KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER — The queen of the 2017 Texas Rose Festival is Emily Kaye Evans, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Lenville Evans, Jr. The announcement came Thursday evening at the 25th Winter Gala benefiting the Tyler Rose Museum, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Emily is a freshman at Belmont University in Nashville, majoring in music business. She graduated from All Saints High School in Tyler. Duchess of the Rose Festival is Caroline McGinley Bertram, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Kenneth Bertram. Continue reading Rose Queen Introduced at Winter Gala

GLADEWATER — Multiple fire departments contained a large structure fire in downtown Gladewater. According to KETK, the massive blaze caught several adjacent businesses on fire around 10:15 Wednesday night. Gladewater Police Chief Robert Vine said firefighters battled the fire at Tony’s Old South Restaurant, formerly known as The Fork Restaurant, which then spread to a business next door. Tony’s was only open for about a month before it burned down. Vine said the origin of the fire is a building on the corner, adjacent to Tony’s. The building was empty when the fire began. The Gregg County Fire Marshal’s Office said the ATF will take over the investigation. Continue reading ATF Investigating Downtown Gladewater Fire

LONGVIEW – A Longview man, Kedric Lamar Handy, 24, is facing a variety of charges following a Wednesday traffic stop. He was arrested on the 9 outstanding warrants against him. Then, officers found a semi-automatic handgun on the front passenger side floor of the car. The handgun was found to have been stolen during a vehicle burglary. Besides the warrants, Hardy was also charged with possession of a stolen firearm and unlawfully carrying a weapon and taken to jail.

TYLER – A ribbon cutting ceremony was held today at the city of Tyler’s new Animal Shelter on the Chandler Highway, just outside the Tyler Loop. The city purchased the land and the old church building in 2013. The cost was $550,000. The renovated building will now house animal control, clinic, exam space, holding facility and an adoption center. It will house 103 dog kennels and 65 cat kennels. And the shelter has room to grow, both inside as well as outside.

MARSHALL – A Harrison County woman has drawn a lengthy prison sentence for a December 2015 murder. On Tuesday, Marilyn Kirkland, 26, of DeBerry, pleaded guilty, and Thursday a jury deliberated around an hour and a half before sentencing her to 40 years in prison. She had been charged with the shooting death of Clinton Wayne Saizon, 36, of Waskom. His body was found by his family at his mobile home. He had died from a single gunshot wound. Kirkland was arrested a few days later.

EAST TEXAS – The Texas Department of Transportation is preparing for possible winter weather conditions in the area.TxDOT crews Thursday morning pre-treated Interstate Highway 20 with brine and are prepared to treat bridges and other areas as warranted. Crews around the Tyler District’s 8-county maintenance section are getting equipment and materials ready should they be needed. TxDOT spokesperson Kathi White says the pre-treating is based on forecasts that show slight wintry precipitation accumulations could occur along the I-20 corridor and the northern portion of the district in Wood County where crews are treating elevated structures. Continue reading TxDOT Prepares for Possible Winter Weather

MARSHALL – Two Marshall runaways have been found. The Harrison County Sheriff’s Department yesterday said they were looking for Jordan Enriquez, 14, and Gavin Nunis, 15. Both had walked away from HeartLight Ministries in Hallsville, sometime during the day Tuesday. The Sheriff’s Department reported today the two boys are now back at HeartLight Ministries

NACOGDOCHES COUNTY — An East Texas pilot was able to walk away from a crash site with no injuries. According to KETK, the plane went down around 4:00 Wednesday afternoon off Highway 7, near the A.L. Mangham Jr. Regional Airport. The M20K fixed wing single engine is registered to Donald Keith Irby of Cushing. Officials say Irby began to have engine failure before gliding into the field. He was not seriously injured in the crash.
Irby said he had flown from Nacogdoches to Longview to get his yearly inspection. On the way back, he had engine failure. Continue reading Pilot Walks Away from East Texas Crash

MOORE STATION — One person was killed and another injured after a car slammed into cows Sunday night. According to KETK, it happened around 10:30 when a vehicle headed south on FM 314 hit two cows in the south bound lanes. DPS officials said the driver, identified as Susan Alexander, 55, Chandler, was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the car, who survived the accident, was identified as 54-year-old Michael Johnson of Larue. The crash remains under investigation.

