Today is
Monday June 08, 2026
TYLER — A portion of the Rose Rudman Trail underneath the bridge at Shiloh Road and Donnybrook Avenue will be closed Monday, Oct. 11 while contractors spray concrete sealant on the bridge pillars. Trail users will need to cross Shiloh Road to return to the trail. Use caution while crossing the road and obey all signs on the trail. The closed portion of the trail will reopen Tuesday.
TYLER — Theresa Cecelia Soliz, 37, has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations. According to our news partner KETK, Soliz pleaded guilty March 4 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. She was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison Thursday. Soliz was arrested in December 2019 following a routine traffic stop where she was found to be in possession of almost a kilogram of methamphetamine along with various pills, THC oil and heroin. Read the rest of this entry »
EAST TEXAS — A federal judge has ordered Texas to suspend a new law that has banned most abortions in the state since September. The order Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman freezes for now the strict abortion law known as Senate Bill 8. It bans abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around six weeks. That is before some women even know they’re pregnant. The decision is the first legal blow to the Texas law since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed it to take effect last month. The bill was authored by Senator Bryan Hughes, of Mineola. Read the rest of this entry »
WILLS POINT — The Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a teenager who hasn’t been seen for nearly three weeks. According to our news partner KETK, 18-year-old Nate Greene was last seen on September 17 in Wills Point. He was reported missing on September 23. The department did not say why there was a six-day gap before a missing person report was filed on Greene. He moved down from Illinois to live with his grandparents roughly two months ago. He has blue eyes and blond hair. Green drives a 2006 Silver Focus with the license plate number JYL8180. The sheriff’s office said that the back driver’s side window is busted out.
SMITH COUNTY — An arrest has been made in a Smith County homicide investigation. On October 6, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office received a 9-1-1 call stating a female was being stabbed by her son on East Grove Club Lake Road, near Whitehouse. Bernice Slabaugh, 60, of Whitehouse, was transported to a Tyler hospital where she died a short time later. The suspect, identified as Carson Aaron Epifano, 24, was arrested following a traffic stop on Golden Road in Tyler. Epifano has been charged with murder. His bond was set at $2,000,000. Additional details, including a motive, were not available.
CANTON — DPS Troopers responded to a wreck involving multiple vehicles, including a school bus, in Van Zandt County Wednesday morning. The DPS report said Canton ISD bus #31 was involved in the wreck. No students were injured in the collision. The students were transported to school on a different bus. The crash occurred on HWY 64, east of Canton. Additional details were not available.
LONGVIEW — A court hearing on whether to suspend Longview ISD’s mask mandate has been set for next week. According to our news partner KETK, the district is being sued by the State of Texas under Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order he issued in late July that bans such mandates. After school began in August, the school district reported a spike in coronavirus cases among its 8,000 students and staff. In response, the school board approved a mask mandate in violation of Abbott’s order. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed several lawsuits across the state to varying districts that have also chosen to issue their own mandates. Read the rest of this entry »
RUSK COUNTY — A Henderson woman was arrested Monday afternoon after reportedly offering money to have a family member killed. According to our news partner KETK, Cheryl Thibodeaux, 42, of Henderson was detained in an investigation conducted by the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division for criminal solicitation for capital murder. The sheriff’s office said Thibodeaux planned to commit capital murder of a family member. Investigators went undercover and arrested the woman after she allegedly provided money as compensation for the murder solicitation. Thibodeaux is being held at the Rusk County Jail. Her bond was set at $100,000.
TYLER — A portion of Cambridge Road, between Harvard Drive and Oakway Drive, will be closed today from about 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. while contractors work in a manhole under the street. Detours will be in place at Harvard and Oakway. Drivers are urged to use caution in the area, follow directions of the crews and obey all detours and traffic signs.
TYLER — Tyler police are investigating an early Tuesday morning armed robbery. According to a police release, just after 4:00, two armed black males entered the the Eagle Mart on south Broadway Ave. and stole an undisclosed amount of cash and property from the store. The two fled the scene in a dark-colored Texas Edition Chevrolet Silverado with black and silver wheels. The attached photo is of 2 of the 4 suspects along with the suspect vehicle. Police say there were 2 people in the truck. The truck was recovered in Marshall, but the suspects are still unidentified. If you have any information on this case you can contact Det. Holt at 903-531-1028 or call Tyler-Smith County Crime Stoppers at 903-597-2833.
RUSK — Cherokee County deputies discovered 24 illegal immigrants in an SUV during a routine traffic stop on Sunday morning. According to our news partner KETK, around 2:15, CCSO deputies stopped a Chevrolet Suburban on Highway 69 south and FM 84 east in Rusk after observing the vehicle make a traffic violation. The driver of the Suburban is identified as Maria Lopez. After further investigation by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations, it was determined that all of the passengers entered the U.S. illegally except for Lopez. Read the rest of this entry »
NASHVILLE — A Tyler woman was killed late Sunday night after she lost control of a Lime scooter in downtown Nashville. According to our news partner KETK, police reported that 54-year-old Melinda Lovelady was riding a Lime scooter on 3rd Avenue at Symphony Place. Lovelady reportedly lost control of the scooter and crashed into the rear tires of a moving semi-tractor heading in the opposite direction. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Additional details were not available.
VAN ZANDT COUNTY — A man was arrested after a Van Zandt County Sheriff’s deputy found several drugs including heroine, meth and marijuana in a stolen vehicle. According to our news partner KETK, on Saturday, Oct. 2 VZCSO deputy, Sgt. Gonzales responded to a call for a suspicious vehicle on CR 4112. Gonzales made contact with the driver, Taylor Leon Davidson, and noticed the vehicle ignition had been tampered with. Upon a check of the registration, Gonzales was alerted that the vehicle was stolen. Gonzales arrested Davidson and upon a search of the vehicle, several drugs were found. Davidson was booked into the Van Zandt County Jail on the following charges: two counts of possession of a controlled substance, one count of delivery of marijuana and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
WOOD COUNTY — A Hainesville volunteer firefighter was arrested and charged with eight counts of arson after he was accused of starting eight fires. According to our news partner KETK, Courtney Keel was booked into the Wood County Jail on Tuesday. He was released on Wednesday after posting bail. On Sept. 23, 2020, Chief Robert Holland with the Wood County Sheriff’s Office began investigating fires that the Hainesville VFD had worked. Holland believes Keel possibly started fires that happened in 2020 on June 8, July 27, Aug. 25, Sept. 14, and Sept. 21. Two fires were reported on Aug. 24. In 2021, there were “suspicious“ fires on June 21 and Sept. 24. Read the rest of this entry »
HENDERSON — Rusk County officials are investigating a drive-by shooting that occurred just before 7:00 Thursday night on Highway 64 in Henderson. According to our news partner KETK, a man pulled into a driveway with what were assumed to be car issues. The driver of another vehicle reportedly drove by, saw him and turned around. Witnesses said they heard the man saying “no…no…no,†then they heard several gun shots. Nine millimeter shell casings were found at the scene. Two suspects were identified Friday. Sheriff Johnwayne Valdez says 25-year-old George Gadale Anthony Jr. and 48-year-old Frank Lewis were both injured but are expected to survive after being taken to a Tyler hospital. Valdez added this was not a random occurrence and the two men knew each other. The Sheriff’s Office was working on obtaining warrants for Anthony and Lewis.