Today is
Friday June 19, 2026
GLADEWATER — The Gladewater Police Department has found a man who was reported missing on Monday. According to KETK, police announced Darrius Markeith Lewis, 38, was found Tuesday evening after not being seen since October 2. Police said Lewis had a “diminished capacity.” They’re extending their thanks to local residents for their help in the search.
TYLER — Smith County Fire Marshal Jay Brooks says he’s stepping down from his position on Friday to spend more time with his family. Brooks says he’ll have more freedom to do that when he takes a new job in IT and software with a Tyler-based corporation. Brooks tells KTBB he’s not yet ready to give more details about his new company or his duties there, but he does say his background is in IT and software engineering. He announced his impending departure on Tuesday. Read the rest of this entry »
NACOGDOCHES — A suspected East Texas bank robber was arrested some 30 minutes after the robbery of Texas Bank in Nacogdoches. Robert Lee Kobe, 46, of Kountz, has been charged with robbery and was also wanted by the United States Marshal Service for violation of federal parole. He is currently being held in the Nacogdoches County Jail. The robbery occurred shortly before 1:45 Tuesday afternoon. Kobe reportedly approached a teller, demanded money and then fled with an undisclosed amount of bills. A witness reported seeing a vehicle leave a nearby parking lot a short time after the robbery. A San Augustine police sergeant spotted the vehicle on State Highway 21. The officer pulled Kobe over and he offered no resistance.
MARSHALL — One person is hospitalized following a stabbing in Marshall. It happened around 6:30 Tuesday evening at the Baymont Inn and Suites on Highway 59. Marshall police report a suspect has been detained. The investigation is continuing.
SULPHUR SPRINGS — A Sulphur Springs man appears to have accidently drowned in his swimming pool. The body of William Gene Alley, 68, was found face down in the pool at his home around 9:30 Monday night. He was pronounced dead at a hospital just over an hour later. An autopsy has been ordered.
PALESTINE — Following a lengthy executive session, the Palestine city council placed city manager Wendy Ellis on administrative leave for an undetermined amount of time. The reason for the action was not disclosed. In the mean time, police chief Mike Alexander will be filling the position on a temporary basis. In June, during a city council meeting, there was a lengthy executive session concerning Ellis’ continued employment. After meeting behind closed doors, the city council announced that Ellis would keep her job.
GILMER — State district judge Lauren Parish has rescinded the contempt of court order she filed Monday against Upshur County Treasurer Brandy Vick. The order was filed Tuesday afternoon. On Monday, Vick was taken into custody after she refused to move her chair across the Upshur County Justice Center while handing jurors their payment for service. According to the Longview News Journal, the state district court judge issued the order Monday for Vick to be taken to jail. She was not to be released from the jail until she appears before the court. Vick had set up next to Justice of the Peace Lyle Potter’s office inside the Upshur County Justice Center to pay jurors for service of the 115th District Court. Vick said she was asked to set up there by Sheriff Anthony Betterton, who, Vick said, had told her that was the safest location in the building. But, when she refused to move, the judge found her in contempt.
TYLER — A Department of Public Safety Trooper killed in the line of duty has been honored in Tyler. Trooper Daniel Higdon was killed in 1983 after being crushed between two tractor trailers while conducting a traffic stop in Smith County. He and another trooper had pulled over two tractor trailers for traffic violations. As Trooper Higdon and one of the truck drivers stood between the two trucks one of them rolled back, crushing both men between the trucks. The DPS honors first responders that have made the ultimate sacrifice with handmade wood memorials, usually a chair, that is placed at the agency of that responder. Higdon was honored Tuesday with such a chair at the Tyler District office.
EAST TEXAS — I-20 repair work in Smith County wrapped up Tuesday afternoon and moved to Gregg County today. Motorists are reminded to slow down and use caution when traveling through these moving I-20 work zones, according to a TxDOT news release. Today’s work requires closing the eastbound outside lane at Mile Marker 593-594 for concrete repair work. Expect the lane closures to be in place till 7 p.m., which could mean delays for drivers. You’re also advised to look for electronic signage and personnel to guide traffic through this work zone while the roadway lanes are restricted. Law enforcement also has a presence in these I-20 work zones.
TYLER — The former wife of an ex-Whitehouse police officer has sued the city of Whitehouse and the town’s former police chief. KETK reports Jessica Johnson filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court of East Texas on October 9. Court documents reveal Johnson claims the defendants violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments by violating her privacy and her right to be free of sexual assault. Johnson said then-Police Chief Craig Shelton assaulted her at her home on May 14 when she was separated from her husband, an officer on the police force. Shelton was indicted on an assault charge, but the charge was later dropped after Johnson admitted lying to a grand jury. The former police chief resigned from his position not long after the charge was dismissed. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — Longview Police arrested two people in a drug raid Monday morning. KETK reports police took into custody Octavio Nigel Hollis, 38, of Longview, for manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. Officers also arrested Ashley Nichole Britt. 25, of Longview, for manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance. At 10:19 a.m., officers and the CODE Unit served a search warrant on West Pliler Street. Authorities seized suspected cocaine and marijuana and found a gun under the cushion of a couch. Both suspects remain in the Gregg County Jail.
