Today is
Wednesday July 22, 2026
TYLER – Crime rates declined in most East Texas counties over the past year, according to newly released FBI data, though a handful of counties reported significant increases. Data from the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Crime in Texas (CIT) Online Portal shows reported crime fell in 18 of the 28 East Texas counties between 2024 and 2025.
Rains County recorded the largest decrease, with reported crime falling 36.03% between 2024 and 2025. Meanwhile, Anderson County saw the largest increase, with reported crime rising 53.19% during the same period. Smith County reported 5,793 crimes in 2025, giving it a crime rate of about 2,293.4 per 100,000 residents after adjusting for population. While Nacogdoches County has less than half the population of Smith County, it recorded a higher crime rate of 2,702.5 in 2025, meaning crimes occur more frequently there relative to the county’s population.
Our news partner KETK compiled a list showing how crime rates changed across East Texas counties from 2024 to 2025. You can view that list here or by continuing to read below. Read the rest of this entry »
ANGELINA COUNTY — A Lufkin man found guilty of causing severe burns to a child was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday. In the 159th Judicial District Court, Judge Todd Kassaw sentenced Miguel Gonzalez, 28, to life in prison starting Thursday for his charge of injury to a child in an incident that occurred in September 2022.
According to law enforcement and our news partner KETK, Gonzalez intentionally put a female child younger than 14-years-old in a bathtub with hot water on Sept. 26 2022, causing severe burns that made parts of her skin allegedly peel off. At the time of the incident, Gonzalez was dating the victim’s mother and was watching the child. The victim’s mother first told officers that her daughter had fallen into the bathtub, but upon further questioning, she said Gonzalez had pushed her.
Gonzalez later told officials that the water in the tub was lukewarm, but he allowed her to play while he spoke with his roommate for a couple of minutes. According to law enforcement, Gonzales said the child turned on the hot water. Read the rest of this entry »
RUSK – An attorney representing the Rusk Police Department said that it is aware of a sexual misconduct allegation against an officer stemming from a 2022 arrest. Attorney Antony J. King said the allegation comes from a June 20, 2022, arrest for driving while intoxicated. King said the department has begun reviewing evidence, including body camera footage, in-car dash camera recordings and incident reports.
According to our news partner KETK, the individual who came forward will remain anonymous and the department is committed to ensuring that the investigative process remains fair, objective, and consistent.
“The Department recognizes that allegations of this nature can have serious implications for all parties involved and for the community’s confidence in its public safety institutions,” King said. “Every complaint received by the Department is evaluated carefully, objectively, and without presumption. The goal of this review is to determine the facts, ensure accountability where warranted, and protect the rights and dignity of everyone involved.”
BULLARD — A number of Flock Safety License Plate Reader (LPR) cameras have been installed in the City of Bullard to enhance public safety and assist in criminal investigations. The Bullard Police Department said cameras are being installed at city entry and exit points to capture vehicle license plates and basic vehicle characteristics. The cameras will allow authorities to identify vehicles associated with criminal activity.
According to our news partner KETK, the cameras do not violate their constitutional rights, stating that license plates are owned by the state of Texas and that cameras are used to capture information already visible to anyone traveling on a public roadway.
In order to remain transparent with the city, the department said that any search conducted with the Flock system while require a case number and a reason for conducting the search.
UPDATE: Found safe and unharmed, per the Smith County Sheriff’s Office Thursday morning.
TYLER – A Smith County teenager has not been seen since March 1, and her family believes she has run away. According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, Kalyiah Smith, 16, is 5 feet, 4 inches tall, weighs 130 pounds, and has brown hair and eyes. She has been diagnosed with ADHD and is supposed to take medications for that, they said, but other than that, she has no medical or mental issues.
Kalyiah has ties to the immediate Tyler area, and the Smith County Sheriff’s Office reminds residents that anyone who is harboring a minor and is criminally negligent about whether the child is younger than 18 years of age and has voluntarily left home without the consent of a parent or guardian, can be charged with Harboring a Runaway, a Class A Misdemeanor.
If you have any information as to the whereabouts of Kalyiah Smith, please call the Smith County Sheriff’s Office at (903) 566-6600.
