Today is
Wednesday November 27, 2024
SMITH COUNTY — Smith County Judge Neal Franklin rescinded the burn ban Tuesday, September 26, after the county received some much-needed rain. Franklin made the decision based on the recommendation of Smith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue. “Smith County received an adequate amount of rainfall Sunday night and during the early morning hours of Monday to reasonably lift the burn ban, which was enacted on August 1, 2023, for the safety of the public,†Hogue said. “I would like to thank the residents of Smith County for their understanding and cooperation while the burn ban was necessary.†Hogue encouraged anyone planning to conduct outdoor burning to do it in a safe manner. Read the rest of this entry »
WOOD COUNTY — A Gilmer man has been charged with intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault in connection to a wreck that killed one of his passengers and injured another. According to our news partner KETK, the preliminary report from DPS indicated Leopoldo Guerrero, Jr., 24, was driving a 2007 Chevrolet 1500 east on State Highway 154, 13.3 miles west of Gilmer on Sept. 18 at 7:00 a.m. DPS said he veered off the roadway to the north and the truck overturned. 34-year-old Diana M. Valenzuela from Longview was taken to a Quitman hospital where she died a few hours later. A 25-year-old passenger was taken to a Tyler hospital with incapacitating injuries. After an investigation, Guerrero Jr. was charged with intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — A former Tyler ISD substitute teacher was indicted for aggravated sexual assault of a child and improper relationship between an educator and a student on Aug. 3. According to our news partner KETK, 48-year-old Karen Dunn was an ISS substitute at Ramey Elementary School when a 10-year-old reported she had “touched her inappropriately†with three other students in the classroom. Tyler ISD police were called to Ramey Elementary School on May 16 after the child reported the incident to another teacher, saying Dunn told her about things she does with her sister and boyfriend, handed the child a piece of paper with her name, address and phone number on it and told the child to come over. The number was not one Tyler ISD had on file for Dunn. Dunn had been a substitute since 2016 and was terminated when the child reported her after a member of Tyler ISD HR contacted Dunn using the phone number given to the child. Dunn is still in the Smith County Jail on a $250,000 bond. Her next court date is scheduled for Oct. 2.
TYLER — Tyler police are asking motorists to use caution Monday morning when approaching intersections as multiple are without power. According to our news partner KETK, the following intersections are without power as of 7 a.m.: Broadway Avenue/Centennial Parkway, S Broadway Avenue/Market Square Boulevard, Loop 323/E Erwin Street and Loop 323/Lyons Avenue. Authorities are working to get generators deployed to these locations. “If you approach any intersection that is without power, treat it as a four-way stop. If you come to an intersection with blinking red lights, treat that as a four-way stop,†police said. “Emergency crews are working to get all intersections up and running as quickly as possible.â€
TYLER — A former Smith County deputy was sentenced on Wednesday to three years probation and a $1,000 fine for fraud with identification documents after entering a plea agreement. According to our news partner KETK, Luis Alberto Sandoval, 30, was with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office from November 2017 until his arrest in August 2021. He pleaded guilty in February to the federal charge after being accused of misuse of information to assist a Mexican drug trafficker. A warrant alleged Sandoval got a text message from a phone in Mexico asking him to the run the driver’s license of a known drug dealer who attempting to cross back into the U.S. Read the rest of this entry »
COFFEE CITY — One week after Coffee City deactivated their police department and fired their police chief, many drivers who’ve been pulled over say they want their speeding tickets dropped. “I intended to come up here with the hopes of getting the ticket dismissed since they dismissed all of their policemen,†said Steve Prather, who was at city hall to contest a ticket. Prather went into city hall with hopes to challenge his citation on Wednesday. “I just paid them $315 to get a deferred adjudication,†said Prather. Coffee City resident, Kolby Horton said he has $11,000 worth of tickets that he said were given unlawfully. Horton said it caused him to plead guilty to each offense. Acording to our news partner KETK, if you got a ticket from the Coffee City Police Department, the city secretary said you have to pay the ticket or choose to go to trial. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — Tyler police have arrested three more suspects following a shooting on New Copeland Road, near Rose Rudman Park, on August 28. Willie Ogilvie, charged with deadly conduct and Anjaylee Goodwyn, charged with tampering with evidence, were booked into the Smith County Jail on Tuesday September, 19. A juvenile suspect has also been charged. On September 19, Tyler Police were notified that Angel Lopez was arrested by the U.S. Marshall’s Service on warrants in this case and booked into the Harrison County Jail for deadly conduct and tampering with evidence. Jace Ogilvie (pictured) was booked into the Smith County Jail on a deadly conduct charge August 29. He was charged September 1st with tampering with evidence. According to Public Information Officer Andy Erbaugh, further arrests and charges are pending as the investigation continues. