Today is
Monday June 08, 2026
SMITH COUNTY – Smith County officials are warning residents of potential jury duty scams after multiple reports. According to reports from our news partner, KETK, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office said they have been receiving reports from citizens who are potential victims of a jury duty scam. The scammers are allegedly requesting money for the purpose of taking care of a warrant related to them missing jury duty.
The scams typically involve someone calling and identifying themselves as a law enforcement official or someone employed by the Smith County Sheriff’s Office.Officials said a law enforcement agency will never call on the phone demanding payment for any reason. Those who receive a phone call regarding this scam or suspicious calls asking for payment or money, simply hang up and ignore them. The sheriff’s office said people can call 903-566-6600 if they receive any suspicious calls. Read the rest of this entry »
HOUSTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers announced Tuesday they had issued a new subpoena that would require the state’s prison system to allow death row inmate Robert Roberson to testify in person this week about the state’s junk science law. An earlier subpoena ended up delaying Roberson’s Oct. 17 execution, which had been set to be the first in the U.S. tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.
The House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence announced it had issued last week and served on Monday a subpoena compelling Roberson to appear before it at a meeting in Austin on Friday. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — According to our news partner KETK, the Texas House will vote on a speaker in less than a month when the 2025 legislative session is set to begin, however Republicans are split on who to support in the race. Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock. and Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, are running for House Speaker after Dade Phelan removed himself from contention. Since then, Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, said he received threatening messages Sunday night from the Chairman of the Texas Republican Party, Abraham George.
Harris said the message was clear, to unite behind the caucus and rules established by the party. If Harris does not comply, the chairman threatened Harris with a campaign mailer to his district encompassing all of Anderson, Cherokee, and Navarro Counties, and the majority of Henderson County. However, Cook and Burrows declared that they have enough votes needed to win the race in January. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — A Tyler physician pled guilty on Monday in connection to his role in a $5.5 million over-the-counter COVID-19 test fraud scheme according to our news partner KETK.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Mark Mazzare, 57 of Tyler, purchased Medicare beneficiary identifiers (BINs) used to bill Medicare millions of dollars for test kits that had not been requested by the beneficiaries. Texas Medical Board’s records indicate that Mazzare is an internal medicine/pediatric specialist and worked at a clinic on Old Bullard Road in Tyler.
“Mazzare entered into a sham agreement with a purported marketer to conceal the purchase of BINs as ‘lead packages,’ which in reality consisted of BINs and fraudulently generated audio recordings purporting to be the voices of the beneficiaries requesting the OTC COVID-19 tests,” DOJ said. “Mazzare caused OTC COVID-19 tests to be shipped to Medicare beneficiaries whose BINs had been purchased, regardless of whether the Medicare beneficiaries had requested or needed the tests.” Read the rest of this entry »
WINONA – Our news partner, KETK, reports that a Smith County firefighter with Sabine Fire & Rescue responded to a fire at his own home in Winona on Sunday. Nicholas Loftin and Sabine Fire & Rescue in Gregg County Emergency Service District 2 responded to the mobile home fire in the 22900 block of Interstate 20 East.Several other fire stations from Smith County ESD 2 and Smith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue also responded to the house, which was unoccupied when the fire started. Crews were able to put out the fire but the structure was unable to be saved.
No injuries were reported in the fire and foul play is not suspected. The Smith County Fire Marshall’s Office is investigating the cause, which they said started near the middle of the house.
TYLER – President Joe Biden has commuted the 9-year federal prison sentence of a former Deep East Texas Council of Governments executive director after he was found guilty of wire fraud back in 2017.
According to our news partner KETK, the White House released on Thursday, Walter Diggles, 72 of Jasper, was one of nearly 1500 people who were put on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those 1499 people are already back home with their families but the Biden administration has decided to commute their sentences meaning they’ll officially be out of custody much sooner. Diggles was convicted of 11 counts of wire fraud, three counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and three counts of money laundering on Aug. 3 of 2017, according to a 2018 press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.
Information presented in court reportedly showed that Diggles, along with his wife and daughter, conspired to personally use money from federal block grants that Congress appropriated to help Texas recover from Hurricanes Rita, Katrina, Ike and Dolly, the press release said. Read the rest of this entry »
NACOGDOCHES – According to our news partner KETK, a professional angler and fishing YouTuber was arrested in Nacogdoches on Thursday for fraud in a freshwater fishing tournament.
Benjamin Milliken, 35 of New Caney, turned himself in to Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday for the charge of fraud at freshwater fishing tournament, according to a statement from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department(TPWD). TPWD said that Milliken turned in a Legacy Class ShareLunker bass caught at Lake Naconiche in February as an entry into the Toyota ShareLunker Program. The program rewards prizes over $10,000.
According to TPWD, their due diligence process discovered that Milliken allegedly didn’t have a valid fishing license when he caught the fish and filled out the program’s contest/tournament entry form. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW – The Longview Fire Department responded to a structure fire that caused an estimated $500,000 in damage to the Crosby Group on Friday. The department responded to 2414 Crosby Way at around 6:45 p.m. on Friday and found heavy smoke coming out of the east side of the building. Crews began suppressing the fire until they found the source of the fire which had been extinguished by fire sprinklers.