TYLER — As of Oct. 13, the City of Tyler will offer yet another way to access City Council meeting agendas digitally, according to a news release. Citizens will now be able to access the agenda from their smart phones or tablets by simply scanning a unique QR code posted at the entrance of the meeting. Officials say it’s about cutting costs and being environmentally aware. Chief Information Officer Benny Yazdanpanahi says further innovations of this type are coming soon, starting with digital agendas for Planning and Zoning meetings. To access the agenda using a QR code, simply download a code scanner app on a smart device, snap a photo of the agenda’s code, and you will be directed to the agenda online. For more information, contact Yazdanpanahi at [email protected] or (903) 531-1122.
TYLER — The Smith County Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to implement a burn ban in the county. Fire Marshal Jay Brooks recommended the burn ban, according to a news release. He said the county has been lucky that it hasn’t had any large fires with no rain in the last several weeks. But since dry air began moving from the Northwest today, coupled with low humidity and wind, he said it was a good time to enforce a burn ban. Brooks said the KBI Index is at 734, and weather conditions were taken into account when deciding whether to recommend a burn ban. Brooks expects the dry air, wind and low humidity to continue throughout next week and possibly throughout the fall season. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — A man with a knife has robbed a Tyler business. It happened around 8:00 Monday night at the Food Fast store at 4725 Troup Highway. The man was armed with a large kitchen-style knife. After taking an undetermined amount of money, he fled on foot. The clerk described the suspect as a white male in his mid-twenties wearing a brown t-shirt with white writing, black shorts with a white strip running down the leg, and a dark colored cloth mask. The suspect was also described as being between 5’6″ and 5’10”, 150 and 160 pounds with bright blue eyes. No injuries were reported.
TYLER — Campus Security at the University of Texas at Tyler has alerted the campus to a reported sexual assault near the campus. The victim was walking in the area of Old Omen and McDonald Road around 3:00 Sunday morning when offered a ride by three men in an extended cab pickup. The victim reports being sexually assaulted by one of the men. They were later dropped off near the main entrance of the university. Tyler police say the victim was not a student at the school and has not reported the incident to them.
WASKOM (AP) — A Louisiana man has been arrested after authorities say he took an airplane without the owner’s permission from an East Texas airport outside Marshall and later crashed. Texas Department of Public Safety troopers tell Shreveport television station KSLA that Nathan Henley, 30, of Minden, Louisiana, told the plane owner he was going to wash the plane before a scheduled flight class Monday but instead took it on a joyride. He’s now charged with unauthorized use of a flying aircraft. Henley, who is not licensed to fly, and another man aboard escaped injury when the plane went down about 4:00 Monday morning in a pasture north of Waskom in Harrison County. Authorities told The Marshall News Messenger the aircraft apparently ran out of fuel.
VAN — A two vehicle accident in Van Zandt County has left one person dead and one injured. Dead at the scene was Crystal Ramirez, 18, of Rockwall. The Department of Public Safety reports her car was traveling in the wrong lane when it collided head-on with a truck driven by Kevin Stryker, 38, of Ben Wheeler. He was taken to a Tyler hospital for treatment of minor injuries. The accident happened around 11:15 Monday morning on Farm Road 314, about four miles south of Van.
AUSTIN – Speaker Joe Straus has appointed the current Chairman of the Texas House of Representatives Pension Committee, Republican Representative Dan Flynn of Van, as Co-Chair of the Joint Interim Committee to study the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) Benefit Plans. The committee was appointed by House Bill 2974 which was passed during the 84th Regular Session. The committee is to review the health benefit plans administered by the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and propose reforms. The committee will report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than January 15, 2017.
GILMER — Upshur County Treasurer Brandy Vick has been taken into custody after being found in contempt of court. Vick refused to move her chair across the Upshur County Justice Center while handing jurors their payment for service. According to the Longview News Journal, Upshur County’s 115th District Judge Lauren Parish issued the order Monday for Vick to be taken into jail custody. She is not to be released from the jail until she appears before the court. Vick had set up next to Justice of the Peace Lyle Potter’s office inside the Upshur County Justice Center to pay jurors for service of the 115th District Court. Vick said she was asked to set up there by Sheriff Anthony Betterton, who, Vick said, had told her that was the safest location in the building. But, when she refused to move, the judge found her in contempt.