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — Tyler Water Utilities has been notified of a man and woman who have been calling local hotels claiming they are representatives of the Tyler Water Business Office and requesting payment. The callers state the hotels have 60 gallons of water left to use and need to pay $7,500 by Venmo, Cash App, or Zelle to keep their service on. They also claim their meters were changed out and to keep them, the hotel must make this payment. The caller then states they will give them a bank code to make the payment and then they will need to call back with a confirmation number. The female is using the name Amy Diaz. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — A 34-year-old Dallas man was sentenced Friday to 60 years in prison for continuous human trafficking of minors. A Smith County jury found Korwin Jones guilty after four days of testimony, including the testimony of two victims who Jones trafficked. Jones became the target of an inter-agency investigation into human trafficking after a sting in the Dallas area. The Texas Rangers and Plano PD conducted an undercover operation that led to ties in Smith County. They notified the East Texas Anti-Gang Center (TAG) of a trafficker known as “BMT†who was trafficking girls under the age of 18. Smith County District Attorney’s Office investigator Chris Miller identified “BMT†as Korwin Jones, a known felon and gang member. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — With this week’s rainfall, the conditions in the county are finally beginning to trend in a more favorable direction. However, the Smith County Fire Marshal’s Office reminds citizens that all outdoor burning activity in the county is still prohibited. The recent precipitation in the area has helped, but it is not yet enough to overcome the drought conditions in the county. The Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) decreased 13 points this morning to 753. The KBDI is a metric used to measure the effects of seasonal drought on fire potential. The actual numeric value ranges from 0 (no moisture depletion) to 800 (absolutely dry conditions). Historically, the County has implemented a burn ban when the KBDI reaches the mid-600 to 700 range. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — Tyler Water Utilities has been putting together a plan for the future of the city’s water system and what needs to be done to keep water flowing with an outside engineering consultant Halff Associates, according to our news partner KETK. “Here we’ve evaluated this, we’ve put this information into a water model, we’ve predicted what it looks like in the future, where we’re going to need projects to be done,†said Kate Dietz, Director of Utilities, City of Tyler. On Wednesday, Dietz presented the findings from the study to city council members. The big topic of discussion being population growth, and how the master plan would help. “We would be able to use to look at future growth potential issues in the future as far as population demands and water demands,†said Dietz. Read the rest of this entry »
CHANDLER — After a long and heated city council meeting, the City of Chandler has made their decision to not become a sanctuary city for the unborn. According to our news partner KETK, the goal of this measure was to ultimately pass an ordinance outlawing abortion within their city limits. Tuesday night’s meeting was packed with more than 20 residents taking the microphone during the public comment session. After hearing from everyone in this three-hour meeting, Chandler City Council members took up the resolution and it didn’t pass. A second and amended version of the ordinance was also introduced by one council member, but it failed to receive a second motion to be put it up for a vote. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — An inmate in the Smith County Jail was accidentally freed instead of being taken to prison for a seven-year sentence. According to our news partner KETK, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office said inmate Mark Tyrone Johnson was released by mistake on Jan. 5, 2022. He was supposed to have been returned to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Institutional Division to complete his previous seven-year sentence for assault family/household member with a previous conviction. After his release, a warrant was subsequently issued for Johnson for escape from custody in June 2022. Read the rest of this entry »
COFFEE CITY — The City Council of Coffee City voted to deactivate the Coffee City Police Department and terminate Chief of Police JohnJay Portillo at their meeting on Monday. According to our news partner KETK, the council’s meeting agenda said these were matters to be considered during their executive session of their Monday night meeting. During that executive session they have reportedly gone through with the decision to deactivate their police department and terminate the employment of Chief Portillo. “We voted to fire and terminate him as the chief of police here at coffee city, effective immediately,†said councilman, Keith Skender. This decision came after an investigation by a Houston television station detailing Portillo’s past record. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – TxDOT road projects are continuing Wednesday, Sept. 13 and Thursday, Sept. 14, as crews will be working on FM 848 from SH 64 to FM 248/University Blvd. The roadway will be closed each day from 8a to 5p. It will reopen each evening. You may want to seek an alternate route during the times noted. Click here for more East Texas area roadwork information.