Today is
Tuesday June 09, 2026
TYLER – The City of Tyler approved a $4,429,876 Capital Improvement Project on Wednesday to address drainage and erosion. According to our news partner KETK, the project will focus on improving drainage on Keaton Avenue which they say “has been a focus for several years due to erosion and flooding residents have experienced.†The contract with Reynolds and Kay was approved on Wednesday.
“The project will focus on a drainage area that collects stormwater from approximately 248 acres near Pollard Park and extends towards Donnybrook Avenue and East Southeast Loop 323. Stormwater is precipitation that does not seep into the ground but runs off into our storm drain systems, where it eventually flows into our streams and lakes,†the City of Tyler said. Read the rest of this entry »
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Two Jacksonville men were arrested on Sunday for copper theft after leading authorities and dogs on a chase through the woods. According to our news partner KETK, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department were called to CR 3212 at a salt water plant about a theft. When deputies arrived, they reportedly noticed two people running into the woods.
Dogs were called out to help track the individuals. After a nine-mile track back toward Jacksonville, the pair were found on top of a deer stand trying to hide. The suspects were identified as 40-year-old Anthony Henderson and 33-year-old Brandon Alford, both of Jacksonville. Henderson and Alford were arrested and charged with theft of materials (copper) and evading arrest.
HENDERSON COUNTY – Henderson County authorities are asking the public for help in finding a woman wanted out of two East Texas counties. According to our news partner KETK and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, 26-year-old Chelsea Duncan, of Mabank, is wanted out of Henderson and Kaufman County as well as Gun Barrel City and Seven Points. Records say Duncan has brown hair, green eyes, is 5’4 tall and weighs about 145 pounds.
Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse said several warrants for her arrest were issued Tuesday and they include possession of a controlled substance, evading arrest with a motor vehicle, fraudulent use of identifying information. Hillhouse also said she has a bail jumping and criminal mischief warrant out of Kaufman County.
The sheriff’s office is asking anyone with information about her whereabouts to contact 903-675-5128 or the Henderson County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-545-TIPS to remain anonymous.
CHEROKEE COUNTY – Two Jacksonville men were arrested on Sunday for copper theft after leading authorities and dogs on a chase through the woods. According to our news partner KETK, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department were called to CR 3212 at a salt water plant about a theft. When deputies arrived, they reportedly noticed two people running into the woods.
Dogs were called out to help track the individuals. After a nine-mile track back toward Jacksonville, the pair were found on top of a deer stand trying to hide. The suspects were identified as 40-year-old Anthony Henderson and 33-year-old Brandon Alford, both of Jacksonville. Henderson and Alford were arrested and charged with theft of materials (copper) and evading arrest.
HENDERSON COUNTY– Our KETK news partner reports that four men and two women are behind bars after methamphetamines posession, found during a search of a Coleman Alley residence.
According to the Henderson County sheriff’s office, narcotics investigators were able to execute a search warrant on Monday at around 11 a.m. with the help of deputies and Athens police. The suspects were found at the residence.
41-year-old Scotty Barker, 51-year-old Monica Camp, 58-year-old Kenneth Bowman, 39-year-old Glendon Armstrong and 39-year-old Justin Chancellor of Athens and Elizabeth Colin, 32 of Mabank, were all booked into the Henderson County Jail and charged with possession of a controlled substance. Officials said the six arrested are currently awaiting arraignment.
GILMER – The Gilmer Police Department busted a local massage spa for prostitution on Monday in an operation they named “Operation Not So Happy Ending.†According to our news partner KETK, AA Spa at 1324 Highway 271 North in Gilmer was initially investigated after Gilmer PD received information about alleged prostitution happening there. On Monday, they launched “Operation Not So Happy Ending†by sending in an undercover officer. The operation reportedly led directly to the arrests of two women, Kun Lu and Zhai Li.
According to Gilmer PD, Lu was arrested for a massage therapy license violation and Li was arrested for prostitution and a massage therapy license violation. Gilmer PD added that the AA Spa has been shutdown following their operation.
“This type of criminal conduct is commonly associated with human trafficking/sex trafficking. The Gilmer Police Department continues to take an active role in deterring this type of criminal behavior in our community.â€
Committee calls for suspension of Palestine Westwood coachPALESTINE
– Our KETK News partners report that Westwood ISD has confirmed that the District 9-3A Division I District Executive Committee has recommended the suspension of their head football coach following reports that he filmed opponents while scouting.
Dave Campbell’s Texas Football has reported that coach Richard Bishop was suspended and that the school will have to forfeit all their district football games from this season but the district told KETK that the District Executive Committee (DEC) has only recommended those steps to the UIL’s State Executive Committee.
Dave Campbell’s said that Bishop allegedly carried out a plan to record their opponents signals, a plan that the DEC allegedly said was “intentional, serious and egregious.â€
Westwood ISD Superintendent Wade Stanford told KETK that they’re planning to appeal these charges at an upcoming meeting.