TYLER – A new Texas House caucus created to stop Sharia Law is facing pushback. Over 30 state lawmakers have joined the Sharia Free Texas Caucus. In a statement posted on X (Formerly Twitter), one of the group’s founders, State Rep. Brent Money (R-Greenville), said the caucus is looking to address the teachings of Islam in part by advancing legislation to prohibit Sharia practices they say oppress women or incite violence against non-believers. The caucus also wants to reinforce what they view as the Biblical foundations of Texas.
“We’re just saying, hey, in Texas, we want to be welcoming to people, but you got to be a Texan when you get here,” said Money. He expressed concern over what he said is a growing Islamic influence in the state and wants to ensure there is no parallel legal system in Texas that treats people differently.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R-TX) has asked senators to look at ways to prevent Sharia Law in Texas before the next legislative session, which starts in 2027.
LONGVIEW — The City of Longview is proposing to allocate $250,000 in federal funding to resurface Park Street and expand its first-time homebuyer program. The city will have $100,000 to provide additional ‘First-Time Homebuyer Down Payment’ assistance grants. The first-time homebuyer program provides financial assistance to eligible low-income homebuyers on a one-time, grant-based basis. Qualified applicants may receive up to $5,500, depending on household income.
The amendment will also reallocate $150,000 for a resurfacing project and street overlay along Park Street.
The city of Longview will live-stream the meeting on Facebook on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. for anyone interested in learning more about the proposal or providing feedback.
UPDATE: Highway 31 East has been reopened following the crash, according to Smith County ESD 2.
SMITH COUNTY — A Texarkana ISD school bus carrying more than 20 students collided with a van on Tuesday afternoon near Tyler. Smith County personnel were dispatched at around 3:50 p.m. to the 14000 block of Highway 31 East near CR 2908 in response to the crash. Smith County ESD2 said 26 kids and two coaches were on the bus and no injuries were reported.
Both vehicles are out of the roadway and one lane of Highway 31 is shut down going eastbound.
TYLER — Multiple people spoke out on Facebook about flat tires after driving through an intersection on South Broadway Avenue in Tyler.
Screws were found buried in the tires, and the manager of Discount Tire on Loop 323, Bryce Matthews, said the shop has been dealing with an increase in flat tire repairs in the last 24 hours.
“It’s been a little crazier than usual. Discount Tire is a pretty busy place, but we welcome anybody and everybody,” manager of Discount Tire on Loop 323 Matthews said. “We’ve probably seen it increase yesterday by about twenty-five percent more than usual.” He states that one driver came in with 17 screws in their tires.
The city road department was called and a message left about the screws, they were asked to please take a sweeper truck out there.” Our news partner KETK has reached out to the Texas Department of Transportation, which said it will send crews to reported locations as needed.
SMITH COUNTY – Records have revealed that a man was arrested in Smith County after he allegedly had sexual relationships with a 15-year-old girl and provided her with illegal drugs.
According to our news partner KETK and an arrest affidavit, the victim was found on Feb. 24 inside a vehicle in a parking garage in Tyler. After being found, the victim, who had run away from home, was returned to her grandmother by the Tyler Police Department. Following her return, officers with Tyler PD began an investigation after the victim had admitted to using illegal drugs and engaging in sexual intercourse inside a motel room with a man later identified as James Brummett.
While investigators spoke with the victim’s grandmother, she stated that while her granddaughter was missing, she received text messages starting on Feb. 22 from an unknown phone number that was later revealed to be Brummett’s. The texts were believed to have been sent from the victim, who had told her grandmother that she was safe and an hour away from Tyler in Canton, according to the affidavit.
On Feb. 26, detectives arrived at the Relax Inn in Smith County, which was the motel that they believed Brummett had taken the victim to. A motel employee told detectives that Brummett was still checked into a room and typically returned to the motel in the evening after work. The employee also provided officials with Brummett’s phone number and license plate. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – ‘Texas Original’ is opening a new medical marijuana pickup location in Tyler this week.
