KTBB News, Weather, Talk

TYLER – An arrest warrant affidavit provides new details in the death of a missing 18-year-old woman who was found Tuesday afternoon in a ravine behind the Hollytree Apartments in Tyler. Jamaurea Britton, 19, of Tyler, was arrested on Tuesday for murder, according to his arrest affidavit, after a body was recovered near his apartment and later confirmed to be Deja Hood. Hood was reported missing by her mother earlier that day after she had been out with friends and disappeared. Her mother told police she recalled her friend to be Britton, according to our news partners at KETK. Continue reading Tyler man admits to killing missing woman

LINDALE — Lindale ISD notified guardians Tuesday night of a student email account that was hacked. According to our news partner KETK, a Lindale Junior High student’s email was hacked and messages from a hacker were sent out through the student email and other communication groups including HUDL and Canvas. The school said in a statement, “Please tell your child not to respond to messages from other students or to open any files that they are sent. If your child has been sent any messages that they believe could be from a hacker, please contact your campus principal.” Lindale ISD’s Technology Department is investigating the origination of the hack and have involved district and local law enforcement.

CHEROKEE COUNTY — A 14-month old boy has died after reportedly drowning in a pond on family property. According to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a residence on County Road 3705, in the Mount Selman area, on September 21 in reference to a drowning. Deputies found the child receiving CPR from a family member. EMS took the child to a Jacksonville hospital. The child was later transferred to Children’s Hospital in Dallas, where he died Monday. The case remains under investigation.

SMITH COUNTY — A 28-year-old man accused of selling a fatal dose of Fentanyl to a teenager fails to show up for his trial. The judge has issued an arrest warrant for Billy Maddox after he did not appear for jury selection in his trial Monday in Tyler. Maddox is charged with manslaughter in the death of a 17-year-old boy who died from an overdose of Fentanyl. Prosecutors say the pills contained substances other than what was claimed, and that Maddox failed to render aid and did not call for help. In fact, an arrest affidavit says Maddox shared an Instagram post with a photo of the teenage boy passed out on his stomach. The post was captioned, “Look how that perc got him sleeping,” with several laughing emojis.

TYLER — A body has been found near the Hollytree Apartments on Hollytree Drive around 1:00 Tuesday afternoon. While working on a separate case in the apartments, officers discovered the body, wrapped in a cloth material, in a nearby ravine. The victim, identified as 18-year-old Deja Hood, was reported missing by her parents. Officials said that the victim did not live in the apartment complex, but was there with Jamaurea Jermaine Britton, 19. Britton was arrested on a murder charge. He was booked into the Smith County Jail on a $1,000,000 bond.

NEW BOSTON – An East Texas court has awarded $26.8 million to a victim in a lawsuit against their convicted abuser according to our colleagues at KETK. A summary judgement was issued on Monday against Nolan Turner, 74 of Red Lick, who was convicted of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 in March 2020 and sentenced to 30 years in prison after he failed to appear in the case’s final hearing. Continue reading Court awards $26.8M to victim in child abuse case

ATHENS — According to the city council agenda and our colleagues at KETK, the City of Athens is set to confirm the appointment of Chad Allen as Chief of Police. Allen was previously the Chief of Police for the City of Keller, according to the city’s Public Safety Facebook page. He is set to replace former Athens Police Chief John Densmore in early October.

SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Judge Neal Franklin rescinded the burn ban Tuesday, September 26, after the county received some much-needed rain. Franklin made the decision based on the recommendation of Smith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue. “Smith County received an adequate amount of rainfall Sunday night and during the early morning hours of Monday to reasonably lift the burn ban, which was enacted on August 1, 2023, for the safety of the public,” Hogue said. “I would like to thank the residents of Smith County for their understanding and cooperation while the burn ban was necessary.” Hogue encouraged anyone planning to conduct outdoor burning to do it in a safe manner. Continue reading Smith County burn ban lifted

WOOD COUNTY — A Gilmer man has been charged with intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault in connection to a wreck that killed one of his passengers and injured another. According to our news partner KETK, the preliminary report from DPS indicated Leopoldo Guerrero, Jr., 24, was driving a 2007 Chevrolet 1500 east on State Highway 154, 13.3 miles west of Gilmer on Sept. 18 at 7:00 a.m. DPS said he veered off the roadway to the north and the truck overturned. 34-year-old Diana M. Valenzuela from Longview was taken to a Quitman hospital where she died a few hours later. A 25-year-old passenger was taken to a Tyler hospital with incapacitating injuries. After an investigation, Guerrero Jr. was charged with intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault. Continue reading Gilmer man charged in fatal wreck

