Today is
Friday July 24, 2026
GILMER – An illegal immigrant is heading to prison after pleading guilty in a Gilmer courtroom in connection with a fatal wreck over four years ago. Noe Paz-Aguillon, 30, pleaded guilty Tuesday to intoxication manslaughter and aggravated assault charges. He was sentenced to 16 years on each charge, with the sentences running concurrently. The accident, which killed an Overton man and injured his wife, happened in February, 2014. He was released to federal authorities for an ICE detainer later that month. They put him in house arrest in Dallas, and he fled back to Mexico. He had previously been deported twice from the U.S. He illegally entered the country again and was arrested in Oklahoma three months ago.
LONGVIEW – A former clerk with a water utility in Gregg County has been indicted by the county grand jury. The former administrative office clerk at Elderville Water Supply Corporation, Chelisa Portley Moore, 49, of Longview, is accused of taking money from the water utility. According to the Longview News Journal, she faces a four-count indictment of theft of property valued between $2,500 and $30,000. Prosecutors suggest it was part of a scheme dating back to February of last year. Moore, who was arrested last Thursday, is currently free on a $20,000 bond.
KILGORE – One person was killed and 2 injured in a multiple accident on Interstate Highway 20 Kilgore over the weekend. It happened on the west bound lanes of the interstate around 12:30 Sunday afternoon. Killed was Joseph Robert Jones, 82, of Canton. He was a passenger in a pickup which hit the rear of another pickup which had stopped because of a previous accident. The injured were taken to Longview Regional Hospital with minor injuries. A third vehicle received minor damage. Kilgore police say the crash is still under investigation.
MARSHALL – One person has been killed and three injured in a two vehicle accident in Marshall. The accident happened on West Grand avenue around 9:45 Monday morning. Four persons were taken to Good Shepherd Medical Center in Marshall where one of them died. He has been identified as Terrell Dillard, 26, of Marshall. The names of the injured have not been released. Police Public Information Officer Kelly Colvin says the accident remains under investigation.
PITTSBURGH (AP/STAFF) — Police say a former Detroit Lions player, who played high school football in Tyler, has been arrested in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for punching an officer after refusing to pay a limo driver. NFL free agent Brandon Pettigrew is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, theft of services and public drunkenness. Police say the 33-year-old tight end refused to pay $97 for a limo ride to a downtown hotel early Monday. According to a complaint, when officers arrived Pettigrew became aggressive and punched one officer in the chest three times. Police allege he was visibly intoxicated. The complaint says officers drew their stun guns, but Pettigrew complied and was handcuffed. Pettigrew, who lives in Flint, played high school football at Robert E Lee.
MARSHALL – Harrison County has extended the county’s burn ban. It is in effect for 90 days unless it is terminated earlier. Cooking outside on enclosed pits or grills will be allowed, but open fires outdoors and outdoor burning are prohibited until the ban is lifted. The order, which was signed by Harrison County Judge Hugh Taylor on Monday, also prohibits outdoor burning in barrels. A violation of the order is a Class C misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine not to exceed $500.
GILMER – A jury has been seated in Gilmer to hear the trial of an illegal immigrant charged with intoxication manslaughter, with testimony due to begin Tuesday. Noe Paz-Aguillon, 30, is charged in the death of Charles Gibbs of Overton and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for injuring the man’s wife, Carol Gibbs. The accident happened in February, 2014. He was released to federal authorities for an ICE detainer later that month. They put him in house arrest in Dallas, and he fled back to Mexico. He had previously been deported twice from the U.S. He illegally entered the country again and was arrested in Oklahoma three months ago.
HENDERSON – The Rusk County burn ban, which as put in place last week, has been lifted. The county made the announcement Monday, following the recent rains, that the modified burn ban had been rescinded.
LONGVIEW – The Gregg County grand jury has indicted two Longview women in the January death of a one year old girl. The panel indicted Ciara Channel Dison, 27, for murder. Shaglenda Denise Reddix, 31, was indicted for injury to a child. The little girl died after being rushed to a Longview hospital. The youngster was injured at the Longfellow Arms Apartments on East Hawkins Parkway. Investigators found blood stains in both the kitchen and the bedroom. The medical examiner said the girl’s head injuries could have occurred up to 48 hours before 911 was called. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – One of three men charged in a Smith County shooting last September has pleaded guilty. Tarrance Dashawn Reggie, 20, pleaded guilty Monday morning in the 241st State District Court to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.. Reggie along with Joel Camacho, 23, and Carlos Ochoa, 18, all from Tyler, are charged in the case. The shooting occurred near the Eagle Creek Mobile Home Park off State Highway 271 North. One person was wounded. Reggie is scheduled for sentencing on August 2nd. Ochoa has a trial set for July 16th. Camacho has a plea hearing scheduled on August 9th.
