Today is
Sunday November 24, 2024
MARSHALL – A former babysitter is heading to prison for the sexual assault of a teenager. Zoya Grace Rogers, 28, of Kilgore, was charged with two counts of sexual assault of a 16-year-old. She was also charged with abandoning and endangering the teen’s 10-year-old autistic sibling, who was left home alone while taking the teen on a joy ride to a Longview strip club. Rogers pleaded guilty to all three charges. She was sentenced to five years for each sexual assault count, and 18 months on the abandoning charge. The sentences will run concurrently. Rogers was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life.
LONGVIEW – The investigation continues into a fatal accident in Longview. It happened around 10:15 Tuesday night in the area of Nelson and Green Street. Harold Garrett, 62, of Longview was hit by a vehicle that left the scene. He was found lying in the highway and later died at a Longview Hospital. Green Street was closed from Nelson Street to Melton Street during the investigation, until 12:15 Wednesday morning. Anyone with information is asked to call the Longview Police Department at 903-237-1170 or Gregg County Crime Stoppers at 903-236-7867.
TYLER – Officials with Tyler and Smith County have signed a resolution which supports a bill creating a utility district in southern Smith County. The utility district would be in an area between the cities of Tyler and Bullard, an area that is predominately serviced by private utility companies. The area would be known as the Rose City Municipal District, or MUD. The bill was introduced in the current legislative session by State Representative Matt Schaefer of Tyler. The proposed district would have the authority to issue bonds, impose fees, and provide sewer and wastewater services and contract with the City to operate and maintain the district’s sewer and wastewater facilities. Officials feel, if the new district becomes a reality, residents in the area may one day see better sewer and wastewater services at lower costs. Read the rest of this entry »
WHITE OAK – A man picked up in White Oak, following a domestic dispute, is now facing a weapon’s charge. Arrested was Fabian Hugo Castro, 19, of Longview. A search of the man, after he was placed in handcuffs, turned up an Uzi submachine gun. It had 24 rounds in the clip and it had a retractable stock, which would allow the user to turn it into a rifle. They feel the weapon may have been stolen, since the serial number had been filed off. Now, besides the weapons charge, Castro also has outstanding warrants from Smith and Gregg Counties. He remains in the Gregg County Jail under bonds totaling $30,000.
TYLER – Tyler city employees who go above and beyond the call of duty are presented the Blueprint Blue Ribbon Award. That award has been given to Lauren Justice, City of Tyler accounting manager. Justice began her career with the city as an accountant in June 2012. She is currently an accounting manager and the staff liaison regarding both internal and external audits and works closely with the city’s Audit Committee.
NOONDAY – Smith County Road 1133, northwest of Noonday, is closed until further notice for a culvert replacement. The part of the road that is closed is between County Road 1131 and Farm Road 2661, in Precinct 1.
TYLER – Three Tyler Junior College students have been accepted for paid summer research fellowships. The funds come from the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. Jeannie Nghiem, a TJC biology and chemistry major from Tyler, has accepted a fellowship at The University of Texas at El Paso, a Division 1 research institution. Martin Morales Alvarez, electrical engineering major and Marco Rodriguez, engineering major, both from Tyler, will both be participating in summer fellowships at UT Tyler.
SMITH COUNTY – The Smith County sheriff’s office has completed a compliance check of registered sex offenders who live in the county. Sheriff Larry Smith said it took two days to conduct the check with around 40 officers from 8 different agencies. Of the 406 persons who were checked, four were found to be out of compliance and two others were not at home and notices were left. The unannounced and comprehensive residential verification checks of this type are conducted on a regular basis in the county. The sheriff said sex offenders have strict requirements. If they violate any of their registration requirements, a warrant will be issued for their arrest.
SAN ANGELO – A former Smith County youth minister is heading to prison for sexually assaulting a teen. Before Clinton Douglas Brackett, 34, was the director of youth ministries at First United Methodist Church in Lindale, he was employed at a church in Ballinger. It was there where he began a sexual relationship with a girl younger than 17. The San Angelo Standard-Times reports that Brackett, on Wednesday, pleaded guilty to one of the four counts of sexual assault of a child. In a plea agreement, he was sentenced to eight years in prison. He will now have to register as a sex offender.
TYLER – A state trooper with the highway patrol in Athens is now a Texas Ranger. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced that Justin Cuellar has been promoted to a Texas Ranger, Texas Rangers-Company “Dâ€. Ranger Cuellar, who joined the DPS in 2007, will be stationed in Beeville starting the first of next month.
TYLER – A Tyler jury has found Daniel Aylor, 34, guilty of driving while intoxicated, second offense. In May of last year, he had been stopped in Smith County for speeding and failing to maintain a single lane. A blood sample showed his alcohol concentration was twice over the legal limit. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 22nd.
TYLER – A portion of a proposed large development in south Tyler has received city approval. The development, proposed by the Genecov Group, is in the Hollytree subdivision. The approval was for 294 of the proposed 318 acres. What was not approved was around 20 acres of apartment buildings. The vote came following several hours of comments from the area residents. Many of then felt that the Gennecov proposal would adversely affect their property values.
TYLER – A Chapel Hill School District employee has been arrested for election fraud. Arrested by Smith County sheriff’s deputies was Carolyn Lewis, 68 of Winona, who turned herself in at the county jail. The problem stems from 4 absentee ballots that were witnessed by the same person, which is a violation of the Texas Election Code. The ballots were for a position on the Chapel Hill school board. When an investigator contacted her in the parking lot of the high school, Lewis was in possession of two additional absentee ballots and appeared to be filling them out. The school district has placed Lewis on leave, pending an investigation. She has been charged with unlawfully witnessing absentee application, which is a Class B Misdemeanor and is currently free on a $500 bond.
PALESTINE – The city of Palestine has rescinded the boil water notice for the Westwood area. According to a news release, “Our system has taken the necessary corrective actions to restore adequate pressure, disinfectant levels, and/or bacteriological quality and has provided TCEQ with testing results that indicate that the water no longer requires boiling as of April 24, 2019.” Officials add that there are no boil water notices in effect in the city at this time. They add, although the water may appear a bit cloudy while the full pressure returns, the water is safe for drinking.
JACKSONVILLE – OSHA is investigating a fatal accident at the Stryker Creek Power Plant in Cherokee County. Our news partner, KETK, reports a man was working on a crane Tuesday afternoon when he came in contact with a voltage box and was electrocuted. His body has been sent to a Tyler lab for an autopsy. The man’s name has not been released.