TYLER — A former Tyler ISD substitute teacher was indicted for aggravated sexual assault of a child and improper relationship between an educator and a student on Aug. 3. According to our news partner KETK, 48-year-old Karen Dunn was an ISS substitute at Ramey Elementary School when a 10-year-old reported she had “touched her inappropriately” with three other students in the classroom. Tyler ISD police were called to Ramey Elementary School on May 16 after the child reported the incident to another teacher, saying Dunn told her about things she does with her sister and boyfriend, handed the child a piece of paper with her name, address and phone number on it and told the child to come over. The number was not one Tyler ISD had on file for Dunn. Dunn had been a substitute since 2016 and was terminated when the child reported her after a member of Tyler ISD HR contacted Dunn using the phone number given to the child. Dunn is still in the Smith County Jail on a $250,000 bond. Her next court date is scheduled for Oct. 2.

EDOM – The Texas Department of Public Safety says that one man is dead after a motorcycle and vehicle crashed on FM 279 on Saturday, according to our news partners at KETK. According to DPS, Roy Lewis Woods, 58 of Ben Wheeler, was driving a 2022 Harley Davidson motorcycle west on FM 279, 3 miles west of Edom. Karla Kay Coyle, 63 of Brownsboro was driving a 2012 Ford F-150 in the eastbound lane when the motorcycle reportedly failed to take a curve and hit the Ford. Woods was pronounced dead at the scene by Justice of the Peace Wade McMillan and Coyle had relatively minor injuries, DPS said. A DPS investigation into the crash is ongoing.

WOOD COUNTY – A former volunteer firefighter in Hainesville pleaded guilty to four counts of arson last Thursday. According to our news partner KETK, Courtney Keel of Mineola was arrested September 2021 after the Wood County Sheriff’s Office investigated a number of suspicious fires over 2020 that were worked by the volunteer firefighter. Though Keel pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree felony arson, motions for a new trial have been filed in his case.

TYLER – Six East Texas men were indicted in Smith County last month for soliciting someone under 18, according to KETK. The men had all been arrested in January as part of an undercover sting, where according to their affidavits, the men messaged who they thought was a 17-year-old named “Sarah” but was in reality a sergeant with the Office of the Attorney General conducting an online investigation. Continue reading Six men indicted for soliciting minor

HARRISON COUNTY – A man is dead after a rollover crash Friday evening on I-20 near Marshall. According to a preliminary DPS report And our news colleagues at KETK, a Ford F-150 was traveling east on I-20 and “failed to drive in a single lane, veering off the roadway to the right.” The truck overcorrected, and DPS said it caused the truck to rollover. The driver, identified as 47-year-old Billy Warren, of Lufkin, was pronounced dead at the scene. According to DPS he had not been wearing his seatbelt. The crash remains under investigation.

TYLER — Tyler police are asking motorists to use caution Monday morning when approaching intersections as multiple are without power. According to our news partner KETK, the following intersections are without power as of 7 a.m.: Broadway Avenue/Centennial Parkway, S Broadway Avenue/Market Square Boulevard, Loop 323/E Erwin Street and Loop 323/Lyons Avenue. Authorities are working to get generators deployed to these locations. “If you approach any intersection that is without power, treat it as a four-way stop. If you come to an intersection with blinking red lights, treat that as a four-way stop,” police said. “Emergency crews are working to get all intersections up and running as quickly as possible.”

TYLER – With severe weather Sunday night in our region, there are reports of over 9,030 without power. According to our news partner KETK, these are current as of 6:00 P.m. Monday. For a county by county listing of power outages from ONCOR and SWEPCO click here.

LINDEN – The Linden Police Department is investigating a fatal shooting that happened on Friday in the parking lot of a Crump Food Store in the 700 block of West Houston Street. According to Linden PD, the shooting happened around 3:30 p.m. when a store employee Larry Lawrence, 39 of Queen City, was helping put groceries in the back seat of a car. Officials said that there was a dog in the back seat and that Lawrence reportedly began to pet the dog when a .22 rifle in the back seat went off and hit him in the chest. According to our news partner KETK witnesses attempted to resuscitate him and when police and EMS arrived, they took over lifesaving procedures, but he was later pronounced dead at a helipad site. Linden Police Chief David Dulude said that the incident appears to have been accidental but that the case is still under investigation while they try to figure out how the rifle went off.

