert Oliver of Longview. This week, Oliver was arrested at a Longview motel. Oliver, who was also wanted on outstanding warrants out of Florida and Gregg County, was booked into the Gregg County Jail. He is being held on bonds totaling over $1 million. Investigators say it was Oliver, wearing what appeared to be a UPS uniform, who took the package of jewelry from the Zales store on South Broadway, and then fled.

JACKSONVILLE – Jacksonville’s new city manager didn’t waste any time getting to work. Monday, Greg Smith was unanimously approved for the post. He was at work the following day. He comes to Jacksonville from Shenandoah, just south of Conroe. He has been city administrator there for eight years. He has also served as city manager in Henderson, Overton and Angleton. Smith was one of 43 applicants for the position. That was trimmed to four from which the two finalists, Smith and Chuck Ewings of Ennis, were picked.

LAIRD HILL — The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office says a mail-stealing device was discovered after officials responded to the Laird Hill Post Office on initial reports of a suspicious package. The RSCO tells KETK a post office employee witnessed a young man tampering with the blue mailbox outside of the post office. When the man saw the employee, he ran to his vehicle, described as cream-colored pickup truck, and left the scene. The employee told law enforcement she then saw a string hanging out of the mailbox. When officials arrived on scene, they found the string was attached to a package inside the mailbox. Law enforcement has determined the package did not contain an explosive device, but that the device was one used to steal mail. The RCSO says it’s still important to remain vigilant, especially after a recent string of deadly package explosions rocked the city of Austin.

GILMER — Good news if you use the Yamboree Park. According to KETK, Gilmer police say a man wanted for taking inappropriate pictures was a false alarm. Witnesses said he started talking to some of the young girls at the park and asked them to go down the slide. Police say the girls were wearing dresses and it looked like he was trying to take pictures up their dresses. The police chief says he was actually just taking pictures of his son with the girls at the park.

CANTON — After much debate, vendors at Canton Trade Days will not be allowed to sell alcohol. KETK reports the city council voted against the proposition Tuesday night. Councilmember Connie Odic said, “They’re literally pulling their cooler and drinking it in their coozies. They’re not even putting it in their Yeti cups; some of them are most of them aren’t. So, I think there’s other more serious topics like theft.” But others feared if it did get out of hand, once alcohol sales were allowed, it would be difficult to control. The council did pass one item regarding alcohol. Vendors who are sponsored by the city will be allowed to sell it at specific events and festivals.