LUFKIN –
Our news partner, KETK, reports that an East Texas man was arrested earlier this month after DNA sample collected in 2008 identified him as suspect in a homicide cold case.
The Grand Prairie Police Department and Fire Department responded to a structure fire on the evening of Aug. 8, 2008 in the 2600 block of Channing Drive. Officials said they located a body later identified as 45-year-old Raymond Hernandez inside the residence.
An autopsy would later rule Hernandez’s death as a homicide.
In November 2008, DNA from a possible suspect was collected and entered into the Combined DNA Index System, also known as CODIS. However, there was no matching DNA in CODIS of the suspect.
Read the rest of this entry »
TRINITY COUNTY – Trinity County Sheriff Woody Wallace said that one man was arrested on Sunday after he reportedly said he was “going pig hunting†or planning to kill police officers.
According to our news partner KETK, Randall Konetzke was reportedly seen driving recklessly on FM 356, stopping in front of the Trinity Police Department and then speeding back onto FM 356 where he stopped. When officers responded Wallace said Konetzke was outside of his vehicle, which was parked on the side of the road, talking to another driver. When he saw the officers, he started to walk back to his vehicle and then the officers told him to stop but he continued to try and get into his truck.
A brief struggle ensued and Konetzke was arrested. He was charged with unlawful possesion of a firearm by a felon, terroristic threat to a public servant and resisting arrest, search or transportation.
UPDATE: TYLER – Our KETK news partner reports that a 54-year-old man was charged with first degree murder after an argument at a Tyler restaurant escalated to a shooting death.
According to Tyler Police Department Public Information Officer Andy Erbaugh, the victim was identified as Heriberto Ramirez, 38 of Tyler.
Witnesses told police that Scottie Lee Goble, 54 of Frost, shot Ramirez after they got into a physical altercation. Erbaugh said Ramirez died from his injuries at a local hospital.
Goble was booked into the Smith County Jail for murder and is being held on a $500,000 bond.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tyler – According to our news partner KETK, windy and dry conditions are creating the perfect conditions for wildfires across East Texas. Although a cold front came in Tuesday night, may be a relief to some, unfortunately it’s only drying out East Texas even more. And the wind has become a big factor when battling wildfires, making containment of fires difficult.
“It moves the fire, and fuels the fire,†said Patrick Dooley, Rusk County Fire Marshal.
Van Zandt County fire crews responded to a fast moving grass fire in Ben Wheeler on Wednesday. The fire scorched 8 acres at a solar panel farm.
“I honestly can’t urge people enough right now to use extreme caution when burning and even to the extent of not burning at all,†said Ryan Cooley, assistant chief at Ben Wheeler Volunteer Fire Department. Read the rest of this entry »
UPSHUR COUNTY – Our KETK news partners report that A Big Sandy woman has been sentenced to prison for nearly three years after pleading guilty to wire fraud on Wednesday. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Texas, 52-year-old Tamarisk Trejo Mathews will face 33 months in prison for wire fraud. Mathews was responsible for accounting duties of a restaurant and music venue in Wood County allowing her access to the financial accounts of the business and issue checks to creditors. Read the rest of this entry »
TRINITY COUNTY — According to our news partner KETK, a minor’s diary entry has been submitted as evidence following an investigation into an East Texas man accused of sexually assaulting her. On Oct. 6 investigators were made aware of a potential child sexual assault case. The department said the case involved a 15-year-old who had possibly been sexually assaulted about four or five years ago.
Deputies spoke to the mother of the child who alleged the assault occurred over the course of a few years. The victim reportedly “made an outcry to her mother after referencing a dream [she] had previously had.†Deputies were also told that multiple sexual assault accusations had been made against Justin Brandon Herring in the past, the sheriff’s office said. Warrants were obtained for Herring who was arrested on Thursday and booked on two counts of continuous sex abuse of child under the age of 14 and two counts of indecency with a child sexual contact. He is being held at the Trinity County Jail on a $600,000 bond. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for many counties across the state including several in East Texas due to the current risk for wildfires.
The declaration was issued by Governor Abbott on Thursday. You can find the list of counties, including the 27 East Texas counties bolded, on our news partner KETK’s website or by clicking here.
Abbott also directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate more emergency response resources to support firefighters working on wildfires across the state.
Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW – According to our news partner KETK, a Longview woman who was on trial for murder in a 2021 fatal shooting case has been sentenced to nine years in state prison after she pleaded guilty to manslaughter. Tolla McNeely, 43 of Longview, was initially arrested for murder in connection to the death of Jose Manuel Delarosa, 40 of Henderson, in 2021. At the time, Longview PD reported that McNeely shot Delarosa while they were arguing in a car parked at 110 Triple Creek in Longview.
Delarosa was then taken to a local hospital where he died. The murder charge against her was dismissed and she will now serve up to 9 years in state prison for manslaughter.
KETK spoke with David E. Moore, McNeely’s attorney, and he said that she was able to plead down to manslaughter instead of the murder charge against her because of “extenuating circumstances†in the case.