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TYLER– A Tyler man accused of attacking man with bolt cutters has drawn a hefty prison sentence. A Tyler jury Wednesday afternoon sentenced Homer Swarn, 52, to 75 years in prison. He had pleaded guilty on Monday. Last May, Swarn had gone to the home of John Johnson to sell him the bolt cutters in order to get drug money. He ended up beating Johnson with the bolt cutters and then robbed him of money he used to buy crack cocaine.

MINEOLA – A former Mineola teacher is indicted on charges related to inappropriate relationship with a child. Jo Ann Stephens, 43, was named in a five count indictment Wednesday. She was charged with two counts of sexual assault of a child, two counts of inappropriate relationship with a child and one count of online solicitation. Each indictment carries a $25,000 bond.

Stephens was arrested last December following a four month long investigation. She was charged at the time with improper relationship with a student. The Mineola High School student has since graduated. Mineola police say they started the investigation after receiving a complaint from Child Protective Services on August 4. The incident with the student, who was said to have been 15 at the time, is said to have taken place in May of 2008. Following her arrest Stephens resigned as physical education teacher at the elementary and middle school.

TYLER – A Tyler home has been extensively damaged by fire. It was reported just before noon Wednesday at 1216 South Francis Street. James Lewis said he has just gone to work before the fire started. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

BALTIMORE (AP/Staff) – A Titus County resident has died in Afghanistan. The Pentagon says 25-year-old Staff Sgt. Chauncy Mays of Cookville was one of two soldiers assigned to the Aberdeen Proving Ground who were killed. Mays and 22-year-old Spc. Christopher Stark of Monett, Mo., died Monday in Wardak province when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 63rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion, 20th Support Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground.

TYLER — Several sentences were handed down Tuesday and Wednesday in Tyler in federal cases involving methamphetamine-related cold pill purchases. All the defendants pleaded guilty to possession of pseudoephedrine with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine.

The defendants include two Kilgore men sentenced Wednesday. Larry Don Howell, 30, pleaded guilty on Sep. 1, 2010, and was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison. Calvin Lee Sickler, 28, pleaded guilty on Aug. 6, 2010, and drew a 51-month prison sentence. According to prosecutors, on Apr. 17, 2009, Howell purchased cold pills containing pseudoephedrine at a Wal-Mart in Kilgore, in addition to making several other purchases up until Nov. 3, 2009. Sickler admitted to purchasing cold pills containing pseudoephedrine at various stores in Longview, Kilgore, Henderson, and Tyler between September 2009 and March 2010. A federal grand jury returned a 273-count indictment on May 6, 2010 charging Howell, Sickler, and four others with federal drug violations.

44-year-old Brett Everett Myers of Tyler pleaded guilty on Sept. 7, 2010, and was sentenced Tuesday to 57 months in federal prison. According to information presented in court, on Dec. 22, 2008, Myers purchased cold pills containing pseudoephedrine at a Drug Emporium in Longview. A federal grand jury returned a 256-count indicted on Feb. 2, 2010 charging Myers and several others with federal drug violations.

26-year-old Brandi Nicole Cochran of Beckville was also sentenced Tuesday, getting 37 months behind bars. She’d pleaded guilty September 7 after purchasing cold pills containing pseudoephedrine at a Drug Emporium store in Longview on April 10, 2009. A federal grand jury returned an indictment on Apr. 8, 2010, charging Cochran and others with federal drug violations.

LUFKIN — Lufkin Police Department on Tuesday released the name of the man who died Monday at a Brookshire Brothers warehouse. Clayton Johnson, 44, died when a loading dock ramp fell on his chest, according to LPD spokesman Det. JB Smith. Memorial Medical Center – Lufkin marketing director Yana Ogletree said Johnson was transported to the hospital, where he died shortly after noon from blunt force trauma.

Johnson served as a maintenance employee at the warehouse behind the corporate offices on Ellen Trout Drive. The police department determined Johnson’s death was a work-related accident and will not continue any kind of criminal investigation. Brookshire Brothers business development director Emily Watts said this is the company’s first fatality in more than two decades, and the first time she can recall of one happening on the premises of the company. An 18-wheeler accident more than 20 years ago marked the last casualty the company experienced. Watts said Johnson had been with the company for about four years.

LONGVIEW — Opening arguments kicked off the trial of an East Texas man accused of murder. Toronto Lockridge, 34, is on trial for the September murder of Kelvin Muckleroy, 33. Muckleroy’s body was found inside the torched remains of his Chappell Street home in September of 2009. Investigators determined he was shot before the house was torched. Lockridge remains in the Gregg County Jail, held since December 7 on $150,000 bond for threatening a witness in Muckleroy’s homicide. If convicted, Lockridge could face between 5 and 99 years or life in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

TYLER — Tyler Police say two suspects are now in custody after reportedly stealing copper wiring. It happened around 12:55 Wednesday morning at Gander Mountain. An officer in the area noticed a suspicious vehicle pull around the back of the store. A male and female had tools and a large amount of copper pipe. Authorities say the copper was cut from the roof of the store. The suspects, Jordan Kyle Wilson, 23, and Karrie Gomez, 34, both from the Dallas area, were booked into the Smith County Jail.

