Today is
Wednesday June 10, 2026
SMITH COUNTY — According to our news partner KETK, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith said a recent kidnapping in Smith County was related to a cartel. Smith said, “The kidnapping we had this last week is directly related to the cartel, no doubt about it, 100% directly related to the cartel. They try to extort money out of a citizen here in Tyler, Smith County who probably was involved with the cartel. He just better thank his Lord that we have the detectives we’ve got here, that we’re able to catch him and work with other agencies to free him when he got to Fort Worth,â€
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HENDERSON COUNTY – An Athens man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. According to our news partner KETK, Henderson County District Attorney, Jenny Palmer said in a release that Eron Demond Anderson, 43, was found guilty by a jury for shooting at his girlfriend. Officials responded to a shooting on June 10, 2023 where the victim said her boyfriend “grabbed her by the hair, threw her to the ground†and shot at her vehicle several times. Anderson reportedly sent the victim messages that said “I really hope you die if I don’t kill you first.†Anderson was arrested and booked the same day, and charged with aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a firearm. “We want to commend the victim for coming forward and reporting the abuse and violence she suffered at the hands of Eron Anderson,†Palmer said. “This verdict sends a strong message that domestic violence will not be tolerated in our community.â€
COOKE COUNTY – According to our new partner KETK, a man was sentenced to 10 life sentences, one 10-year sentence and two 20-year sentences on Monday for charges related to events that happened in Cooke County and East Texas. A release from the Cooke County District Attorney’s Office states that David Michael Calhou was found guilty of five counts of sexual assault of a child, seven counts of aggravated assault and one count of assault strangulation. The jury took less than one hour before returning a guilty verdict, and another hour before returning with the punishment verdict.
Evidence presented at court said Calhoun was caring for the children, who were his nephews and stepchildren, around 2017 when he began abusing them. A release said the abuse continued in Harleton, Jefferson and Athens. Two other defendants have been indicted due to their connection to the case and are set for pretrial in April 2024. Five of Calhoun’s life sentences were ordered to run consecutively by the presiding judge. Read the rest of this entry »
NACOGDOCHES – The Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office said that two men were arrested on Thursday for possession of marijuana and a stolen firearm. Our news partner KETK is reporting that deputies were sent to reports of shots fired at a vehicle near a residence in the 300 block of County Road 6103 at around 4:16 p.m. on Thursday. No one was reportedly hurt from the shooting but the vehicle was damaged and deputies determined that Evaristo Sanchez Jr., 24, and Jose Gerardo Sanchez, 25, were persons of interest.
The two were reportedly found by deputies at a home in 800 block of third street in Nacogdoches. They were detained by deputies and the home was searched after a search warrant was secured. Officials said the deputies found two handguns, a rifle, paraphernalia and more than 8 ounces of marijuana. A sheriff’s office press release claimed that one of the guns was reported stolen in Lufkin. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY – The Smith Sheriff’s Office said that a Hispanic male who was reportedly kidnapped by two other Hispanic males on FM 2015 Sunday has been found safe. According to our news partner KETK, the deputies responded to the 11700 block of FM 2015 around 4 p.m. on Sunday for reports of a kidnapping. One Hispanic male was reportedly taken from his home at gunpoint by two other Hispanic males who demanded money before fleeing the area. Smith County investigators responded to the scene and figured out that the two were allegedly heading to the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex area in a red Honda.
The investigators told information to the Arlington and Fort Worth Police Departments that led to the kidnapping victim being found unharmed along with the suspects and their vehicle. The Smith County officials are responding to Fort Worth to take custody of the suspects and transport the victim back to Tyler. The sheriff’s office said this investigation is ongoing.
TYLER – The Smith County Sheriff’s Office said that a high-speed vehicle pursuit that started in Van Zandt County ended in a crash at State Highway 64 and Loop 323 in Tyler on Sunday. According to our news partner KETK, the pursuit started on Interstate 20 where the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office was pursuing a white Ford F-150 at 100 miles per hour. Around 6:55 p.m., the Smith County Sheriff’s Office said a SCSO deputy on Interstate 20 then tried to conduct a traffic stop on the Ford. The vehicle then exited onto State Highway 110 coming into Tyler.
