KTBB News, Weather, Talk

SMITH COUNTY — A motorcyclist was killed in a three-vehicle wreck on Highway 110, south of Whitehouse, around 6:30 Friday morning. According to KETK, reports indicate a car heading south swerved into oncoming traffic, causing the wreck involving a motorcycle and a truck. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. The other two drivers were taken to the hospital. Their conditions are not known. Identities have not been released.

LUFKIN (AP) — An East Texas minister and his family have been convicted of using hurricane relief funds to pay off personal expenses and fund operations of a 40-member Jasper church. Walter and Rosie Diggles and their adult daughter, Anita Diggles, were all found guilty Thursday of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Walter Diggles also was convicted of two counts of theft of federal funds, 11 counts of wire fraud and three of money laundering. Rosie Diggles also was convicted of 10 counts of wire fraud and one of money laundering. U.S. District Judge Ron Clark will determine the family’s sentences. Continue reading Family Found Guilty of Using Relief Funds for Personal Use

KILGORE – The Teachers of the year for the area have been announced. The Elementary Teacher of the year is Rachel George in the Marshall ISD. The Secondary Teacher of the year is Kathleen Brown of the Palestine ISD. The Announcement comes from the Region Seven Education Service Center in Kilgore. The two educators will now will represent Region 7 as semifinalists for the 2018 Texas Teacher of the Year Award. Continue reading Two Area Teachers in the Running for State Awards

LONGVIEW – The serving of a search warrant in Longview has resulted in the arrest of Cameo Cornelius Phillips, 33, of Longview. The narcotics search warrant was served by city and county officers on Faircreek Drive. They found found drugs and a handgun during the search. Phillips is charged with possession of marijuana, and the manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance. She remains in the Gregg County Jail under bonds totaling $76,000.

DALLAS – A man wanted for sexual assault in Harrison County has been arrested following a chase in Dallas. Kameron Deshon Maxfield, 22, was arrested earlier this week following a chase that reached speeds up to 100 miles an hour. He was arrested after wrecking his car and a brief foot chase. According to KETK, He is wanted in Marshall after being accused of sexually assaulting his girlfriend back in April. He is also said to have run over her after she got out of his car at a Marshall service station.

TYLER – Another Tyler traffic signal box has been decorated. Keep Tyler Beautiful has added the box at South Broadway Avenue and West Grande Boulevard to its collection. Sponsored by Texas Star Title and Loans, the box features a photograph of an East Texas sunrise over a lake. You can go to http://www.KeepTylerBeautiful.com to get more information on the program.

EAST TEXAS – Texas Senator Ted Cruz will be making stops in Tyler and Kilgore on Friday. The senator starts with a visit at Skeeter Boats in Kilgore at 10:00am. He is scheduled to visit Tyler Junior College at 11:30. The stop includes a visit to the Robert M. Rogers Nursing and Health Sciences Center. This will be followed by with a roundtable discussion with faculty, staff and students of the school. The final stop will be at the general offices of Brookshires on the West Southwest Loop at 1:30.

Two separate traffic stops have resulted in drug arrests in Henderson County. William Allen Henderson, 55, of Athens, was stoped for a traffic violation near La Rue. After finding an open alcohol beverage, the deputy searched the vehicle. A small clear plastic baggie containing crystal like substance believed to be methamphetamine and a pipe commonly used to smoke the drug were found. Henderson was arrested for possession of a controlled substance. Continue reading Two Busted for Drugs in Henderson County

LONGVIEW – A Longview man, Breylon Drachan Fountain 23, has been arrested following a Wednesday night shooting incident on East Whaley Street. Fountain was arrested by a Longview officer who heard a gunshot. He then found Fountain standing besides a swimming pool and holding a gun. Fountain had confronted two persons in the pool when he fired into a nearby wall. Either a fragment of the bullet or wall hit someone, causing a minor injury. Fountain is in jail on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

