KTBB News, Weather, Talk

WODEN — The Woden Water Supply Corporation has issued a boil water notification for the Kingtown area effective 11:00 a.m. July 12. Water supply officials say customers should boil water to be consumed for at least 2 minutes to kill any bacteria.

BEAUMONT – A New Caney woman was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for her role in a notorious homicide that took place in Nacogdoches in August 2007. Carrie Christine Wood, 38, was the last remaining defendant in the case, connected to the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. She had pleaded guilty on Feb. 17, 2011, to violent crime in aid of racketeering activity related to the murder of David Mitchamore. Wednesday in Beaumont, Wood was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

According to information presented in court, Wood was a close associate and confidant of her co-defendant, Carl Carver, a general of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. Authorities say the ABT is a race-based, state-wide organization that operates inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout Texas and the United States. According to federal officials, the ABT enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, assault, robbery and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise. Authorities say members, and often associates, are required to follow the orders of higher ranking members, often referred to as “direct orders.”

According to court documents, Mitchamore, aka “Super Dave,” an ABT member, and his girlfriend, Christie Rochelle Brown, were murdered by Wood’s co-defendant Brent Stalsby as a result of a “direct order” issued by Carver because of Mitchamore’s failure to repay an outstanding debt he allegedly owed to an Aryan Brotherhood general. Wood communicated the direct order from Carver to Charles Cameron Frazier, who then responded to the jail where Carver was incarcerated to receive further instructions from Carver about Mitchamore’s punishment. The bodies of Mitchamore and Brown were discovered in Nacogdoches County on Aug. 10, 2007.

On June 27, 2011, Carver was sentenced to life in federal prison. On May 25, 2011, Brent Stalsby was sentenced to life in federal prison and Terry Stalsby, who was present when the direct order issued by Carver was delivered to Frazier, was sentenced to 162 months in federal prison. On June 22, 2011, Frazier was sentenced to life in prison. April Flanagan was sentenced on April 26, 2011 to 180 months in federal prison after she admitted, among other things, that she knew and approved of the plan to murder Mitchamore, and provided ABT members with the shotgun used in the murders.

HUNTINGTON — A Huntington grandfather was arrested Monday after being accused of driving drunk with his two 13-year-old granddaughters riding on top of his SUV. KETK and the Lufkin Daily News report that according to an affidavit, Huntington Police officer James Hight pulled over William Chambliss, 64, after receiving calls from concerned citizens.

Police say upon being pulled over, Chambliss told Hight he had two ounces of vodka that day and had an open container inside his SUV. Hight found two Gatorade bottles inside the vehicle containing a liquid that smelled of alcohol, according to the affidavit. During the traffic stop, Chambliss seemed confused, agitated and was being verbally aggressive, the affidavit stated. He submitted to a blood alcohol test at Memorial Medical Center-Lufkin and was taken to the Angelina County Jail, but not before he threatened to “whoop” the officer, according to the affidavit.

Police say the two teens admitted to riding on top of the vehicle with their legs hanging inside the sunroof. Chambliss told police they had rode that way from Hanks Creek with him driving 35 miles per hour, the affidavit stated. He is charged with DWI with a child, retaliation and endangering a child, according to jail records. Chambliss made his collective $6,000 bond Tuesday.

EAST TEXAS — The city of Bullard is just one East Texas city that’s decided to urge its residents to cut back on their water usage. Although the request isn’t a mandatory one, City Manager Larry Morgan says the measures are working. Bullard, like many East Texas cities, is feeling the effects from the lack of rainfall and drought weather conditions. This combination is putting pressure on city officials to think of ways to conserve water. One option would be a future waterline from Lake Jacksonville or Lake Tyler. However, the city does have a back-up well on standby, and will use it first before looking at other options. Meanwhile, Morgan says he expects water bills to continue to rise as water usage in Bullard continues to grow.

Meanwhile, two rural water suppliers are asking their customers to limit outdoor water usage during this year’s drought. West Harrison Water Supply in Hallsville wants customers to spare watering during the daily peak hours of 6:00 to 8am and 5:00 until 9:00pm, along with times during high winds which dry out watering. And Cross Roads Special Utility District east of Kilgore has maintained stage I drought contingency for its customers since June 18. West Harrison General Manager Stan Jackson said conservation is completely voluntary at this time. “Next month, we’re going to look closely at our plan,” Jackson said. “We’re just cautious.”