MARSHALL (AP) — Marshall police say they’ve taken three juveniles into custody in the investigation of the theft of more than a dozen firearms from a sporting goods store last month. Eleven handguns and four rifles were reported missing after the early morning break-in September 13 at Diamondback Outfitters in Marshall. The burglars apparently got in by breaking a glass door at the front of the store. Police announced Monday the three had been detained and all but two of the weapons had been recovered. Marshall authorities and agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are continuing to investigate the case.
TYLER — The intoxication manslaughter trial of Carl Crabtree, 31, of Tyler, which was scheduled to have started today, has been pushed back to next Monday. A pre-trial hearing is set for Thursday. The case involves the deaths of two people stemming from an alleged drunk driving crash March 4. That’s when Crabtree, 31, of Tyler, was driving south on Old Jacksonville Highway and his vehicle crossed the center line, colliding head-on with an SUV. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — An elderly Gregg County woman has been bilked out of money by a Publisher’s Clearing House scam. The sheriff’s department reports she received mail that she had won a Publisher’s Clearing House cash prize. She was told to deposit a check in the amount of $8,980.30 and mail 39 $100.00 bills to an address in Austin, TX Via FedEx. It was all a scam and she lost the money. Gregg County investigators remind you that Publisher’s Clearing House and other reputable sweepstakes organizations do not operate in this manner.
LONGVIEW — A string of vehicle burglaries at Express Energy Services in Gregg County is under investigation. According to the sheriff department’s Face Book page, the burglaries occurred at the business off State Highway 31 sometime between 6:00pm on Thursday, October 8 and 6:15am on Friday, October 9. The suspects are said to have taken hand tools, chains, and batteries from four different vehicles and two trailers at the business. Anyone with information is asked contact Investigator Robinson with the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office at 903-237-2526 or call Crime Stoppers at 903-236-STOP.
GLADEWATER — Gladewater police are looking for a man who have been missing for over a week. Darrius Markeith Lewis, 38, is said to be a man of “diminished capacity.” He was last seen on October 2nd. Lewis is described as a black male who is 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighs 185 pounds and has black hair with brown eyes. If you have information about Lewis, you are asked to contact the Gladewater Police Department.
SULPHUR SPRINGS — One Person is in custody following a fatal shooting in Sulphur Springs. Being held on a $1 million bond is Justin Joe McQueen, 19, of Sulphur Springs. He’s charged in the shooting death of Jesse Vasquez, 25, of Sulphur Springs. He was shot around 8:30 Sunday night in the 600 Block of Ingram Street. Vasquez, who was shot numerous times, was found lying in the road. He later died at an area hospital.
MARSHALL — Two persons are in custody in connection with a drive-by shooting in Marshall. Arrested were James Fields, 28, and Billy Mason, 20. Fields has been charged with deadly conduct and a warrant for possession of drug paraphernalia and Mason has been charged with deadly conduct and a warrant for violation of parole. The shooting is said to have occurred around 10:30 Sunday night in the 1500 block of Fields Street. No injuries were reported.
TYLER — Funeral services are scheduled in Tyler Tuesday for former judge Tom Ramey Jr. Ramey, who died Friday at the age of 90, served as Chief Justice of the 12th Court of Appeals from 1989 to 2000. A senior partner in the Ramey Flock Law firm, Ramey was named Chief Justice Emeritus’ of the Court a few years ago. Funeral services for the former judge and Tyler civic leader will be held Tuesday morning at 11:00 at Tyler’s Marvin United Methodist Church.
TYLER – Here’s a look at work planned in the district during the Week of Oct. 12. These schedules are subject to change due to weather conditions, equipment failure or other unforeseen issues.
Motorists who use Farm Road 2658 in Rusk County for their commutes will have to take alternate routes when the contractor closes a portion of the roadway starting Monday. The closure is necessary to complete the tie-in of a new section of roadway to the existing section. Traffic is being detoured to Farm Road 3231 for the next several weeks. Read the rest of this entry »
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Now that Kevin McCarthy has stepped aside, Tyler-based Congressman Louie Gohmert says he’s supporting Dan Webster for House speaker. Gohmert tells KTBB, “Even though he’s less conservative in his voting than I am…he’s a good man. He de-centralized power as speaker of the House in Florida, and I knew he was just the right guy to do that in Washington — desperately needed.” As for this past week’s announcement, Gohmert remarked, “It was a surprise when Kevin McCarthy indicated he was not the person to unite…us together.” But Gohmert terms the move “a selfless, noble act.” Gohmert says he looks forward to the day when the House has someone “that will allow all of the members, Republican and Democrat, to represent their districts. That’s gonna be a great day when that happens.”
TROUP — One person is dead after a car hits a vacant house in Troup. The man is Scott Tune, 45, of Troup. The accident occurred around 8:30 Friday night at the intersection of South Georgia Street and East Wilkinson Drive. He appears to have lost control of his car on a curve and crashed into the house.