TYLER — Tyler police search for a suspect after a woman said she was held at gunpoint and sexually assaulted. It happened around 10:00 last night in the area of Beckham and Erwin. The woman said she was confronted by a black male with a gun and forced behind a building where she was assaulted. The suspect’s described as early 20’s, close to 6′ and thin. His face was covered and he fled on foot. Continue reading Woman Sexually Assaulted at Gunpoint

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK — A former Longview doctor has died after going missing at a National Park. According to KETK, the Grand Canyon National Park issued a notice asking for the public’s help in locating Dr. Sarah Beadle, 38, of Fort Worth. Her body was recovered by a search team Wednesday afternoon. Dr. Beadle was a former doctor at CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Medical Center in Longview before joining the Baylor Emergency Medical Center in Keller. The National Parks Service said Beadle had reservations to stay at Phantom Ranch August 1, but never arrived. Her backpack was found near the junction of the South Kaibab Trail and the River trail later Tuesday evening. Continue reading Former Longview Doctor Found Dead at National Park

TYLER – One man remains in the hospital following a Tuesday afternoon plane crash. The two men involved were treated at East Texas Medical Center in Tyler. They were identified by the Department of Public Safety as Joshua Daniel, 36, of Bullard and Jamie Jackson, 33, of Tomball. Jackson, a flight instructor, was treated and released. Daniel, a student pilot, remains at ETMC in serious condition. The single engine aircraft crashed near U.S. Highway 69 north of Mount Selman. An FAA spokesman told KETK that the plane had departed from Tyler Pounds Regional Airport. According to a city of Tyler spokeswoman, the plane stopped in Tyler for fuel. Continue reading Student Pilot Remains in Hospital Following Plane Crash

TYLER – A Tyler church has been hit by gunfire. The shots struck the Higher Heights Baptist Church on the Van Highway around 8:30 Wednesday night. Church members inside the building say the heard the gunshots outside the church. Several bullet holes were found. No one was injured.

TYLER – Smith County Habitat for Humanity is expanding its home buyer program. In the past, it was designed for families whose household income fell within 30% to 60% of the average mean income of Smith County residents. It will now include families whose household income falls within 60% to 80% of the AMI. The agency is currently accepting applications. You can call 903-595-6630 for more information.

WASKOM – A one vehicle accident in Harrison County has killed Sharon Hyde Chaney, 55, of Karnack. The Department of Public Safety Reports her vehicle left the road and ran into a ditch before hitting several trees. The report says her car was traveling at an unsafe speed when the accident occurred. It was reported around 10:45 Tuesday evening on Farm Road 134, about 5 miles northwest of Waskom.

TYLER — A Gilmer man who police said had more than 110 grams of methamphetamine, guns and a host of other drugs at an Upshur County house has been indicted by a federal grand jury. Shundarrell Vondrake Cain, 45, has been charged with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm during drug trafficking and felon in possession of a firearm. KETK reports federal prosecutors are also seeking criminal forfeiture of at least $10,000 stemming from drug sales and seven guns.

TYLER – A shooting on North Englewood in Tyler around 5:00 Tuesday afternoon sends a man to the hospital with a bullet wound to his thigh. A Tyler police report said the injury was not life threatening. His name has not been released. No charges have been filed and the case remains under investigation.

TYLER – Liberty Utility customers in Tyler and Smith County are in for a rate hike. An administrative law judge on Tuesday approved the interim rate increase. The company operates as Woodmark Sewer and Tall Timbers Sewer. The rate for Tall Timbers customers in Tyler will go up to $41.63 a month. Tall Timbers customers outside of city limits will see their monthly rate go to $54.93 a month. The rate for Woodmark Water and Sewer customers increases to $71.85 a month. The increases stem from a rate hike request the company filed nearly a year ago.

TYLER – Texas Spine & Joint Hospital is now part of the Baylor Scott & White and United Surgical Partners International statewide network. The joint ownership was announced and became effective on Tuesday. Texas Spine & Joint has received numerous awards since its founding in 2002. In May of last year Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics and CHRISTUS Health united to create the CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health System. Last November, Good Shepherd Health System in Longview announced its merger with Christus Health.

