Today is
Thursday June 11, 2026
SMITH COUNTY — Smith County officials said a skull found near Interstate 20 will need more testing. According to our news partner KETK and the sheriff’s office, DNA test results show the person was a black man, believed to be about 40 or 50 years of age. Officials will enter their information on a government database for missing persons, which may help their search efforts. Currently, there are no open missing person cases in Smith County. On November 11, 2017, authorities received a 911 call reporting the discovery of a human skull near the 600 block of Interstate 20. Read the rest of this entry »
KILGORE — According to TXDOT, FM 2087 in Kilgore has been closed due to an accident. Traffic is being rerouted to FM 2276 for what officials expect to be most of the day. Drivers are urged to use an alternate route. Details of the accident were not released.
KILGORE — Two East Texans will be back in court Monday in connection to the disappearance of a Kilgore woman. Allen Lamont Sutton, 28, and Laneshia Lashae Young, 22, both of Overton, were named in sealed indictments returned by the Rusk County Grand Jury. The two count indictments are for tampering with or fabricating physical evidence (human corpse), felony 2, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence Felony 3. Sheryia Grant was 8 months pregnant when she disappeared August 20th, 2016. Grant’s body has not been found. However, evidence uncovered during the investigation indicates she was murdered shortly after she was reported missing. Investigators say additional forensic evidence is still being evaluated and processed as the investigation is continuing.
GREGG COUNTY — A burn ban has been issued for residents in Gregg County. The ban will be in effect until August 13, when the Commissioners Court meets, or if it’s rescinded. The ban prohibits outdoor burning of any kind (including trash in burn barrels) or the use of aerial fireworks. Officials enacted the burn ban because of extreme wildfire danger due to hot, dry conditions. In Texas, local governments are empowered to take action on the behalf of those they serve. When drought conditions exist, a burn ban can be put in place by a county judge or county commissioners court prohibiting or restricting outdoor burning for public safety.
RUSK COUNTY — A Kilgore man is in the Rusk County Jail on charges including aggravated assault. According to our news partner KETK, Isaiah Dominique Ross, 24, was arrested Wednesday by the U.S. Marshals Violent Crime Task Force and the Gregg County Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Unit. Ross was arrested in Kilgore at a local motel for several outstanding warrants which included aggravated assault causing bodily injury from Rusk County; evading arrest or detention from Harrison County; escape while arrested and fail to identify as a fugitive from Corrigan Police Department. Ross is currently in Rusk County jail awaiting bond.
TYLER – Tyler police have released the name of a man found dead in a wooded area July 24. He’s been identified as Gregory Jock, 50, of Tyler. A citizen found his body in the woods behind the Valero Gas Station at East Front Street and SSE Loop 323. Investigators said foul-play was not suspected.
SMITH COUNTY — The Smith County Sheriff’s Ofice is investigating a reported carjacking. It happened around 1:30 last Wednesday at the intersection of Highway 155 and Tollway 49. According to our news partner KETK, an elderly woman was stopped at a red light when she was hit from behind. After the victim got out of her vehicle to inspect the damage, one of the suspects from the other vehicle stole her 2017 red Toyota Camry. The elderly woman was left stranded in the heat. She was taken to a local hospital and released July 30. Sgt. Darrel Coslin says this case will be considered a robbery and the two suspects have not been arrested. The manner of the carjacking is also considered to be a rare event, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Authorities are looking for two females suspects described as 5’5″, slender with dark hair and glasses.
GREGG COUNTY — Additional details have been released in the death of a Longview woman. Felisha Pearson was reported missing by her mother on July 20. Her body was found in the woods off West Birdsong Street July 24. That same day, the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office announced they were looking for Joseph Wayne Burnette, 41, who had failed to register as a sex offender. According to our news partner KETK, Burnette had been convicted of indecent exposure. He was arrested July 25 in Upshur County, and was eventually transferred to the Gregg County Jail. His bond was set at $500,000. The warrant states Pearson was living in a local hotel with Burnette before her disappearance. Read the rest of this entry »
GREGG COUNTY — Longview police arrested a 29-year-old man Thursday on suspicion of driving over another man following a fight. According to the Longview News=Journal and our news partner KETK, Jeremy Gardner, of Longview, was being held on a $75,000 bond Friday in the Gregg County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The arrest occurred after police responded at 4:00 p.m. to a report of a fight in the 2300 block of Gilmer Road. The victim and several witnesses told police Gardner got into his truck, turned and accelerated toward the victim and struck him, injuring the man. An off-duty officer who followed the suspect said he saw Gardner run over the victim, the report said.
