Today is
Saturday June 06, 2026
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.
TYLER — The Art Alley in Tyler unveiled more than 40 brand new murals at it’s grand opening on Saturday. 48 local artists attended the free event where they got to show off their art which was also shown in photo books for sale, our news partner KETK reports. “So Tyler actually has a really beautiful budding culture of local art. People are starting to come downtown and enjoy that,†said Lindsey Froneberger, downtown specialist. “You’ll see that with our vendor markets we have throughout Tyler and downtown and also the Tyler Arts Festival each year and we’ve got a ton of art galleries in the downtown area too. So having just a walkable free outside place to come to a condensed group of murals really just helps people to come downtown and enjoy themselves.†The Art Alley’s next phase starts in 2025 and new murals will be revealed in 2026.
TYLER — After more than 60 years in business, Tyler’s Put-Putt Golf & Games will be closing their doors soon. According to our news partner KETK, in November of 2022, owners Katherine and Tom Adair were informed by Genecov that their land was going to be sold. The couple was given the option to purchase the property, but declined the offer. Katherine’s parents bought the business in 1959, when she was just 2 years old. Both her parents passed in the 1990’s, and Katherine officially took over operations. “It’s been really sad,†Katherine said. “I think it’s going to be really sad for Tyler. It’s sad for our family, but it’s worse for Tyler, because they’re losing an entertainment facility that I know a lot of people love.†Putt-Putt Golf & Games will celebrating 64 years in business on November 12. Read the rest of this entry »
HENDERSON COUNTY — Inmates in part of the Henderson County Jail have started a hunger strike, citing excessive bonds as their reason. According to our news partner KETK, Henderson County Sheriff Botie Hillhouse said the hunger strike started Wednesday in a dorm that houses eight inmates. “I was informed that we do have a dorm in the jail here where they actually removed the TV from the wall and set it on the floor… Once they did that, we took the TV out of the dorm,†Hillhouse said. “And then they have been putting in paperwork saying that their bonds are excessive, and so they are basically right now saying they are on a hunger strike.†A bond is the amount of money set by a judge or magistrate for releasing a defendant from jail before the date of their trial. Hillhouse explained that a Justice of the Peace comes in every day to help set bonds in Henderson County. Read the rest of this entry »
ATHENS — The former mayor of Athens has been sentenced to federal prison for child obscenity violations. According to our news partner KETK, James Monte Montgomery, 65, pleaded guilty to sending obscene materials to a minor on August 25, 2022, and was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison Wednesday. According to public information, on June 3, 2021, Montgomery was arrested after arriving at an undisclosed location after soliciting sex online with investigators posing as minors. In June of 2020, Montgomery, then the mayor of Athens, began communicating by text messaging with a person he believed to be a 15-year-old female. Montgomery sent messages to the child describing sexually explicit acts that he wanted to perform on the child and offering to pay the child if she would meet him and have sex with him. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — Tyler Animal Control and Shelter is offering no-cost adoptions for dogs and cats with a donation of 12 new fleece blankets or a new dog house for September. The blankets will be used for animals at the Shelter. Blankets that are 50″ x 60″ are preferred to fit a pet’s kennel. The dog houses will go back into the community to help those who don’t have adequate shelter for their pets. Animals adopted from Tyler Animal Services are spayed/neutered, microchipped and vaccinated. The standard adoption fee for dogs is $120 and $80 for cats. To adopt, view available animals or submit an application, click here.
TYLER — Tyler police are investigating after a 37-year-old man died of his injuries from a pedestrian hit-and-run at E. Gentry Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, our news partner KETK reports. Police said on Sept. 2 around 11:15 p.m. officers responded to the scene and found the man lying in the roadway. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died of his injuries, and was identified by authorities as William Eric Haisler, 37, of Tyler. The suspect vehicle is possibly a dark colored sedan, according to officials, and anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Kirkhart at 903-535-0194.