Today is
Saturday June 06, 2026
HENDERSON COUNTY — According to our news partner KETK, a former Eustace police officer was sentenced on Thursday to 20 years in prison for possession of child pornography in the 392nd District Court. Mitchell Burris was arrested in January on four counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of possession with intent to promote child pornography. The arrest came after authorities obtained three videos reportedly depicting minors engaging in sexual conduct.
In December 2024, investigators examined the items collected during the search warrant, where they reportedly found screenshots of several videos of infants and young child pornography. Investigators contacted Eustace Mayor Dustin Shelton, who reportedly identified the man as Burris.
“While looking through the content folder, [the investigator] observed a photo of a white male’s face sitting inside a car. The background of this photo appears to be a police car,” the affidavit stated. “While looking through the folder, there was another image of the same male, in the suspected police car from a different angle.” Read the rest of this entry »
BULLARD — The City of Bullard announced on Thursday that some residents may encounter little to no water pressure due to a water main break, according to our news partner KETK.
The city said its utility department is currently working on repairing the issue, and thanks its residents for their patience during this time.
CANTON – Two parents were arrested on Monday in Van Zandt County after a child was found in a hot car, sweating and bleeding from the nose, according to a report from our news partner KETK.
On Monday, deputies from the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s office responded to the Wagon Train RV Park on 7869 Interstate 20 South Service Road in Canton to help DPS on a vehicle pursuit. Once arriving, deputies were made aware that the driver had fled from DPS, abandoned it and officers located it at the RV park.
“DPS advised that when they approached the vehicle that they observed a child inside the vehicle while the vehicle ignition turned off, and the child appeared to have been bleeding from the nose and to be very hot and sweating,” the sheriff’s office said. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — The City of Tyler is updating road markings at three busy intersections as part of its annual road safety enhancement project, according to our news partner KETK. These updates include the addition of new turn lanes, bike lanes, and parking spaces, aimed at reducing accidents and improving traffic flow.
The intersections affected include West Houston Street and Fair Park Drive, where a new turn lane, bike lane and parking spaces have been added. This area is near the Rose Garden, Brookshire’s Center and a football stadium. On Rieck Road, between South Broadway Avenue and New Copeland Road, a two-way left-turn lane has been introduced to address a history of run-off-road crashes. Additionally, a turn lane has been removed at the Walmart driveway on Shiloh Road to better reflect current driving patterns and improve traffic flow, the city said.
These changes are expected to enhance safety and reduce confusion at intersections, contributing to a more efficient transportation network in Tyler.
LONGVIEW – Two Mexican nationals illegally living in Longview, have been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the East Texas, according to a press release from the Acting U.S. Attorney’s office.
On May 2, 2024, two men were detained by law enforcement as passengers in a vehicle for a traffic violation. During the stop, officers deployed a K9 to conduct an open-air sniff of the vehicle, resulting in a positive alert for the presence of a controlled substance. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of 2,972 grams of methamphetamine hidden in an interior void in the vehicle.
Immigration records revealed that both men were unlawfully present in the United States and that one of them, Julio Cesar Tello-Olmos, 49, was previously deported twice, onece following convictions for two separate felony DWIs. Read the rest of this entry »
GREGG COUNTY – A Longview man who sold fake prescription drugs has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl in the Eastern District of Texas, according to a press release from the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Kym Andrew Wallace, also known as “Trigga”, 28, admitted to selling what were supposed to be prescription pills, which a 17-year-old juvenile consumed them and died from a an overdose on May 29, 2024. The pills purchased from Wallace were round and light blue, bearing the markings “M” and “30,” which are the same manufacturer’s markings for 30 milligram tablets of generic oxycodone. Following the overdose of the juvenile victim, investigators analyzed the pills,and determined they contained fentanyl. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – A Tyler man has been sentenced to federal prison for child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, according to a press release from the desk of Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Enrique Adrian Gomez, 29, met two minor victims online in September 2021 and continued communicating with them through November 2021. Both minors were less than 13 years old at the time. Gomez communicated with the victims through text messaging and social media applications. During these real-time online conversations, the victims were persuaded to engage in prohibited, sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of such conduct. Read the rest of this entry »
HENDERSON COUNTY – An East Texas man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after officers found multiple files of child pornography inside his home in January, according to a report from our news partner KETK.
Arrest documents show that a criminal investigator with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office was notified by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on Dec. 18, 2024, about a tip they received from Snapchat. The app had reported an incident listed as online enticement of a child for sexual purposes that took place on Sept. 22, 2024. The child victim involved in this incident reported to Snapchat that someone was trying to exploit them with child pornography of them. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY– An investigation is underway following a fatal house fire southwest of Tyler Tuesday night. According to a news release from Smith County, numerous departments responded to the blaze on Pecanridge Drive around 10:30. The victim, who has not been identified pending notification of next of kin, was said to be a 70-year-old man. He was the sole occupant of the home. An autopsy has been ordered. Officials said the house was a total loss. Foul play was not suspected.