BULLARD – The discovery of a woman’s body in Bullard has resulted in capital murder charges. Booked into the Smith County Jail were Charles Edward Lennon Jr., 56, of Tyler and Charles Edward Lennon III, 29, of Bullard. The victim has been identified as Rachel Lynn Jackson, 31, of Tyler. She is said to have been a long time friend of the suspects. She was found in a home on Timberline Drive Thursday morning. Her body was sent to a Tyler lab for autopsy. Further details about the case, including what happened at that Bullard home, have not been released. Read the rest of this entry »
KILGORE – A two county crime spree may be over with an arrest in Longview. Home burglaries have been reported around Kilgore. A picture of a vehicle leaving a recently hit residence led Kilgore police to a juvenile girl who recently returned to the area. Kilgore police describe her as the ring leader of the gang. Before they could get her, Longview police arrested her Thursday for robbing a store at gun point. Other arrests are anticipated. Investigators say the girl’s arrest will lead to multiple crimes being solved in Longview and Kilgore as well as in Gregg and Rusk counties.
HENDERSON – Two persons are arrested and more arrests are expected after a crowd shot fireworks at a Henderson police officer. Late Wednesday night, the officer went to the area of Webster Drive and Robertson Street in connection to fireworks being shot within the city limits. According to a police department news release, people started shooting fireworks at the officer and the patrol car as the officer tried to disperse the crowd. They were shooting Roman Candles and throwing “Artillery Shells.†A deputy and a woman bystander received minor burns. Several patrol cars were damaged. The investigation into the incident is continuing.
BULLARD – Authorities are investigating the body of a woman found at a Bullard home. Our news partner, KETK, reports two people have been arrested and three have been detained for questioning. The body was found at a home on Timberline Drive. The woman’s body has been sent to a Tyler lab for autopsy. Plus the investigation is also ongoing at a residence on Brentwood Drive. The Smith County Sheriff’s Office is handling the case.
MT. ENTERPRISE – A one vehicle accident has killed a Rusk County man. Pronounced dead at the scene of the Wednesday afternoon accident was Kavonski Charles Kenshad Thompson, 21, of Mt. Enterprise. The Department of Public Safety said his car drifted off the road and he overcorrected. His pickup then went back across the road, and during a side skid, left the road and hit a tree. Thompson was not wearing his seat belt. The accident happened on U.S. Highway 84, three miles west of Mt. Enterprise.
HALLSVILLE – A two vehicle accident in Harrison County has killed a recent East Texas high school graduate. The accident happened in Hallsville Wednesday night. Killed was 18 year old William Austin Gray, a Carthage High School graduate in May. He was pronounced dead at Longview Regional Medical Center just over half an hour after the accident. A passenger in his car was seriously injured. Police reports say the accident occurred when a car driven by a Shreveport man ran a red light and hit Gray’s car on the driver’s side. The Shreveport man was cited for disregard of a red light and additional charges are pending.
MARSHALL – A man is in custody in connection with a shooting last Friday night in Marshall. Quaylon Rashard Dixon,25, of Marshall, turned himself in to detectives at the Marshall Police Department on Tuesday. A warrant had been issued for Dixon charging him with one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was accused of shooting a man during a dispute off Carters Ferry Road. He was treated at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Marshall for multiple gunshot wounds, which were described as non-life threatening.
LONGVIEW – Gregg County Crime Stoppers has increased the reward in the 2016 shooting death of Ronnie Horaney. The $20,000 reward has been increased to $70,000 with funds provided by the victim’s widow and children for the sole purpose of bringing closure in this case for their family. The Longview businessman was shot while answering the door at his home on Tryon Road just north of Longview. The Gregg County Sheriff’s Office has released a sketch of a person of interest in this case and they are asking for help from the community in identifying this person. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – There is a new historic landmark for Tyler. The Tyler Historic Preservation Board has designated Smith County’s Crescent Laundry Building as a Tyler Historic Landmark. The laundry started in 1923 on East Erwin Street. It moved to East Ferguson four years later. The business was the first and largest dry cleaning company in Smith County and continued in operation until 2000. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. It currently houses Smith County’s Facility Services Department.
EAST TEXAS – A host of Independence Day celebrations around the area means an abundance of fireworks displays on Wednesday. Tyler’s annual 4th of July celebration will be at Lindsey park on Spur 364. The gates open at 2:00 and the fun starts at 4:00. There will be a host of activities, live entertainment and, of course, the fireworks display which will begin around 9:15. Longview’s July 4 Fireworks and Freedom Celebration started at The Maude Cobb Convention Center at 11:00am. Kilgore’s celebration will be at the city park from 6:00 to 10:00pm. Palestine’s celebration will be at Steven Bennett Park, which will open at 5:00pm.