LONGVIEW — The 9-1-1 service in Longview is operational again after being down for several hours yesterday. Shortly after 9:45 Wednesday morning, there was an equipment problem with the Longview 9-1-1 center telephone system creating a disruption in normal operations. According to police, public safety officials worked with repair personnel to resolve the issue. Police said 9-1-1 calls were routed to Public Safety Communications’ 10-digit administrative lines while the problem was being addressed. Officials expressed confidence during the outage that calls would be answered efficiently, and they didn’t immediately report any problems while repairs were being made.

TYLER – The death of a Tyler infant remains under investigation. The infant has been identified as Melehia Kent, born April 19. An autopsy was conducted on Kent at Southeast Texas Forensic in Tyler. Police say the preliminary autopsy results indicated no evident signs of foul play. They say a formal cause of death is pending receipt of further testing and evaluation.

The call came in to 9-1-1 just before 6:00 Tuesday night that an infant was having a medical emergency at the Towne Oaks Apartments in the 3900 block of Old Bullard Road. Emergency personnel found the girl in cardiac arrest. CPR was started and EMS transported the infant to East Texas Medical Center. The child died at the hospital shortly after arrival.

TYLER — Smith County Fire Marshal Jim Seaton says about 8 to 10 acres have been burning on the 12,400 block of County Road 35, or Lavender Road. Seaton said at midday Wednesday he believed the acreage had been burning for over a day. Several fire departments, which fought the blaze, had trouble getting into the fire because of the heavily wooded area. The Texas Forest Service has cut down trees to reach flames. How the fire started is unknown at this time. No injuries have been reported.

AUSTIN — Ronald Dee House, 41, has been added to the Texas 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders list, and authorities are offering a $1,000 cash reward for information leading to his arrest. According to the Department of Public Safety, House is a high-risk sex offender who was last seen in Wills Point in Van Zandt County. He is wanted for failure to register as a sex offender and parole violations. His criminal history includes convictions for sexual assault, burglary of a habitation, assault, possession of marijuana and failure to appear. He is considered armed and dangerous.

House goes by the nickname “Chicken Lips.” He has several tattoos, including a cross on his upper left arm, a rose and heart on his upper back, moon and stars on his upper left chest and a dagger and the words “ERIC RONNIE” on his upper right chest. In the past, House has worked in metal fabrication. He has family in Van Zandt and Lubbock counties. You can go to http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/wanted/sexoffenders/topTenSexOffenders.htm#;view=Individual%20Details/fugitive=8 for more information on House.

TYLER — Pinnacle Housing Group LLC, a full service real estate company specializing in the development of affordable housing, broke ground Wednesday for Pinnacle at North Chase in Tyler. The latest Pinnacle development will be a gated community of 120 garden apartment homes as part of the 395-acre master-planned, mixed-use North Chase planned unit development. North Chase has strong support from the community, including the city government. It’s seen as a significant revitalization project for the community as well as the individuals who will live there.

In July 2010, the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs awarded PHG Lone Star, LLC (a subsidiary of Pinnacle Housing Group) $1.4 million in Housing Tax Credits to help finance the development. The luxury-style rental community at 3651 N. Broadway in Tyler will offer a clubhouse with a cyber café/computer lab, fitness facility, game room with a serving kitchen, and a patio with an outdoor fire pit. The swimming pool will be located adjacent to the playground and covered picnic area. A vita course complete with a walking/jogging trail and outdoor fitness stations centered around a sand volleyball court will provide a park-like area for resident use. The development is scheduled to be complete in the spring 2012.

The Housing Tax Credit program encourages private development of properties with restricted rents based upon income. The units will be set aside for residents making 30%, 50% and 60% of the Area Medium Income (AMI). There will be 32 one-bedroom, one-bath units with 880 square feet, 64 two-bedroom, two-bath units with 1,180 square feet, 20 three-bedroom, two-bath units with 1,310 square feet and 4 four-bedroom, three-bath units with 1,550 square feet. Each unit will include a patio/balcony, exterior storage, walk-in closets, pantry space, and energy efficient appliances including a dishwasher and garbage disposal.