TYLER – According to our news partner KETK Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., announced that $68,042,000 in regional mitigation funds was approved for infrastructure projects across Deep East Texas on Friday. The funds were approved by the Texas General Land Office and will include over $42 million for broadband and interoperable radio communications infrastructure that will be administered by the Deep East Texas Council of Government (DETCOG). The money allocated by the land office is sourced from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the Regional Mitigation Plan, a plan to help reduce risks and impacts of future natural disasters. Continue reading Land Commissioner announces $68 million for infrastructure

TYLER – The East Texas State Fair is officially back. The event kicked off Friday morning with Senior Day to start the huge event and of course, the fair has all the essential fun you would expect. Plus your food favorites like giant turkey legs and don’t forget about the Ferris Wheel. The fair runs through Oct.1. For the daily schedule of the East Texas State Fair, click here

TYLER – Smith County remains under a burn ban. Since the Smith County Burn Ban was issued on August 1, 2023, there have been a total of 57 illegal burning citations issued across the county. A violation of the burn ban is a Class C Misdemeanor, punishable by a fine up to $500. If your fire gets out of control and destroys a neighbor’s property, you could be held liable for the value of that property. Check here to see if your county is on the list. For more information related to the burn ban, please contact the Smith County Fire Marshal’s Office at 903-590-2655. Continue reading Smith County burn ban update

TYLER – CHRISTUS Health and Aramark are ending their contract, and officials with CHRISTUS said employees laid off from Aramark are expected to begin employment with their new vendor according to our news partners at KETK. In a statement, CHRISTUS Health said they will begin working with a new vendor, Morrison, on Nov. 1 and Aramark employees will be offered positions. “We do not expect any disruption to current operations or employment,” the statement from CHRISTUS said. “While technically these employees will be laid off from Aramark, we expect them to transition immediately to employment with Morrison.” Continue reading CHRISTUS contract with Aramark to end

HENDERSON COUNTY – Officials in Henderson County are investigating after a drowning Thursday night in the Cedar Branch Park subdivision. According to Payne Springs Fire Rescue, they and other agencies responded around 8 p.m. to “reports of a male subject that had been working construction at a residence went for a swim in the lake and went under the water and did not resurface.” The victim was later recovered after units began searching the water, including the Gun Barrel City Fire rescue boat that has side scan sonar. This sonar was used to locate the victim after officials had been searching the area for some time. The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.

GLADEWATER – Gladewater residents are being asked to conserve water. On Friday, the City of Gladewater issued a notice to residents that they are now in Stage 1 Water Conservation due to water levels and their drought contingency plan as reported by our news colleagues at KETK. “We need everyone to work to conserve water usage as much as possible at this time,” according to a statement from the city. “We will provide an update as this changes.”

CANTON – A new Sonic drive-in in Canton will feature something unique. According to our news partner KETK, this new Sonic will be first in the United States to have pickleball courts. The Canton Economic Development Corp. adds, the pickleball courts can be reserved using the CourtReserve App. If you’re wondering if pickleball will replace the playground for your kids, don’t. The new Sonic location will have both.

RUSK COUNTY — Rusk County Sheriff’s Office and the Henderson Police Department have apprehended three individuals and seized suspected methamphetamine, suspected cocaine, suspected MDMA, suspected marijuana and firearms. According to the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office and our news colleagues at KETK, they received leads during a fugitive apprehension investigation that led to a controlled substance search warrant being served at 1307 Martin Luther King Street in Henderson. Continue reading 3 arrested in Rusk County on drug, firearm charges

TYLER – The University of Texas at Tyler received part of a $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study ants and their potential impacts on soils in southeastern U.S. environments. “This collaborative research award recognizes the high quality of our biology department’s work,  which will help determine whether soil animals such as ants impact soils at larger scales,” said Dr. Kouider Mokhtari, UT Tyler interim senior vice president for research. “This novel research has broad applications that could advance our understanding of how soil nutrients and mineral composition are impacted by ant nests.” UT Tyler will collaborate with the University of Central Florida and Yale University’s School of the Environment on the two-year, two-part project.

TYLER – On Thursday, Sept. 21, Tyler Animal Services was alerted by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) that one bat submitted for analysis tested positive for rabies. The bat was found near the 9300 block of Tipperary Drive. The known individuals and animals with possible exposure have been identified and addressed. It is critical for people to not handle bats, skunks, raccoons or other wild animals. It is important for children to tell their parents of any contact with wild animals or any sick animals. If a person is bitten by an animal, the bite incident must be reported to the Local Rabies Control Authority, Tyler Animal Services Director Shawn Markmann, for proper investigation. Continue reading Tyler bat tests positive for rabies