LONGVIEW – Longview police have identified the woman killed in a weekend accident. She was Crystal Hastings, 38, of Gilmer. The accident happened shortly before 5:15 Saturday morning on Loop 281 near the Birdsong Street intersection. When officers arrived they were told the woman was walking in the middle of the loop’s inside westbound lane when she was hit by a truck. She was then hit by another vehicle and died at the scene. Her body was sent for autopsy as police continue their investigation.
TYLER – State troopers in Smith County have arrested a Mississippi man accused of attempted murder. Laderrius Thornton, 22, of Indianola, Mississippi, was booked into the Smith County Jail on Monday. Jail records show he is wanted out of Ashley County, Arkansas, for aggravated robbery, kidnapping, theft, murder criminal attempt to commit and failure to identify.
EAST TEXAS – Dry conditions continue prompting area officials to caution about outdoor burning. According to our news partner KETK, Henderson and Rusk counties have enacted a burn ban. Harrison County issued a burn ban order Monday. Violators could be fined up to $500. The order will be in effect for no longer than 7 days. In Gregg County, there’s no ban yet, but Fire Marshal Mark Moore is asking residents to refrain from all outdoor burning. He says cooking and fireworks are contributing factors this time of year for wildfires.
TYLER – The city of Tyler officially recorded a high temperature on Monday of 100 degrees. The National Weather Service says it hit 100 in the city at 4:58 Monday afternoon. The airport first recorded 100 at 2:59 Monday afternoon. This is the first 100 degree reading for the city since July 28th, 2017, which was the only time the city hit the century mark last year.
PALESTINE – The City of Palestine will spray for mosquitoes on Tuesday and Wednesday. Between the hours of 9:00pm on Tuesday to 5:00am on Wednesday, sprayers will be dispatched to Area 5. This encompasses the streets of Park Avenue north to the city limits near Kenny and Gardner Drive, and from Avenue A and Texas 155 east to the city limits. You can go to the City of Palestine’s website at cityofpalestinetx.com for a full map of the spraying areas.
TYLER – A year-long narcotics investigation by the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Department of Public Safety has resulted in 10 persons indicted on federal and state drug and firearm charges. Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith said the investigation began in June of last year. It has resulted in six people being indicted nearly a week and a half ago by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to distribute and possess methamphetamine. The indictments on four others were on state charges. Investigators recovered around a 1 kilogram of methamphetamine and seized around 15 firearms, two of which were stolen. Read the rest of this entry »
GILMER – A couple is indicted in Upshur County in the death of a Longview woman. According to the Upshur County District Attorney’s office, Lindsey Jo McFadden, 29, of Longview, and Carlton Lamar Grant, 37, from the Metroplex, have been indicted for capital murder. They are charged in the April death of Rachel Rhoads, 24. The couple are said to have been trying to kidnap her when they strangled her and set her body on fire off Farm Road 726. McFadden and Rhoads were said to be friends of the victim, who attended drug rehab classes together. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The new director of the Center for Earth & Space Science Education at Tyler Junior College is Dr. Beau Hartweg. He began his duties last week. As TJC science center director, Hartweg is responsible for creating science-related programming including dome shows, exhibits and events; working closely with area schools to coordinate field trips; developing grant proposals; and serving as the center’s community and media representative. He comes to Tyler from TCU where most recently he has been an adjunct professor of science content for elementary teachers.
TYLER – An appeals court has upheld the murder conviction of a Tyler woman. The 12th Court of Appeals in Tyler has affirmed the conviction of Louise Anderson, 49. Last September, a jury found her guilty of the murder of her boyfriend, John Wayne Pierce, 58, of Tyler. She was sentenced to 40 years in prison. In December of 2015, Pierce was shot once in the parking lot of the Game Room on Highway 31 West. The shooting is said to have followed an argument between the two.
TYLER – Two suspects wanted in connection with gas skimming cases in Tyler have been arrested in Mexico. Jorge Rondon Martinez and Leidy Labrada De La Guardia, both Cuban nationals, who were considered to be key figures in the skimming operation, fled the country. They had been wanted on charges of engaging in organized crime and unlawful interception, use or disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications. Thanks to liaison by the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Secret Service with the Mexican Federal Police, they were taken into custody by Mexican authorities on Thursday. Tyler Investigators took custody of the two in Houston on Friday and are bringing them to the Smith County Jail. State District Judge Jack Skeen has set each of their bonds at $2,250,000.