TYLER — With the new year comes a store closing in Tyler. It will be Macy’s. Last August, Macy’s announced it would be closing 100 stores, but did not say which ones. The company announced Wednesday the locations of those stores they plan to close down in 2017. Tyler’s Macy’s store is on the list. The 100,000 square foot store opened across from the Broadway Square mall in 1981. It has 65 employees.

WASKOM – The cause of death of a Harrison County man has been established. It has been ruled he committed suicide. The man, whose name has not been released, was found dead by his sister Monday afternoon. He was face down on the floor with a knife in his chest. His body was sent to a Tyler lab for autopsy. The autopsy confirmed the preliminary findings of a suicide.

LONGVIEW – For the first time, the Longview Municipal Court is conducting an amnesty program. Through the end of the month, when you pay in full, warrant fees will be removed. If you can’t pay in full, they will work out a payment plan that each person can afford. Municipal Court Administrator Sally Forbus says they are trying to clear a backlog of around 10,000 warrants, dating back to 2009. She says they don’t want to put people in jail, they just want to see them to be in compliance.

MARSHALL – Harrison County authorities are trying to locate two teens who ran away from HeartLight Ministries in Hallsville. They walked away sometime during the day Tuesday. Both were residents of the program. The boys do not have transportation and should be on foot. It is believed they could be in the Longview area. One boy is identified as Jordan Enriquez, 14. He’s about 5’8” with black hair and brown eyes and has an athletic build. He was last seen wearing a grey sweatshirt and grey pants. Continue reading Missing Teens Sought in Harrison County

GILMER — An Upshur County man was killed Tuesday night by law officers answering a wellfare call. It happened around 8:00pm on Cottonwood Road. Killed was Dale Hightower, 53, of Gilmer. Department of Public Safety Spokeswoman Jean Dark says arriving officers heard screaming coming from the residence. She said, when Hightower came outside and pointed a rifle at an Upshur County deputy and a state trooper, the officers shot him. He died at the scene. A woman found inside the residence was unharmed. The Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting.

TYLER — A Tyler man was hospitalized after running through a light pole and crashing. According to KETK, officers believe he was intoxicated. They say 33-year-old Matthew Dean was driving north on Broadway when he drove through the pole. After the crash, witnesses went to help Dean. That’s when we’re told, he punched a woman who was trying to help him. Both northbound lanes of Broadway were shut down while crews cleared the scene. Dean is expected to be arrested once he’s released from the hospital. By the way, this is not the first time he’s been accused of driving under the influence.

TYLER — An East Texas trio has been indicted in connection with a September 22 murder. According to KETK, the Smith County District Attorney’s Office says Rebecca Bond (pictured), 38, of Tyler, was indicted for murder. On September 23, Bond was arrested in connection with the death of Luis Martinez, 62, whose body was found in a cemetery in the Antioch community. Following the discovery, law enforcement surrounded a residence on County Road 383, near Littlefield Drive. Laurie Perry, 56, of Chandler, and Stanton Pearce, 52, of Tyler, were also indicted; they’re accused of tampering with physical evidence in connection with the case.

SMITH COUNTY — Travauski Tyka Dunlap, 20, has been indicted for sexual assault of a child. The offense was allegedly committed on May 15, 2016. Arraignment is scheduled for February 3, in the 241st District Court of Judge Jack Skeen, Jr. A plea docket agreement is set to follow on March 2, with a jury trial scheduled for March 6. Details concerning the reported crime were not available. Dunlap’s bond has been set at $100,000.

LONGVIEW – A call to 911 lands a Longview man in jail. Randy Linwood, 62, of Longview, made the call because of an issue he had with a man up the street. When officers arrived at his home on Nowlin Street Monday afternoon, no one was home. The Longview News Journal reports, when the officers walked inside, they saw a large amount of marijuana spread out on a makeshift table in the living room. When Linwood returned a few minutes later, he was charged with possession of marijuana measuring between four ounces and five pounds. He is currently free on a $5,000 bond. The paper said Linwood told officers he knew about the marijuana inside the house because he grows it in his backyard for personal use.

LONGVIEW – A Longview man is arrested after being accused of choking a nurse at Good Shepherd Medical Center. Weston Colt Johnston, 33, has been charged with assault of an EMS personnel providing service. The Longview News Journal reports Johnston had become upset and had put his hands around the nurse’s throat hard enough so she could not breathe. He remains in the Gregg County Jail under a $15,000 bond.