The Ford passed spike strips at Loop 323 and SH 110 and turned on Loop 323. The pursuit continued to State Highway 64 where the Ford reportedly crashed. According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, the driver was taken into custody and has been transported to a local hospital. The Texas Department of Public Safety is reportedly working the crash and Tyler PD was called out to conduct traffic.
CHAPEL HILL – Chapel Hill Independent School District in Smith County said that they’re holding a job fair for anyone interested in working with them on Tuesday according to our news partner KETK. “We are seeking individuals who are deeply passionate about student success and are dedicated to fostering a positive community impact. Our aim is to attract top talent to our district and provide them with the necessary support for success in their roles,†said Deidra Sutton, Chapel Hill ISD’s director of human resources. The job fair will be held on Tuesday, March 19 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Chapel Hill High School Varsity Gym. Several Chapel Hill ISD staff will be at the event to discuss what working in the district is like from day to day and to conduct on-site interviews. Along with staff there will be several students from the Academies of Chapel Hill, including aspiring engineers and entrepreneurs.
PALESTINE – The Palestine Police Department said that a third person was arrested on Saturday after officers responded to reports of shots fired on Wednesday night near Spring Street and West Oak Street. According to our news Partner KETK, Detective J. Waldon and Officer L. Medina spoke with a witness who said he heard around eight or nine shots from two guns coming from a residence on West Debard Street. Waldon and Medina arrived at the residence and reportedly found several people “who appeared to be intoxicated†with two vehicles playing loud music. They spoke with a man near one of the vehicles who was allegedly to identify himself and asked the officers to leave. Officers said they decided to arrest him when he continued to not identify himself.
The man reportedly resisted arrest and began “using force†against Medina. The man’s spouse then reportedly got between Medina and her husband to prevent his arrest. Read the rest of this entry »
PANOLA COUNTY – Our news partner KETK is reporting that one person has died after a two-vehicle rollover crash happened on US Highway 59 South in Panola County on Friday. Details about the rollover crash are limited but the sheriff’s office said that the highway had to be shutdown for a medical helicopter to land. According to the sheriff’s office, one person received fatal injuries in the crash and the Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace has been contacted for an inquest. Troopers, sheriff’s office deputies, the Precinct 2 constable, Gary Volunteer Fire Department and UT Health EMS all responded to the crash.
GROVETON — According to our news partner KETK, a Groveton ISD employee has been arrested after allegedly altering education records without authorization, affecting the top 10% class ranking. According to an affidavit, Breanna Faye Abshier, 35, was arrested and charged with tampering with a government record. Abshier reportedly changed student grade point averages and class rankings. Authorities said though her job duties as a registrar did authorize her to make grade changes within the system she reportedly made over 145 changes without the teacher’s authorization beginning in the 2021-2022 school year. By doing so, Abshier tampered with student class averages, affecting their semester average bumping down students from the top 10% ranking.
Groveton ISD said Abshier’s employment was terminated and the school has cooperated with law enforcement. The district said they have started an investigation of potentially affected records for all students grades 6-12. Read the rest of this entry »
WILLS POINT – The Wills Point Police Department said a criminal investigation led to the arrest of one of their officers on Wednesday evening. According to our news partner KETK, Wills Point PD received a complaint of a physical disturbance in Wills Point. The police department said an investigation uncovered that an off-duty Wills Point PD officer, identified as Christopher Tomlin, was involved in a physical disturbance with a direct family member. As a result, the Van Zandt County Criminal Investigation Unit was asked to conduct an outside criminal investigation into Tomlin. Wills Point PD also conducted an internal affairs investigation. The Police department said that Tomlin was terminated effective immediately on Wednesday. “Upon conducting [and] completing the internal affairs investigation, it was found that Officer Christopher Tomlin had violated multiple department policies,†Wills Point PD said.
The Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office reportedly completed their criminal investigation into Tomlin and has charged him with continuous violence against the family. Tomlin is booked into the Van Zandt County Jail.
SMITH COUNTY — According to our news partner KETK, David Stein, the current county chair for the Smith County Republican Party, announced his bid for vice chair of the Republican Party of Texas on Monday. During the March primaries, Stein won 66% of the votes or 14,703 votes. After being reelected, he is serving as the county chair for the third time. In a release, Stein said he has been a conservative Republican for his entire adult life and supports the core principles of the party including being pro-life, pro second amendment, pro-military, traditional families and individual liberties.
Stein said due to limited funds, the lack of staff or plan for election integrity efforts, no get-out-to-vote initiative amongst other issues is why there needs to more training for county parties and county chairs. The chairman said he looks forward to interacting with all leaders over the next 11 weeks.
“We cannot continue to take actions that further divide our party instead of trying to find that common ground, which most importantly is getting Republicans such as Donald Trump for President and Ted Cruz for Senate, elected in November General elections,†Stein said.
Due to these concerns, Stein announced his candidacy for Vice Chair of The Republican Party of Texas. The seat is currently held by Dana Myers who recently announced her bid for the Texas Republican Party Chair. Stein said if elected, he would be honored to serve with her.
“I’m asking you to support me in this effort, I’m asking you to believe this is good for our state party,†Stein said.
TYLER – The Texas Health and Human Services Commission said that a data breach might have exposed personal information about 3,392 people in or near Tyler, Texarkana, Longview, Marshall, Beaumont and Nacogdoches. Our news partner KETK reports that on Jan. 11, the HHSC said it discovered that a staff member had allegedly emailed spreadsheets containing full names, home addresses and telephone numbers, health information, services, financial information, Medicaid identification numbers and an individual’s Social Security number to their personal email. These emails were sent between September and October of 2023 and the HHSC said they only determined what the emails contained on Feb. 2 of 2024.
The HHSC said that they’ve already contacted those affected to provide them with one year of free credit monitoring, in order to keep their credit safe from any misuse of their information.
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MARSHALL – The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office said three people were arrested on Friday after they discovered methamphetamine, marijuana and Diazepam (Valium) during a search of a residence. According to our news partner KETK, a search warrant was ordered after an investigation revealed methamphetamine was being sold from a residence on Walnut Street in Marshall. Decorian Kashun Stewart, 25, Savion Dashawn Hicks, 21, and Taylor Roshelle Dotie, 22, all of Marshall, were located in the residence by the Harrison County Emergency Response Team (ERT), the sheriff’s office said. Stewart allegedly tried to flush methamphetamine in the toilet when the ERT entered the home, the release said.
Stewart and Dotie were charged with possession of a controlled substance. Dotie and Hicks were both charged with possession of marijuana and Stewart was also charged with tampering with evidence.
According to the release, the drug charges were enhanced because of Drug-Free-Zone violations since the residence is within 1,000 feet of East Texas Baptist University. They are currently booked at the Harrison County Jail. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – According to our news partner KETK, the son of two elected Smith County officials was sentenced to 30 days in the Smith County Jail on Friday after being convicted of misdemeanor interfering with public duties. Derek Phillips, 37, was initially arrested on the charge in March 2023 alongside his mother, Smith County Clerk Karen Phillips, after an incident where authorities said the two tried to interfere with a traffic stop involving Derek’s friend. Bodycam footage from the incident showed a long dispute before the arrests, and in June, both Phillips sued Smith County alleging multiple violations of their Constitutional rights related to the incident. Both were indicted for interfering with public duties in November, and the trial for Derek began on Wednesday where he was convicted. Karen’s trial is currently scheduled for March 20.
Derek’s older brother Lance Phillips, 40, also has a trial date set for April 24 for a misdemeanor charge related to an incident on Jan. 2 where he was taken into custody for disrupting a Smith County Commissioners Court meeting where his father, Terry Phillips, currently sits as Precinct 3 Commissioner.