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Monday June 08, 2026
CHEROKEE COUNTY – The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office conducted two search warrants and a traffic stop on Tuesday leading to the arrest of five people and recovered meth, cocaine, marijuana and firearms according to our news partner KETK.
The first arrest occurred during a traffic stop on Loop 343 in Rusk. During the stop, officials discovered 56 grams of methamphetamine inside the vehicle, officials said. The owner of the vehicle was identified as Joe Castillo, 56 of Rusk. Castillo was arrested and taken to the Cherokee County Jail and was charged with manufacture and delivery of a substance. His bail has been set at $50,000.
First Search Warrant
Following the traffic stop, deputies conducted a search warrant on a home on County Road 1817 in Maydelle. During the search of the property, officials said they recovered 198 grams of methamphetamine along with 12 firearms. The residents of the property were identified as Ronnie Goff, 56, and Lee Deshawn Cockrell, 47. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — Our news partner, KETK, reports that a pedestrian has died, the Longview Police Department said, after a pick up truck reportedly struck them on Tuesday night.
Longview police officers responded to the call on Tuesday at around 9:14 p.m. in the 200 block of West Loop 281. An initial investigation shows that a man was crossing the roadway “at an improper location” when a pick up truck traveling eastbound struck him.
Authorities said the pedestrian was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, and an investigation is still in progress.
RUSK COUNTY – Our news partner, KETK, reports that the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office arrested five people on Feb. 28 after drugs were seized along with a firearm.
An investigation led county law enforcement to Henderson, where they carried out a controlled substance search warrant at the Woodlawn Hills Hotel on U.S. Highway 79. Authorities said they found 39 individual packages of suspected cocaine and a firearm in the possession of Cameron Horn, 23 of Henderson. She has since been charged with manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance and received bonds totaling $65,500.
She was also wanted on a Harris County warrant. Officials said, Tamara Simon, 44 of Henderson, was found in possession of suspected methamphetamine. She was charged with possession of a controlled substance and received bonds totaling $10,000.Jayme Hogan, 20, and Aaron Yelverton, 22, were reportedly found in possession of suspected concentrated THC. Each were charged with the state jail felony possession of a controlled substance in penalty group two and received bonds of $10,000 separately.From Longview, Harold Holman, 31, had an outstanding Rusk County warrant for possession of marijuana and was given a $1,000 bond.
Future arrests are expected as the investigation continues and the sheriff’s office said no further information will be released at this time.
CAMP COUNTY– Our news partner, KETK, reports that two people had to be rescued from their RV’s following Tuesday morning’s intense thunderstorms.
The dangerous wind blew cabins into campers and overturned RV’s at Barefoot Bay RV Park on Lake Bob Sandlin in Pittsburg.
Vaia Hernandez was one of the people entrapped in her camper. Her RV was picked up by the intense winds and flipped it over on its side. A tree fell on her truck, leaving both properties a total loss.
“I don’t think you can repair this, I kind of don’t want to bother with it, I don’t want to look at it anymore, it’s just it’s traumatizing,” Hernandez said. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — As much of East Texas was under a thunderstorm or tornado warning on Tuesday morning. Our news partner, KETK, has compiled pictures sent in from the community.
To view those pictures, click here.
TYLER – After severe weather hit East Texas on Tuesday morning, about 80,000 customers are reportedly without power as of 12 p.m.
Our news partner, KETK, has compiled a list of East Texas counties from the Texas power outage map and electric co-ops with power outages. To view that list, click here.
TYLER— As East Texas battles the storms, some roads have been shut down due to flooding, damages or car crashes.
Our news partner, KETK, has a full and updated list of road closures. To view that list, click here.
TYLER — Our news partner, KETK, reports that staff were evacuated at People’s Petroleum in Tyler Monday afternoon after smoke was coming from the building.
According to Tyler Fire Department Assistant Chief Kelly Adkinson, when firefighters arrived they found no smoke but made the decision to evacuate people to investigate the situation. Adkinson said after Encore arrived they determined it was an electrical issue with an underground transformer located under College Street. Due to a strong smell of smoke, firefighters performed ventilation to help clear the smell out.
Officials said there were no injuries reported and staff and patrons were allowed to reenter the building after around 30 minutes.
HENDERSON COUNTY – Our news partner, KETK, reports that a 21-year-old from Kemp has been arrested for continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 in Henderson County.
On Feb. 10, an investigator with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office’s Crimes Against Children Task Force was shown a forensic interview of a child at the Maggie’s House children’s advocacy center in Athens.
