Today is
Saturday July 25, 2026
EAST TEXAS — Tyler Police are asking residents to avoid all non-essential driving. They’re also advising drivers to avoid several areas, including the Gentry Parkway overpass at the intersection of Gentry Parkway and North Beckham Avenue and the Beckham Avenue overpass leading to UT Health East Texas and Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals. According to our news partner KETK, the City Streets Team is also adding aggregate and de-icer material on the roadway, according to the city of Tyler. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — Two Tyler residents have been indicted for involvement in several fires at Coker Enterprises that took place last year. According to our news partner KETK, David Woods was charged with arson, while Jamie Mahon was charged with tampering or fabricating physical evidence. Two different fires occurred at Coker Enterprises in as many weeks, one on Sept. 30, 2020 and another on Oct. 12. Woods was charged in connection with the Oct. 12 incident and it is unclear if the September fire is related. Coker Enterprises is located on 7106 U.S. Highway 271 and sells tractors and outdoor power equipment products. No injuries were reported from either fire. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — A dozen Tyler ISD students could possibly face felony violations in connection to e-cigarettes. TISD released a statement on Monday saying the district is renewing its anti-vaping initiative. According to our news partner KETK, they want to educate parents and students about the legal consequences that are associated with vaping when THC is involved. Tyler ISD Superintendent Marty Crawford is worried that a student could leave high school with a felony. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — Smith County has cancelled jury duty for Wednesday, February 10, 2021. Smith County residents who were planning to report for jury duty tomorrow with their yellow cards DO NOT have to make the trip to the Smith County Courthouse. For more information about jury duty, click here.
TYLER — Tyler police responded to a one vehicle crash on Paluxy Drive early Tuesday. The overnight accident closed all lanes of traffic that caused power lines to drop across the roadway. The driver had minor injuries and was transported to UT Health. Officers continued to direct traffic until power was restored just before 3 p.m. Traffic returned to normal patterns at that time.
TYLER — Political billboards in East Texas are targeting two Texas lawmakers in Washington D.C., Congressman Louie Gohmert and Senator Ted Cruz. If you’ve passed by Loop 323, there’s a good chance you’ve probably seen it. The billboard reads, “You lied about the election, the capitol was attacked.†The line is followed by a call to action, “resign.†According to our news partner KETK, it’s part of a seven-figure billboard campaign calling on a dozen GOP elected officials to resign. A red party group out of Washington called “Republican Accountability Project†is behind it all. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — A Tyler attorney pleaded guilty Monday to federal employment tax violations that allegedly totaled to a tax loss of more than $300,000. According to our news partner KETK, 60-year-old John Bennett White IV pleaded guilty to failure to pay employment taxes. Court documents show that White was an attorney and firm manager for the Tyler law firm, J. Bennett White, P.C. He had the duty to pay over the employment taxes on behalf of the firm’s employees to the IRS. The U.S. attorney’s office said that between 2007 and 2015, White made sporadic and partial efforts to pay his firm’s employment tax liabilities. Read the rest of this entry »
GREGG COUNTY — A fatal wreck involving an 18-wheeler shut down eastbound lanes in Gregg County Monday morning. According to a DPS report, one person was killed around 2:45 a.m. near HWY 135. Details are limited. All eastbound traffic was diverted via SH 135 then FM 1252.
KILGORE — One person was killed late Thursday night after being struck by an 18-wheeler on HWY 31, east of Tyler. According to our news partner KETK, the victim’s car was disabled on the side of the road, and potentially out of gas, near FM 2908. The unidentified person was struck by an 18-wheeler around 11 p.m. Additional details were not available.
TYLER – A state lawmaker says he’s fighting the state over everything from business closures to mask mandates stemming from the COVID pandemic. Representative Matt Schaefer, of Tyler, wants to put the burden on the local or state government to prove what their doing is the right thing. He says the governor, county judge or mayor should be required to prove that the order is constitutional, effective, fair and the least restrictive way to do it. Schaefer says there are too many inconsistencies in how the state allows some restaurants to stay open, but some bars are forced to close. Schaefer’s filed a bill making it easier for individuals to sue the state over business closures and mask mandates. HB 1406 was filed earlier this week.
UPSHUR COUNTY – A body was found inside a burning home in Upshur County Thursday afternoon. According to our news partner KETK, the body was discovered inside the home on FM 1795. Firefighters were putting out the fire shortly after noon when they came across the body. The body is being sent to Tyler for an autopsy. State Fire Marshall Paul Steelman is investigating the fire and the sheriff’s office is assisting.