TYLER – A Gregg County man will be serving time in federal prison for meth distribution. U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis sentenced Gahlen Keith McGregor, 46, of Longview, to five years in prison. McGregor forfeited $10,000 in cash and $5,000 worth of property.

TYLER – A Cherokee County man has been sentenced to federal prison for making threats against the president. Robert Lee Berkley, Jr., 29, of Rusk, was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 14, 2010. He pleaded guilty this February. He was sentenced yesterday to 40 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis.

Federal prosecutors say on June 16, 2010, Berkley, who was in the Hodge Unit of the state prison system, located in Rusk, wrote a letter claiming that upon his release from TDCJ, he planned to travel to Washington, D.C., in order to kill President Barak Obama and the First Family. Berkley confirmed his plan during at least two separate interviews with law enforcement officers.

NACOGDOCHES — Authorities identify a man taken into custody after a large marijuana field was found in Nacogdoches County. Primitivo Dijar, 46, has been jailed and charged with possession of marijuana.

A tip Friday led law enforcement officials from several state and local agencies to what could end up being the second largest marijuana field found in the county in recent years. That’s according to KETK and the Nacogdoches Daily Sentinel. Precinct 4 Constable Jason Bridges said a local person, who wished to remain anonymous, called game wardens from the Texas Department of Wildlife and Parks after finding a 1.5 acre field of pot, growing in a wooded area off County Road 528 south of Nacogdoches. The individual was reportedly checking property for another individual, who also was not identified, following reports of suspicious activity in the area, Bridges said

Dijar, identified as a Mexican national, was arrested at the scene, while a second person reportedly fled barefoot into the woods when law enforcement officials entered their make-shift camp in the middle of the field. Bridges said the field could be the second-largest found in the county in his two years in the Precinct 4 constable’s office.

ZAVALLA — After two months on the job, Zavalla police chief Jim Hodges has been suspended with pay while the city launches an in-house investigation into allegations against him. According to KETK and the Lufkin Daily News, the decision was made by the City Council during Monday night’s meeting. The council spent nearly an hour and a half behind closed doors bringing in several community members and then 69-year-old Hodges. Zavalla Mayor Greg Fletcher said Monday night he could not go into detail on the nature of the allegations at this time. “Right now he is suspended with pay until we do an investigation into the allegations that were brought against him,” Fletcher said. Hodges declined to comment.

A Zavalla woman brought into the council’s closed-door session to voice her complaint against Hodges, Juanita Malone, also declined comment on the allegations but said she is happy an investigation is taking place. “I really don’t have much to say except for that I am aware of a third-party investigator,” Malone said. “The Texas Rangers are getting involved and I am happy about that.” Hodges, a 30-year police veteran, took the reins of Zavalla’s department at the end of May after former police chief Bobby Epperly accepted a chief position with Huntington.

TYLER — Because of extremely dry conditions, Smith County Judge Joel Baker has issued a burn ban for the county. It’s effective immediately. The burn ban is effective for seven days, and may be renewed upon review of conditions next Tuesday. “We have watched conditions closely during this period of record heat and high winds, and have determined that a burn ban is needed. Many factors go into the decision-making process regarding the issuance of a burn ban. I always consult with the County Fire Marshal in evaluating the issuance of such an order,” Judge Baker said.

Factors in determining the need for a burn ban include the Keetch-Byram Drought Index; the current temperature, humidity, and wind speed; and the weather forecast. “We also consider the type and volume of calls for emergency service due to fires,” Judge Baker added. The current drought index is 694 and the county has historically issued burn bans when it is at or near 700. Unusually high temperatures, lack of rainfall and low moisture levels have contributed to need for a ban to be issued.

Pursuant to Texas Penal Code §28.04, a person commits an offense if, without the effective consent of the property owner, he/she recklessly damages or destroys property of the owner. Such a violation is a class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500.

TYLER – Tyler police are investigating a stabbing that occurred Monday night in the 600 block of East Oakwood Street. Stabbed once in the upper back was Josue Pinal, 18 of Tyler. He is being treated at East Texas Medical Center. Investigators say his injuries are not considered to be life threatening.

Officers say Pinal and other witnesses have given conflicting accounts of what had happened. At this time, the suspect is unknown. This case is being forwarded to the Major Crimes Unit for investigation.