Today is
Saturday June 06, 2026
TYLER – The man who was wanted for stealing hundreds of dollars from Zippy J’s in Tyler after shutting off the store’s power and claiming to have a gun was arrested on Friday.
According to a Smith County arrest warrant affidavit, 25-year-old Trayvonte Deshawn Gates was arrested for the robbery at Zippy J’s after a store employee received a tip on social media about him.
The arrest warrant affidavit said that around 1:05 a.m. Tyler police officers responded to a robbery at Zippy J’s on 1610 S. Vine Avenue. The 911 callers told dispatch that a black man wearing a white shirt, black pants and a black backpack had robbed Zippy J’s and was last seen leaving towards the Bingo Hall.
After officers searched the surrounding area and were unable to find the suspect, they returned to the gas station to talk to store employees. The workers explained to police that around 1 a.m. the lights went off in the store and a black man entered the store a short time later. Read the rest of this entry »
TATUM — Our news partner KETK reports that two Florida suspects have been detained in connection with a string of burglaries at the Tatum Baseball Field parking lot in late June.
Around 7:40 p.m. on June 26, officers were notified that numerous vehicles had been burglarized at the Tatum baseball field parking lot on West Johnson Street. According to the Tatum Police Department by the time officers arrived, the suspects had fled, and attempts to locate them were unsuccessful.
On Saturday, Tatum PD was contacted by the DeSoto Police Department in Dallas County, who said they had initiated a traffic stop on a sedan. After a chase, two passengers were identified and detained. Read the rest of this entry »
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton has requested death row inmate Robert Roberson of Palestine, whose execution date was delayed last year after his case became a political lightning rod, be executed on Oct. 16.
A hearing is set for 10 a.m. on Wednesday in the 3rd District Court in Palestine where Smith County District Judge Austin Reeve Jackson will decide whether to proceed with the Paxton’s request.
“There is no justification for the Attorney General’s relentless effort to kill an innocent human being — and no state law or moral law that authorizes seeking an execution date under these circumstances,” Gretchen Sween, Roberson’s attorney, said in a new release last week.
Roberson was convicted of capital murder in 2003 for the death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki, who was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – A man was arrested over the weekend after striking a 10-year-old boy in the face multiple times with a closed fist near a Tyler church, our news partner KETK reports.
According to the Smith County arrest affidavit, around 4:37 p.m. on Saturday Tyler Police responded to 2726 Van Highway near Higher Heights Community Baptist Church where several people seemed to be upset and shouting very loudly at each other.
The document said once officers were able to separate the people arguing, they talked to a 10-year-old and his mother who explained Keyshawn Zakievan Jackson, 21, punched the child in the face multiple times.
“The mother of the victim, along with several other witnesses on scene, stated Jackson had struck the 10-year-old in the face with closed fist strikes multiple times,” the affidavit said. “Even Jackson’s sister, who was advocating for him (the child was allegedly being very pestering and shoving Jackson throughout the day), had stated Jackson punched the victim.” Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY – Our news partner KETK reports that a man was arrested early Friday morning after driving his pickup truck through the entrance of a vape shop in Smith County.
According to the Community Outreach Coordinator for Smith County Emergency Services District 2, Nikki Simmons, Battalion 1, Engine 156, and Engine 161 arrived at Just Smoke in Gresham after hearing reports of a vehicle driving through the front of the shop.
Once on the scene, officials observed a Ford pickup inside the building and found the driver outside of the store with no apparent injuries. The driver refused to be transported to the hospital and was arrested by members of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Oncor crews were also on the scene to assess for any substantial electrical damage.
At this time, officials have not released the identity of the driver.
ANDERSON COUNTY – According to our news partner KETK, an arrest affidavit revealed the two East Texas parents that were arrested for child neglect claimed their infant wasn’t getting the proper care because the father is a “naturalist,” meanwhile, detectives discovered bottles filled with mold, maggots covering the trash can and traces of methamphetamine.
On Tuesday, a child abuse and neglect investigation was opened for a six-month-old infant. The report first came from Child Protective Services (CPS) after the infant was taken to an emergency room in Athens on July 3 for a rash by her parents, Devon Langley and Cheyanne McGinty.
“After further inspection by medical staff, they recommended the baby needed to get further medical advice from Children’s Medical Center located in Dallas due to the apparent signs of malnutrition, [the baby] was born at seven pounds, eight ounces on Dec. 24, 2024 and weighed eight pounds as of July 4,” the document said. “Both parents denied transporting the baby to Dallas via ambulance due to the cost of bills and gas.” Read the rest of this entry »
CANTON– After serving for the past 15 years as the chief of the City of Canton Fire Rescue, Bud Sandford announced his retirement on Friday according to our news partner KETK.
Through his 15 years as chief, Sandford has been instrumental in growing the fire department from mostly a team of volunteers to a team of mostly career firefighters. “He will be greatly missed by all the men and women who’ve had the honor to serve alongside him,” City of Canton Fire Rescue said. “Thanks to the solid foundation he’s laid, we’re ready to keep growing and advancing into the future!”
WINONA – Smith County Emergency Services District 2 has confirmed that at least one person has been injured after 2 SUVs crashed into each other on Highway 271.
According to our news partner KETK, the Winona Volunteer Fire Department and Gladewater Fire Department were called out to a crash in the 23,000 block of Highway 271 at around 12:43 p.m. on Friday. At least one person was injured in the crash and had to be transported away by a UT Health EMS helicopter.