According to arrest documents obtained by KETK, the child was interviewed after they made an outcry at school which was reported to Child Protective Services. The child said they had earned a dollar bill by “doing something nice” to a man named Ian. Read the rest of this entry »
HAWKINS – According to our news partner KETK, a special city council meeting to discuss the reinstatement of three Hawkins Police Department officers ended in disagreement on Monday and the vote to re-hire them was called off. In Monday’s meeting, there were multiple motions on the floor to vote to grant the appeal and immediately reinstate the terminated officers, but the mayor refused to call the motions to a vote. Mayor Debbie Rushing repeatedly said it was an “out of order motion.”
According to the city’s ordinance, the council is required to vote on new police officers, which did not happen in the case of these officers. The police officers who were terminated are David Morris, Dale Lundberg and Vernon Polk.
Each officer was present at Monday’s meeting with their attorneys. One attorney said during the meeting that the hiring of the officers was lawful but the mayor still denied their motion. Read the rest of this entry »
CANTON – According to our news partner KETK, five people were arrested over the weekend for attempted burglary in Canton. Officials believe the five people were a part of several prior robberies in East Texas. The Canton Police Department responded to a possible burglary in progress early on Sunday morning. The people involved in the robbery had fled the scene prior to officers arriving. The group went on to attempt to burglarize more vehicles a short distance away.
Officers were able to locate those involved and conducted a traffic stop. According to Canton PD, five people were found inside the car, including two women, Rashae Abercrombie, 19, and Hailey Huber, 19, along with three juvenile males.
Further investigation of the vehicle led to marijuana being discovered along with a weapon. Following the investigation, all five suspects were reportedly arrested on multiple charges, including possession of marijuana, unlawful carry of a weapon and tampering with evidence. Items found inside the car indicated that the five people were part of several previous robberies in Van Zandt County. Canton PD said they will be assisting other departments in finding any possible connections.
KILGORE – Investigators are seeking help to identify a Jane Doe who has remained unidentified since December 2000. According to reports from our news partner KETK, investigative Genetic Genealogists with the DNA Doe project are currently working to identify the woman who was found over 24 years ago in a wooded area five miles northeast of Kilgore.
Investigators believe she would have been around 30 to 50-years-old, between 4’10” and 5’3” tall and weighing 115 pounds. Investigators also believe that the woman was dead for up to two years before she was found in 2000. The DNA Doe Project began working on this case in the fall of 2021, which was previously worked on by the team at Parabon Nanolabs. The case was taken on by a group of four genetic genealogists and six support staff members. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW- The Longview Gas Plant, with over 600 miles of pipeline just outside of city limits, is believed to be unsafe by some of its employees.
The Longview Gas plant plays an important role in processing low quality gas produced across the region by separating the mixture into higher value products, like butane, hexane, and condensate. They are the only plant in East Texas to do so, and without them, many oil horses would grind to a halt. Due to the plant’s economic importance, and possible dangers presented by the conversion process, the Department of Homeland Security and the Texas Railroad Commission – which regulate the state’s oil and gas industry- consider the plant critical to Texas energy infrastructure.
In 2020, the plant was acquired by the Houston-based company, J. Global Energy Midstream. According to a report by The Tyler Morning Telegraph, Longview Gas Plant employees say that a chaotic working environment and cavalier attitude toward safety by the facility’s Brazilian ownership are endangering East Texans. This assertions has been illustrated by a worker death, two fires, and an oil spill, among other incidents. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Our news partner, KETK, reports that the Sulphur Springs Police Department is seeking the public’s help to identify a person who reportedly attempted to steal rent checks from a drop box.
Sulphur Springs PD has made the above photos available so that people can come forward with more information should they recognize the suspect.
If anyone has any information about the person, officials ask they contact Det. Rusty Stillwagoner or Det. Jason Reneau of the Sulphur Springs Police.
MOUNT PLEASANT – Our news partner, KETK, reports that the Mount Pleasant Economic Development Corporation recently announced that NXG Truck Bodies is bringing 95 new jobs to the area with their new manufacturing plant. The new 120,000-square-foot manufacturing space will bring a $20 million investment to Mount Pleasant, according to the Mount Pleasant Economic Development Corporation (MPEDC).
“We’re thrilled to support this major development and look forward to seeing its impact on our community,” MPEDC said.
The NXG Truck Bodies plant is located on County Road 3210 just off of Highway 30 to the northeast of Mount Pleasant. They’re currently preparing the plant to start work on what NXG says will be the next generation of truck bodies.MPEDC said NXG Truck Bodies is currently hiring a production supervisor and a maintenance supervisor. Anyone interested in working at NXG Truck Bodies can apply in person at 2305 County Road 3210 or online. To keep track of the plant’s progress visit NXG Truck Bodies on Facebook or on their website.