TYLER – Beginning this month, the state’s campus carry law has been expanded to include community and junior colleges. Tyler Junior College has a policy in place which allows a person, with a concealed handgun permit, permission to carry the gun on the campus. Dr. Tom Johnson, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs at TJC, says there are a few areas where the concealed handguns are not permitted, and those areas are marked by large signs. He says you can go to the TJC website and type in concealed handgun policy in the search section to view the policy.

LONGVIEW — Burglary suspects Steven Williams and Robert Blackshear, both 19 years-old of Longview, have been arrested. They were on their way to the hospital, for some unknown reason, when they had a accident at Methvin and Fifth Streets. That’s where they were arrested for breaking into a home on South Mobberly Avenue to steal items from Jaun Richardson, who police say they stabbed in back. He is in the hospital. The teens are in the Gregg County Jail, charged with burglary of a habitation. Each is under a $50,000 bond.

HENDERSON COUNTY – An Arp man has been arrested for possession of meth. Trinity Driver, 28, was pulled over for a traffic violation south of Chandler around 1:30 this morning. A Henderson County Deputy searched his vehicle and found a pipe and meth hidden in a cigarette box. Driver was booked into the Henderson County Jail on a possession charge.

SMITH COUNTY — Eighteen Texas sheriffs, including Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith, have signed up to participate in a federal immigration enforcement program that checks the immigration status of inmates in the county jail. Under the program, sheriff’s office personnel are trained so that people jailed locally and found to be in the country illegally can be held until federal agents decide if deportation is appropriate. ICE now has 60 active agreements, which is nearly double the number of active programs in 2016.

TYLER – The City of Tyler has launched a new podcast series called Roses and Weeds. It’s designed to keep residents up to date with current events and news about the city. The first episode is streaming on iTunes and Soundcloud. It is covering such topics as the city’s updated noise ordinance, the Rose Complex Master Plan and the city’s Half Cent Sales Tax program. You can hear the podcast at https://soundcloud.com/rosesandweeds or find it on the city’s homepage.

TYLER – Tyler Junior College’s Dr. Juan E. Mejia has been named recipient of the Nelson Administrative Leadership Award by the Texas Association of Community Colleges. Mejia, provost & vice president for academic and student affairs at TJC, received the award at the recent TACC Conference in San Antonio. The award was established in 2003 in memory of Carl M. Nelson, who served as president of Texarkana College.

TYLER – Dr. Larry K. Lowery has been named a 2017 University of Texas System Board of Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award recipient. Dr. Lowry is professor of occupational and environmental health sciences in the School of Community and Rural Health and is also director of environmental health graduate programs in the department of occupational health sciences at UT Health Northeast. He will received his award in Austin August 23rd.

LINDALE — An East Texas man has been caught after putting several neighborhoods in Lindale on edge Friday evening. Officers tell KETK they got calls about 38-year-old Dustin Youngman, who they say had broken into a house and was still inside. Officers say Youngman ran when they arrived. A notice to the public was sent out asking people to stay inside and lock their houses. After a two- hour search, Youngman was found and arrested. No one was injured.

ATHENS – 16-year-old Justin Gardner of Athens is listed as missing on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children website. He was last seen July 21st and they feel he may still be in the area. He is said to be 5’8′, and weighs 185 pounds. If you know where he can be found, you are asked to call you local law enforcement agency.

TYLER – Two persons wanted in a Smith County animal cruelty case have been arrested. Authorities have arrested Roderick Johnson and Vanessa Mederos, both are 23 and both are from Tyler. They had been wanted in connection with three dogs that were left chained without food or water. One died before they were found. Both suspects remain in the Smith County Jail. Continue reading Two Tyler Residents Charged with Animal Cruelty

MARSHALL – A Harrison County teen has been arrested following a day long manhunt. Perry Brown Jr., 19, had been sought after breaking into a home on Saturday and being scared away by the owner. He is then said to have stolen a car and wrecked it after being chased by the car’s owner. Authorities arrested him after a short foot chase. The Marshall News Messenger reports he is said a suspect in numerous burglaries in the area.