Texas Original, the state’s leading medical cannabis provider, opened their first East Texas store in Nacogdoches in 2022. The new Tyler pick-up site is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays on 11980 State Highway 64. Medical marijuana can be used in Texas to treat 150 conditions. Some of those include: epilepsy, cancer, PTSD and Crohn’s Disease. East Texans can apply for the Compassionate Use Program, which was significantly expanded during the 2025 legislative session.
Thanks to House Bill 46, Texas Original is ready to grow and they’re opening a new pick-up site in Smith County near the Chapel hill area. The building is currently only used for pick-ups which are on Tuesdays since prescriptions have to be transported from their central facility in Austin ahead of time. Read the rest of this entry »
YANTIS – A man was arrested in Wood County on Sunday after metal weights were found in a bass he presented during the weigh in for the Lake Fork Lure Co. Tournament. According to the Texas Game Wardens, tournament organizers contacted game wardens in Wood County to investigate a bass that was flagged while being metal detected during Sunday’s weigh-in at the Caney Point Recreation Area on Lake Fork in Yantis.
According to our news partner KETK, after the alert for a foreign object was confirmed, game wardens conducted a necropsy on the fish and found three uneroded weights in the bass’ stomach. The same kind of weights were also found in the boat of the angler who allegedly submitted the bass for the weigh-in.
The angler was identified as, Curtis Lee Daniels of Willow Park. Daniels was arrested on Sunday and charged with violating fishing tournament law. He was booked into the Wood County Jail but was released on Monday after posting his $20,000 bond. Since the tournament had a $10,000 grand prize and more than $84,900 in hourly cash prizes, the charge against Daniels is a third-degree felony.
LONGVIEW – CHRISTUS Health Cancer Center in Longview, which is set to open later this year, named Steven J. DiBiase as its new medical director on Monday. DiBiase previously worked at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York as a senior academic and clinical leader. Earlier in his career, DiBiase was the chief of service and a member of the hospital’s executive committee at the Julia and Ned Arnold Center for Radiation Oncology.
In addition to serving as medical director, DiBiase will also lead the center’s expanding oncology program and serve as chief of radiation oncology. Throughout his career, DiBiase has contributed to cancer research with more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and presentations. DiBiase officially began his new role on Monday and will help guide the development of the Cancer Center before it opens this fall. Before the center is complete, DiBiase will see patients at the CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Northpark oncology clinic.
“Bringing Dr. DiBiase to our community represents a major step forward in local cancer care,” Reid Dollahite, vice president for physician practice operations, said. “Patients will benefit from his experience and his commitment to treating the whole person.”
EAST TEXAS — An overnight storm brought damage and fallen trees to the area on Saturday and electric company crews are working to restore power to customers.
At least two people were injured after a tornado that swept through parts of Marion County early Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. The tornado touched down in the northern portion of the county, from around Berea Way to the latter part of Hall Road. At one property, the storm ripped the roof off a century-old home and shifted the structure off its foundation.
A seven-day disaster declaration is in effect for the county because of injuries and damage.
The Upshur Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation shared pictures of fallen trees and damaged power lines in the Hall area on social media. The cooperative encourages customers experiencing service issues or power outages to report it through the SmartHub app or by calling 903-680-2100.
SMITH COUNTY – Jury duty for March 9, 2026 has been canceled. If you received a summons to report to the Smith County Courthouse for jury duty Monday, you do not have to report!
POINT — The City of Point will no longer have a police department beginning Friday after city personnel said they’ve struggled to cover costs while facing a debt of up to $500,000.
According to our news partner KETK, Angela Nelson, the city’s mayor, stated it would not be meeting all of its current payroll obligations following the discovery of a “substantial financial shortfall.”
Payroll tax payments to the IRS were not made or were “sporadically” made throughout the last few years, causing the city to be under a formal investigation. The debt, including penalties and interest, exceeds over $300,000 and the IRS may seek to seize city owned vehicles and real property.
The city also owes more than $200,000, which includes $80,000 accrued during 2025, to the Texas Comptroller after a former city employee allegedly misappropriated funds by apparently moving them into the general funds in order to make a payroll. Read the rest of this entry »
KILGORE – Kilgore ISD shared on Friday that they will keep Lifetouch as their vendor for school photos despite allegations that one of their parent company’s executives was named in the Epstein files. Leon Black, the former CEO of Apollo Global Management, which acquired Shutterfly, the parent company of Lifetouch, was named in the recently released files on New York financier and child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
The United States Senate Committee on Finance has alleged that Black made payments totaling at least $158 million to Epstein for “purported tax and estate planning advice.” The committee also alleged that those funds were then used to finance Epstein’s child sex trafficking organization, according to our news partner KETK.