QUINLAN (AP) – The bodies of a father and his 5-year-old son have been recovered after a boating accident on an East Texas lake when a fast-developing storm ended a duck-hunting trip. Authorities identified the dead as 26-year-old Corey Saunders and his 5-year-old son, Nathan Saunders. Both were from Quinlan. Searchers found the man’s body Tuesday in Lake Tawakoni, 50 miles east of Dallas, after recovering the boy’s body late Monday. The Hunt County Sheriff’s Office was contacted Monday night by a relative who reported the pair never returned home after a trip on the lake. A game warden, Capt. Steve Stapleton, says the father and son were in a small boat, loaded with hunting gear, when a storm blew in and likely contributed to the accident.

TYLER – Smith County commissioners have taken action that could lead to the sale of the old Carlton Hotel in downtown Tyler. Public information officer Casey Murphy said the commissioners court authorized, at Tuesday’s meeting, the advertisement and receipt of sealed proposals for real estate brokerage services for the sale of the building. She said this is designed to gauge the public’s interest in the building at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Elm Street. Built in 1954, the building had housed county offices until 2013. The county rejected a $475,000 offer for the building a couple of years ago.

JACKSONVILLE – A burglary suspect has been arrested in Jacksonville. And he may be responsible for numerous burglaries in the area. Arrested was Francisco Soto-Rangel. Officers found him after coming upon a burglary-in-progress at Atwood Finance Pawn Shop on North Bolton Street. His truck was found behind a neighboring business. Inside the truck they found stolen property matching descriptions from multiple burglaries previously reported to the police. They soon found the suspect. Continue reading Jacksonville Burglary Suspect Arrested

WASKOM – A death of a Harrison County man is under investigation today. Waskom police are hoping an autopsy report will shed more light on the death of the man. The victim, whose name has not been released, was found by his sister Monday afternoon. He was found face down on the floor of his home with a knife in his chest. It’s hoped the autopsy will be able to tell if the death was accidental or they have a homicide on their hands.

TYLER — The Tyler Police Department is investigating a hit-and-run that occurred in the parking lot of a local discount store. According to police, the accident happened in the parking lot of Fred’s Discount Store, 1803 East Gentry Parkway. The victim was not seriously injured, according to Sgt. Adam Colby.

GRAND SALINE — The Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office asks for the public’s help locating a man who ran from authorities. According to KETK, the Grand Saline Police Department released a statement saying Kenneth Shane Henson is wanted in Van Zandt County after leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase. Henson was last seen running in a wooded area on County Road 1308. Contact the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office, 903-567-4133 or Crime Stoppers, with any information.

TYLER – The weigh-in period for the 5th annual Lighten Up East Texas is underway through the end of February. Created by the Fit City Tyler Coalition, this free weight loss event challenges individuals, teams and communities to have friendly competition while losing weight and improving their health. Anyone in East Texas, over the age of 18, can take part in the program. Terrance Ates, with the North East Texas Public Health District, says participants will receive entries into a grand prize drawing for every 5% of weight that is lost. Among the prizes, a man and a woman will each win $5,000. You can go to LightenUpEastTexas.com for more details.

TYLER – A person, out for a walk, has been robbed in Tyler. It happened shortly before 12:45 Monday afternoon on East Vance Street. The victim, a 73 year old Hispanic male, says a car pulled up next to him. The driver got out, displaying a handgun tucked into his waistband. He then began struggling with the victim. He punched him in the face, took his wallet, then drove away. The victim received minor injuries. The suspect was described as a heavy set Hispanic male.

TYLER – A Tyler argument has resulted in the arrest of two persons. Daquion Ray Wheeler, 21, and Darshae Lashaun Calloway, 19, both of Tyler, were arrested on New Year’s Day. They were arrested in a yard on Texas College Road. They have been charged with aggravated assault. They are said to have pulled knives and were trying to cut each other. The situation calmed down when an officer pulled his taser. Witnesses say the altercation stemmed from an argument over a hat.

EAST TEXAS – With the arrival of the new year came two new arrivals to East Texas. The first baby of the year arrived at East Texas Medical Center Sunday morning at 2:30. Diego Perez is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jose Juan Perez. The couple’s first child weighed in at 7 pounds and 1 ounce and measured 20.5 inches. At 5:00 Sunday morning, Longview’s first baby of 2017 arrived at Good Shepherd Medical Center. Vincent Simpson is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Simpson. He tipped the scales at 7 pounds 6 ounces.