LONGVIEW — DPS Troopers make two arrests after a high speed chase in Longview Sunday morning. Just after 1:15, a Trooper attempted to stop a vehicle for a speed violation on Judson Road. The vehicle began traveling at a high rate of speed before pulling into a vacant parking lot on Fredonia Street. The three occupants jumped out of the vehicle and ran. A female juvenile was apprehended, and as the trooper was placing her in his vehicle, one of the other subjects return to the abandoned vehicle and fled northbound on Fredonia Street. The vehicle eventually crashed and caught fire. The suspect, identified as Adam Paul Foster Jr., 17, of Marshall, was pulled to safety by a trooper. Read the rest of this entry »
GREGG COUNTY — A 2-year-old was killed in a wreck that left three others injured. It happened just after 1:00 Thursday morning on I-20 in Gregg County. According to the DPS report, a truck, driven by Michael Paul Templin, 28, of Longview, was headed east on I-20 when when he drifted into a car parked on the side of the interstate. The impact forced the car into the concrete barrier. The driver of the parked car, Willie Mack Cooper, 29, and a passenger Beatrice Avila, 25, both of Ft. Bliss, were treated at a local hospital and released. Two children, ages 1 and 2, were airlifted to a Shreveport medical center, where the 2-year-old later died. The 1-year-old remains in the hospital. Templin was not injured in the crash. They were all wearing seatbelts.
SMITH COUNTY — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will decide if the Texas “revenge porn” law can be enforced. The court agreed to hear the case of Jordan Bartlett Jones. He was accused of using social media to post a naked photo of an ex-girlfriend. A state appeals court in Tyler struck down the revenge porn law three months ago, saying it violated First Amendment protections. The State of Texas has appealed the 2015 statute which says photos and videos cannot be posted without permission, even if the visuals were recorded consensually.
TYLER (AP) – Police have arrested a man accused of opening fire at an East Texas house in gunfire that left his former girlfriend wounded and her new boyfriend and her teenage son dead. Gregg County jail records show Tony Waters, 55, of Kilgore was being held Wednesday on a capital murder charge, with bond set at $1 million. Tyler police say Waters was arrested Tuesday in Longview, a day after the deadly shootings. Officer Don Martin says the gunfire killed Charlie Verdell, 51, and Daquan Munson, 17. Martin says Munson’s mother remained hospitalized Wednesday. Her condition wasn’t immediately released. Martin says the mother and son recently moved into the house and that Verdell had been dating the woman.
TYLER — Tyler Police are investigating a Monday night shooting that left two people dead and one injured. It was reported just before 10:00 on W. Dobbs. 51-year-old Charlie Verdell and 17-year-old Daquan Munson were killed. Arriving officers found Verdell on the front porch; he died later at a hospital. Munson and his mother, 32-year-old Ladidre Patrice Blevins, were found inside. Munson was dead at the scene. Blevins remained in a hospital at last report; her condition was not immediately released. A witness told officers they saw a black male with a gun running from the scene. Authorities announced Tuesday afternoon a suspect is in custody in the case. Arrested in Longview was Tony Waters, 55, of Kilgore.
TYLER — The Tyler ISD Board of Trustees will address how it will move forward with the Robert E. Lee High School name change discussion during its Monday meeting. A statement from board president Rev. Fritz Hager Jr. released Thursday evening says the item is for discussion only. No decisions have been made and no action will be taken. There are several options the board could choose from after the consultation. Hager says most of the discussion has focused on making a change, but not how to go about the process or what the new name might be.