HENDERSON – According to a press release from CHRISTUS Health, the opening of CHRISTUS Emergency Center Henderson is celebrated with a ribbon-cutting and blessing event.
“When we stood here back in 2024, I made a promise to the community that we would be open by summer 2025, and here we are celebrating this amazing facility,” said Todd Hancock, president of CHRISTUS Good Shepherd Health System.
More than 300 guests, including representatives from CHRISTUS, the city of Henderson, Rusk County and elected officials, got a sneak peek of the 12,500 square-foot facility, which will open to the public at 7 a.m. on Thursday, July 31.
Located south of Wylie Elementary on U.S. Highway 259, the emergency center features 24-hour emergency services with 13 exam rooms, four triage room, advanced imaging and onsite laboratory services for easy access to care. The emergency center is the second CHRISTUS facility in Henderson, joining the CHRISTUS Trinity Clinic family medicine clinic on Zeid Boulevard. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Two parents were arrested Monday after four children were left alone in a vehicle for at least an hour at a Tyler Walmart parking lot, according to our news partner KETK. The parents have been identified as Emily Bearden, 27, and David Bearden, 28, both of Arp. Tyler Police responded to the Walmart on south Broadway, where four young children, ages ten, five, two and five weeks were left in a vehicle for at least an hour while the parents shopped. Officials said the five-year-old accidentally turned off the vehicle and the interior quickly became “dangerously hot.” That’s when the 10-year-old eventually got out of the car to find help. The 10-year-old’s phone call came in at around 5 p.m.
The parents then got back in the car and left the parking lot. Police began to follow the parents on Broadway Avenue, where they pulled them over for a traffic stop. Read the rest of this entry »
MARSHALL – According to a press release from the Marshall Police Department, Marshall Police arrested a Linden man following a serious traffic accident that sent two people to the hospital and spilled diesel fuel across the road.
The crash occurred just after 9:30 p.m. on July 25, 2025, at the intersection of Highway 59 and Loop 390. Witnesses report that a tractor trailer ran a red light and struck a pickup truck that was pulling an empty horse trailer. The collision caused a diesel fuel spill on the roadway and into a nearby drainage ditch, requiring a hazardous materials cleanup by Lone Star Hazmat.
Two individuals in the pickup were transported to a local hospital. Their conditions have not been released.
Upon investigation, the driver of the tractor-trailer, identified as 59-year-old Kenneth Janowski of Linden, was arrested and charged with two counts of Intoxication Assault with Vehicle, a third-degree felony, and booked into the Harrison County Jail.
The investigation is ongoing.
LONGVIEW — Eastman Chemical in Longview was one of 49 chemical manufacturing facilities in the United States granted a two-year exemption from environmental regulations by President Donald Trump’s proclamation, according to our news partner KETK.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enacted what is known as the ‘HON Rule’ on May 16, 2024. The HON Rule consists of four rules that chemical manufacturing plants must follow during the process of making synthetic organic chemicals.
The Federal Register stated that the EPA was seeking to finalize standards for the production of ethylene oxide (EtO) and chloroprene emissions through the HON Rule. Read the rest of this entry »
TATUM — Our news partner KETK reports that the Tatum Police Department has identified three individuals connected to a string of burglaries that occurred in East Texas over the past month.
Near the end of June, the Tatum Police Department became aware of seven burglary cases, with six incidents occurring at the Tatum baseball park and another one within city limits. The cases were identified as organized criminal activity.
On July 2, members of the Tatum Police Department were notified of a woman who had driven through a Vera Bank in Lufkin and had allegedly withdrawn several thousand dollars from a victim’s bank account. Although officials obtained video from the bank, they were unable to identify the suspect. They requested assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety, but were also unable to identify the suspect because her face was not fully visible in the camera footage from the bank. Read the rest of this entry »
CROCKETT – A woman in Crockett who was accused of causing a man’s death after giving him counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl has been placed under custody, according to our news partner KETK.
On May 21, the Crockett Police Department said that they received reports of an unresponsive man and went to the person’s apartment on Sallas Street at around 11 p.m. Once on the scene, officers, along with Houston County EMS, discovered the individual had died, which was believed to be caused by a drug overdose.
Following the victim’s death, authorities discovered that he had bought the pills from Kimberlee Ann Sherman of Crockett. On May 22, Sherman was arrested and charged with delivery of a controlled substance. She posted a $25,000 bond and was released the following day. Read the rest of this entry »