The crash reportedly happened when a black SUV and a white SUV collided head-on, injuring at least one person. Firefighters at the scene had to tie off the black SUV to keep it from falling into a ditch. The crash blocked Highway 271 on Friday but first responders are working to clear the roadway.
TYLER – In addition to more than a dozen legislative items set to be discussed in an upcoming special session, select committees will be formed by the state legislature to look into flood issues according to our news partner KETK.
“We are not going to be able to protect Texans from the weather, but we can do our best to communicate, when danger is approaching, and I think that’s going to be the challenge for the legislature coming up,” State Rep. Daniel Alders said. Lt. Dan Patrick and Speaker of the Texas State House, Dustin Burrows will each call nine members to a joint committee to examine flooding warning systems, flood emergency communications, relief funding and recovery.
“The issue is this, we need emergency communication systems in place to be able to let folks know when there’s a natural disaster,” Alders said.
Alders said he believes there are some guidelines that can be put in place for campgrounds to have a way to handle an emergency like a flash flood. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – A Tyler man was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Thursday after a 17-year-old died from a fentanyl overdose in 2022, according to a report from our news partner KETK.
On Thursday, Billy Bernard Maddox, Jr. pleaded guilty to bail jumping, failure to appear and tampering/fabricating physical evidence with the intent to impair. He was then sentenced to 35 years in prison for the overdose death of the Tyler Teen. He was previously charged with manslaughter in 2023, but the charge was dismissed.
On the afternoon of April 23, 2022, Tyler police detectives were called to a local hospital where a patient had died of an apparent overdose, identified as 17-year-old Preston Hawley. He was brought to the hospital wearing pants, a belt, socks, but no shirt, shoes or cell phone, according to court documents. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – A woman who was accused of tampering with evidence following the murder of a 19-year-old in 2024 was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty on Thursday, according to our news partner KETK.
On July 4, 2024, Rawly Sanchez was murdered while driving with his friends in Tyler. In an affidavit, Sanchez and his friends had to do a U-turn. When they turned behind Bautista Auto, the driver reported seeing a person in a building with an AK-47-style rifle who started shooting at them.
Rawly was shot and his friends took him to a local hospital, where he died. Around the same time, a Tyler Police Department officer was driving by Bautista Auto when he saw a white Ford Explorer with bullet holes on the side. When the officer came back later, the Ford was gone, and then Smith County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived on the scene. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — According to our news partner KETK, East Texas lawmakers held a town hall meeting on Thursday to answer voters’ questions about the latest legislative session.
State Senator Bryan Hughes and State Representative Daniel Alders gave a recap of the progress they made down in Austin. They covered hot topics like the addition of the 10 commandments in the classroom, protection against election fraud, and the tragic Hill County flooding. Attendees also heard from the other side of the aisle when members of the political group, Smith County Young Democrats, questioned both lawmakers about Senate Bill 31 and infant and maternal mortality rates in Texas.
“There’s no doubt that the responsibility of the state government is to primarily ensure that Texans are safe, and so we need to make sure that our communities have the communication systems in place,” Alders said.
“We want answers as to why we are continuing to legislate health care instead of letting doctors do their jobs, that conversation should be between a family and a doctor, not our legislators, not our governor, not the us government,” Smith County Young Democrats member, Kristen Hardin-Zigler said. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — The City of Tyler received more than $2 million from the Federal Aviation Administration (FFA) to rebuild an old passenger boarding bridge at Tyler Pounds Regional Airport.
According to a report from our news partner KETK, the project will provide a new jet bridge that can better serve larger aircraft, which could allow the airport to grow in the future. This new bridge will also help expand the airport’s capacity and improve its positioning.
Replacing this part of the airport first came to mind back in December 2023 after the Tyler City Council approved a study from engineers that evaluated the airport’s need for new boarding infrastructure. Some of the equipment was expensive to maintain and replacement parts were becoming harder to find.
The total cost of the project amounts to $2,163,253, with the FAA granting about 95 percent of the funds and the City of Tyler covering the other $108,163, which is funded through the Half Cent Sales Tax.
The Tyler City Council has chosen GEMS Technical Services Incorporated to take care of the bridge’s construction.
TYLER – A Mexican national has been sentenced for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm in the Eastern District of Texas, according to a press release from the office of Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
According to information presented in court, on August 5, 2024, Tomas Ocamp-Mondragon, 37, a Mexican national illegally living in Tyler, was stopped for a traffic violation in Smith County. It was determined that he was intoxicated, and he was arrested. During the arrest, a loaded firearm was discovered in his pocket.
Further investigation revealed Ocampo-Mondragon was a citizen of Mexico and had previously been found unlawfully present in the United States on September 14, 2019, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was also found to be in possession of a firearm during that encounter. He voluntarily returned to Mexico on January 3, 2020, and did not have permission to return to the United States.
Ocamp-Mondragon, pleaded guilty to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on July 10, 2025. The case was a joint investigation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Department of Homeland Security, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
ATHENS – An Athens man has been sentenced to federal prison for habitual drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, according to a press release from Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
According to information presented in court, on October 19, 2023, James Kiser, 40, was arrested after selling approximately 34 grams of methamphetamine to another person for $500 cash. Further investigation revealed Kiser has 27 prior convictions for criminal offenses in Henderson and Smith counties.
Kiser pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on July 10, 2025.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.