SMITH COUNTY — At least one person is sent to the hospital Tuesday night after getting hit by a vehicle. The accident took place on the 3300 block of north northeast Loop 323 near highway 271 in Tyler a little after 8:30. Tyler Department of Public Safety is investigating.

MARSHALL — A man whose body was found in a ditch along Interstate Highway 20 in Marshall has been identified, and a suspect has been arrested in the case. Marshall authorities say the victim is Charles Steven Ledbetter Jr., 31, of Jefferson. He had died from several stab wounds. During their investigation, Marshall police obtained a warrant for David Wayne Brown, 54, who is pictured here. He was later arrested.

MARSHALL — A second Harrison County student has been diagnosed with H1N1 flu. Ashley Craver, five-year-old Washington Early Childhood Center student, is said to be in critical condition at Sutton Children’s Hospital in Shreveport. She has been in the hospital since February 24th when she was diagnosed with the disease.

Earlier last month a 13 year old boy died from the disease. Trenton Lindsey of Elysian Fields was rushed to a Marshall medical facility Valentine’s Day after his temperature spiked to almost 103 degrees. He was then transferred to a Shreveport hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with having H1N1. Despite using new experimental treatment, they couldn’t save him.

LONGVIEW — An expanded playground in Longview offers new recreational opportunities for children of all ability levels. Located at Spring Hill Park, the Neal McCoy Playground has been transformed into a universally accessible play area with wheelchair access throughout the structure. The expansion more than doubled the size of the playground, including the addition of new play equipment and new solid-surface flooring. The project was made possible by more than $350,000 in contributions from Longview AMBUCS Too. Also, the City of Longview is in the process of adding a bathroom at the playground.

The official ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony for the AMBUCS Too Universal Park Extension of the Neal McCoy Playground was be held Wednesday morning at Spring Hill Park, 738 Fenton Rd.

According to Director of Community Services Laura Hill, “We are thrilled to be able to offer this resource to the Longview community. This project simply wouldn’t have happened without the fundraising and guidance provided by Longview AMBUCS Too. They saw an opportunity to provide this incredible playground, and then they did everything necessary to make it happen.”

TYLER — Tyler Police are seeking a suspect after officers were called to Birdwell Elementary School, 2010 Talley Street, just after 1:30 Tuesday on a report of a gun being pointed at a fifth-grade student. The incident occurred around 7:30 that morning in the 1900 block of Talley as the student was walking to school. Police say while the student was walking south on Talley from Fifth Street, an older model white van with windows down the length of the vehicle and a scratch on the driver’s door pulled alongside the student. The driver, described as a Hispanic male with a black mustache wearing a black shirt, pointed a black semi-automatic handgun at the student. The student ran into the school, and no injuries were reported.

The incident was reported to school officials by the student Tuesday afternoon. Anyone with information about the suspect involved in this crime is urged to contact the Tyler Police Department, at 903-531-1000, or Crimestoppers, at 903-597-CUFF (903-597-2833). Crimestoppers will pay up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest and charges filed against suspects in this or any felony case.

TYLER – A 54-year-old Palestine woman has been sentenced to federal prison for bank larceny. Betty Smith pleaded guilty on July 12, 2010, to information charging her with bank larceny and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Tuesday in Tyler by U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider. Smith was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $126,664.72. According to information presented in court, from 1991 to 2009, Smith abused her position as assistant branch manager at Capital One Bank in Palestine to steal approximately $165,000.00.

LONGVIEW — The City of Longview Environmental Health Division is encouraging restaurants to ignore fraudulent phone calls from individuals claiming to be restaurant inspectors. Several local retail food establishments claim that they received telephone calls from individuals representing themselves as state inspectors. The caller attempts to schedule food inspections and asks the restaurant to provide the caller with a “code” received from an automated telephone system. The fraudulent caller then provides food establishment operators with a telephone number to call the Texas Department of State Health Services. Restaurants are encouraged to disregard these fraudulent phone calls.

The City of Longview Environmental Health Division is responsible for conducting all inspections for retail food establishments in the City of Longview. The Environmental Health Division does not schedule routine retail food inspections by appointment. In Longview, retail food establishment inspections are conducted randomly without prior notification provided to the food establishment. As a reminder to residents, you can go to http://www.LongviewTexas.gov to view the most recent restaurant inspection scores. For additional information about restaurant inspections, you can call the Environmental Health Division at 903-237-1285.