Kilgore ISD had partnered with Lifetouch to take their upcoming Spring student photos but postponed that partnership in February so they could review concerns about the company after the allegations came to light about Black and Epstein. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – U.S. Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas) released a statement on Thursday in support of President Trump after it was announced that Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has been replaced. It was announced on Thursday afternoon that, after a little over a year as secretary of homeland security, Noem is being replaced by Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.). Noem will be transitioning to a new role as special envoy for “The Shield of Americas,” a new initiative that will focus on eliminating drug cartels from the country.
“I look forward to working with them closely to dismantle cartels that have poured drugs into our nation and killed our children and grandchildren,” Noem said Thursday.
Moran also praised Trump for the actions he and his administration have taken during his current term to limit drug trafficking from entering the country. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — A man who was arrested in early 2025 in connection to a Tyler apartment shooting that left a woman dead has been additionally charged with injury to a child by a grand jury on Feb. 26.
Jorian Jackson of Plano was arrested on Jan. 22, 2025, for allegedly murdering his ex-girlfriend, Cheyenne Russell, in a Tyler apartment shooting. According to our news partner KETK, on Jan. 6, 2025, two children found their mother’s body and alerted an adult after an apartment shooting on Bellwood Lake Road. Upon arrival, Tyler Police Department officers made contact with Russell’s roommate, who found her dead on a couch underneath a blanket with blood on her face.
According to arrest documents, Jackson was at the apartment that day to drop off some Christmas presents for a child of his and Russell’s. The roommate told officials that the victim and Jackson had a rough relationship. Read the rest of this entry »
BULLARD – East Texas drivers are feeling the pain at the pump in a place where fuel normally hovers around the two-dollar-a-gallon mark. The offensive launched against Iran happened just four days ago and drivers in Tyler are already feeling the effects. Zippy J’s on Old Bullard Road in Tyler had their regular gas priced at $2.44 a gallon last week. As of Wednesday, the price has jumped to $2.79.
Even though the U.S. doesn’t import oil from Iran, China and India and the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to open waters, is blocked, that sends a ripple effect throughout the world, even on countries that don’t heavily rely on oil from the Middle East. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) confirmed there is no state-mandated deadline for removing campaign signs from roadsides following an election. The agency oversees signage within its highway jurisdiction but primarily focuses on placement rather than duration.
While the state agency does not enforce timing restrictions, officials noted that local governments may have their own specific requirements. Cities and counties retain the authority to set individual rules and time limits on how long political advertisements may remain in public view. Regulations on the duration of political displays vary by local municipality.
All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KETK. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat information into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KETK staff before being published.
SMITH COUNTY — Crews are responding to a three-vehicle crash on Highway 110 South at Toll 49 in Whitehouse Wednesday morning. Smith County officials say the Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating the crash, which was reported at 11:17 a.m. Fire crews and EMS are on scene, and traffic is being affected. Injuries have been confirmed.
More details will be provided as they become available.
RUSK COUNTY– Two people are dead, and one child is currently in critical condition following a single-vehicle crash in Rusk County over the weekend. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and our news partner KETK, following an initial investigation, officials believe the vehicle was traveling north on the 7400 block of State Highway 323 and attempted to pass another vehicle in a no-passing zone. The driver, later identified as River Burks, lost control of the car and hit a tree.
Following the crash, Burks and a two-year-old child were pronounced dead on the scene, while a six-year-old in the car was airlifted to a hospital in Shreveport and is currently in critical condition.
The crash is being investigated by DPS, and no further information is available at this time.
Programming Note: KTBB will have live state and local election night returns beginning at 7:00 p.m. tonight. Coverage will be available on 97.5 FM and 600 AM, as well as here on our website via the “Listen Live” link and via our free mobile app for Apple and Android.