Longview Fire Department said that a hydraulic hose for a large forging hammer broke and sprayed hydraulic fluid which was then ignited. No injuries were reported by Longview FD. According to our news partner, KETK, the department responded with three fire trucks, two ladder trucks, an ambulance and four support vehicles.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A judge in Las Vegas sentenced a Texas man to 100 years in prison for his role in a two-state shooting rampage on Thanksgiving 2020 that included the killing of a man in Nevada and a shootout with authorities in Arizona. Christopher McDonnell, 32, pleaded guilty in October to more than 20 felonies including murder, attempted murder, murder conspiracy, weapon charges and being a felon illegally in possession of a firearm.
Clark County District Judge Tierra Jones sentenced him on Friday to a minimum of 100 years in prison, KLAS-TV reported. If he’s still alive, he would be eligible for parole in 2120 with credit for time served. McDonnell of Tyler, his brother Shawn McDonnell, 34, and Shawn McDonnell’s then-wife, Kayleigh Lewis, 29, originally faced dozens of charges. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – According to our news partner KETK, Pets Fur People has announced that their executive director Gayle Helms has retired from the Tyler animal sanctuary after serving as their leader for 26 years. Under Helms’ leadership, Pets Fur People successfully transitioned from being a kill shelter to East Texas’ only selective admission no-kill animal sanctuary, according to a Pets Fur People press release.
“We are deeply grateful to have worked alongside such a talented and dedicated woman,” said Angie Bullington, president of the board of Pets Fur People. “Gayle’s heart is truly with the animals. She has been a tremendous asset to Pets Fur People, and we are incredibly grateful for her leadership. We are confident that her legacy will continue to inspire and shape the future of the Pets Fur People for years to come. On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I would like to express our heartfelt appreciation for her dedication and service.” Read the rest of this entry »
KILGORE — With the holiday season in full swing, the Kilgore Police Department is highlighting an uptick in scams and frauds. The police department is warning residents of frauds and scams that pressure people for some form of payment in exchange for a prize or to resolve some type of problem such as tax issues, computer viruses or arrest warrants.
“Scammers often insist you pay them using cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, wiring money through a company like Western Union, using gift cards or shipping a cashier’s check through a parcel company,” Kilgore PD said.
According to our news partner KETK, scammers have tried everything such as sweepstakes scams, warrant scams to ransom scams where they claim to be a government agent informing them they have detected illicit materials on their computer or device or their identity has been stolen. Read the rest of this entry »
HENDERSON COUNTY — According to our news partner KETK, an East Texas man, Daniel Richard Simpson, 38 of Malakoff, has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after admitting to ingesting a “block of meth” during police pursuit and tampering or fabricating with physical evidence.
The Athens Police Department was dispatched to a Walmart Super Center in August 2021 in reference to two men suspected of shoplifting. Authorities approached the individuals, who at the time entered a black car in the parking lot. Simpson, the driver, was issued a criminal trespass warning for Walmart and learned that he had a warrant for his arrest for a parole violation. When Simpson learned of his active warrant, he reportedly fled through city limits of Athens and eventually lost control and slid into a ditch. Simpson reportedly admitted to officials he had ingested a “block of meth” and had traveled around 38 miles with speeds up to 105 mph. Read the rest of this entry »
UPDATE: JACKSONVILLE – The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said that Colton Maldonado has been found safe after he was reported missing on Thursday.
(PREVIOUS STORY) – The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a missing man who was last seen on County Road 1401 on Friday at around 9:30 a.m. Colton Maldonado, 30 of Jacksonville, was reportedly last seen in a 2008 Chevy with the Texas license plate: NCR8520. according to our news partner KETK, Maldonado was heading towards Highway 204 on County Road 2401. Anyone with information is asked to call the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office at 903-683-2271.
TYLER – The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued new guidelines to protect your children from on-campus police officers, after a South Carolina school resource officer admitted to sexually abusing two children according to our news partner KETK.
In recent years, school districts across the nation have added more police presence on their respective campuses to keep the students, faculty and staff safe. In fact, half of East Texas’ school districts have enlisted extra help from officers. However, the DOJ has now issued guidelines to protect your children from those same officers.
With roughly 20,000 police officers stationed at schools across the United States, these cases are becoming more common but remain unknown to most. According to a Washington Post investigation, from 2005 to 2022, 200 officers were charged with crimes surrounding sexual abuse. That’s something Avera believes is shocking and unacceptable.
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SMITH COUNTY– Our news partner, KETK, reports that Smith County Jail records have revealed that two men have been charged for allegedly stealing Legos from several stores across several states and in East Texas.
An arrest affidavit alleged that Brian Fleming and Shane Joel Gentry, both of Lancaster, took part in a theft ring which stole from several Walmart and Target stores in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania Florida and Texas, including stores in Longview, Tyler, Kilgore and Gun Barrel City.
A Department of Public Safety trooper first noticed 19 new Cricut electronic cutting machines sitting in the back of a vehicle during a traffic stop in October of 2022, according to the affidavit.
The driver of that vehicle was arrested for an unrelated warrant and the machines were ultimately traced back to the Walmart that they were allegedly stolen from and a search warrant was reportedly obtained for the driver’s phone. Gentry was allegedly texting that driver in order to buy the Cricut machines at a low price, the affidavit said. Read the rest of this entry »