WHITEHOUSE – The security research firm Safewise has ranked the city of Whitehouse as the 6th safest city in the state for 2026. According to our news partner KETK, Safewise has tracked a decline in violent crime in the city of Whitehouse over the past four years, along with a two-year decline in property crime. According to Safewise, the violent crime rate has fallen from 1.6 violent crimes per 1000 Whitehouse residents in 2024 to 0.6 violent crimes per 1000 residents in 2026.
“In Whitehouse, violent crime has decreased for the last four years in a row, and property crime has declined for the past two years,” Safewise said. “This has resulted in a 65% decrease in violent crime and a 74% decrease in property crime.”
This decline has secured Whitehouse’s spot as Safewise’s 6th safest city in Texas. The ranking prompted the city to thank the community for helping to keep the area safe. Smith County has also seen a decline in reported crimes, with the county’s reported crime rate falling 3.75% between 2024 and 2025. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – East Texas lawmakers are chiming in as tensions escalate in Iran following Saturday’s unprecedented attacks by United States forces. Congressman Nathaniel Moran fully throws his support behind President Donald Trump following this weekend’s missile strikes against Iran, which killed their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and 40 of their top officials. It became a huge blow to the nation and marks a shift in power since the regime took over in the late 1970s.
“This is a national security interest matter for the United States long term,” Moran said.
As tensions rise overseas, the congressman’s attention turns to our troops’ safety and the safety of residents on U.S. soil.
“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations is a big issue now, more than it was a couple of weeks ago,” Moran said. “When homeland security is heightened, that level of security is necessary.” Read the rest of this entry »
HENDERSON — The Henderson Police Department is seeking the public’s help in locating a man who has been missing for almost two weeks. Joseph Shelton, a 23-year-old man, was last seen on Feb. 14 in the area of Van Buren Street in Henderson. He is described by the police department as being approximately 5 foot, 8 inches tall and weighing 157 pounds.
Though there is no clothes description at this time, Shelton is believed to have a gaming system and a laptop, the police department said.
Anyone with information regarding Shelton’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Henderson Police Department by calling 903-657-3512.
LONGVIEW – Two former Longview ISD administrators were sentenced to 10 years of probation on Friday in connection to the abuse of Longview ISD special education students in the 2021-2022 school year. Cassandra Renee James and Linda Kaye Brown Lister were both found guilty of injury to a child by a Gregg County jury on Friday. James and Lister were two of six women arrested in 2022 after video of special education students being mistreated at J.L. Everhart Elementary School was shown to Longview ISD officials.
According to our news partner KETK, their indictments show that James and Lister were charged for “swinging a paddle toward and near the head” of a child and not voluntarily delivering them to an emergency infant care provider.
Longview ISD said James and Lister both resigned from their roles instead of being terminated after the video came to the district’s attention. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – The UT Tyler Police Department is currently investigating a sexual assault case that was reportedly committed in student housing by a person pretending to be a student. The case was reported to UT Tyler police on Wednesday but occurred in student housing between 9 p.m. and midnight on Tuesday. A UT Tyler notification said the suspect in the sexual assault is known to them. The suspect reportedly pretended to be a student associated with UT Tyler in an online chat group before meeting up with a female student at their dorm room, where they were sexually assaulted, according to UT Tyler PD.
UT Tyler PD detectives are actively investigating this case and temporary measures to improve campus safety have been put in place. Read the rest of this entry »
NACOGDOCHES – A Nacogdoches man has been indicted for sexual exploitation of a child and super aggravated sexual assault of a child after he was arrested last November in Baytown for creating explicit photos of minors he knew using artificial intelligence.
According to the Baytown Police Department and our news partner KETK, 34-year-old Kane Kellum was arrested on Nov. 28 after investigators learned that Kellum’s cellphone contained AI-generated explicit photos of known minors. After Kellum’s arrest, the FBI was notified of the case to permit further investigation and potential federal prosecution.
During a federal investigation, investigators stated Kellum had utilized artificial intelligence applications to create explicit images using photographs of a child he personally knew.
Following the federal investigation, Kellum was indicted on Wednesday for four counts related to child sexual abuse material and he was also charged with super aggravated sexual assault of a child based on information discovered during the investigation. Read the rest of this entry »