TYLER — A Tyler man pleaded guilty Tuesday afternoon to two charges of beating a nonverbal autistic teenager last year while he was working as an employee at a community home. According to our news partner KETK, Auston Reed, 24, was captured on video grabbing the victim by the neck, and hit him in the side of the head with an open hand, causing the victim’s head to snap to the side. The 19-year-old cannot speak, so he was unable to communicate what was happening to him. Read the rest of this entry »
WILLS POINT — Two people are in custody after a shooting left two people injured in Van Zandt County late Monday night. According to our news partner KETK, the sheriff’s office early Tuesday morning said that the shooting occurred just after 8:30 p.m. on Monday night on Willow Drive, near HWY 80. One victim was found at the scene while a second was in another area of the city. Both victims were taken to a hospital in Tyler. One remains in critical condition. The Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office helped locate a car in their area that investigators believe was used in the shooting. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — Kelsey Paige Frazier, 26, of Tyler, was indicted by Smith County grand jury, after she left an infant abandoned and strapped in a baby bouncer for about three hours in October 2020. According to our news partner KETK, Frazier was charged with abandonment/endangering a child and causing imminent danger with bodily injury. Her bond was set at $150,000. According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, 11-month-old Addison was left in a garage apartment at the 11000 block of County Road 2249 on Oct 3. A friend of Frazier arrived at the residence and heard the dog barking inside of the apartment. When she went inside, she heard the infant crying. The woman found the baby in the baby bouncer and she messaged the parents on Facebook. The child was later reunited with her parents.
TYLER — One person died after single-vehicle crash in Tyler Saturday morning. According to our news partner KETK, just before 1:00, police were called to the scene on West Queen after a car had veered off the street and crashed into a fence in the backyard of a residence. According to the person who called dispatchers, they saw two people run away from the vehicle. One person inside the car was pronounced dead at the scene. Additional information was not available. Anyone with information regarding the case is encouraged to call Tyler police, 903-531-1000 or Tyler-Smith County Crime Stoppers at 903-597-2833.
TYLER–Tyler police officers were called to 50 Grand Club on North Grand following a report of multiple shots fired. Witnesses reportedly said one person was shot in the leg and was taken to the hospital by private vehicle. Officers located the vehicle and continued on to the hospital where the victim was treated for non-life threatening injuries. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police department at 903-531-1000 or Tyler-Smith County Crime Stoppers at 903-597-2833.
EAST TEXAS — The latest to be arrested in the Capitol Hill riot is Daniel Adams, of Tyler. He is accused of confronting and fighting with Capitol Police on the steps of the building. He joins a growing list that includes two other East Texans. According to our news partner KETK, Ryan Nichols, 30, of Longview and Alex Harkrider, 32, of Carthage, were arrested and charged with several federal crimes. Nichols is being held in the Smith County Jail and Harkrider in the Gregg County Jail. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — A Tyler woman was killed in a wreck just after 6:00 Sunday evening. According to the preliminary DPS report, Troopers responded to a crash on CR 384, approximately 5.5 miles northeast of the city of Tyler, in Smith County. The report indicates that the driver of a 2003 Ford Expedition was traveling east on CR 384, when for an unknown reason, the vehicle ran off the roadway and struck a tree. The driver was identified as Lucia Sanders, 25, of Tyler. Sanders was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash remains under investigation.
TYLER — Hiland Dairy recalled a batch of half-pint 1% Low Fat Chocolate Milk on Sunday that was sent to Tyler. According to our news partner KETK, Hiland Dairy said that the recall is specifically for a batch that was produced at its Norman, Oklahoma facility. The company says that some of the products may contain “food-grade sanitizers,†which could cause illness if consumed. “To ensure 100% containment, Hiland Dairy is recalling all of the product with 1/27 code, although there were only eight cases affected,†Hiland Dairy said on Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »
CHEROKEE COUNTY — Cherokee County Sheriff’s deputies were on the scene of a fatal shooting Thursday night. According to our news partner KETK, the incident happened near a residence close to County Road 1111 and Highway 343. This is located east of Rusk and is near the Atoy community. Brent Dickson, the Cherokee County Sheriff said, two deputies were involved in the shooting, which happened around 6:45 p.m. The law officers had been asked by the owner of the residence to observe his property, which has previously been the location of multiple burglaries. Dickson said a white man was apparently shot and killed by a deputy. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – William Hardin, 68, was reported missing Wednesday after walking away from his residence on David Drive in Tyler. Hardin was found safe at a relative’s house. According to our news partner KETK, Hardin has dementia and was last seen around 4 p.m. at the Wal-Mart on South Broadway “looking confused” as he walked in and back out.
TYLER — The body of Corbin Stiefer, 21, of Tyler, was discovered by Tyler police Wednesday. Andy Erbaugh told KTBB, “We restarted what we would call a perimeter search where his vehicle was found in all the wooded areas around all the open areas…We were all beginning to come up the East side of 49 which is a very open area when he was found.” Stiefer was found just before 11 a.m. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — TxDOT crews worked around the clock Monday night to ensure roads were passable and open to the traveling public. The department said that with possible freezing temperatures and icy conditions expected they continued to prepare roads. Crews treated elevated areas, bridges, overpasses, and problem areas on roadways throughout the day and then monitored and addressed issues as they came up. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — All available appointments for the drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination clinics scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Harvey Hall have been filled. Individuals with an appointment will be able to receive their first dose of the Moderna vaccine. Anyone who does not have an appointment for Friday or Saturday is told not to go to Harvey Hall this weekend and is asked instead to enroll in the waiting list to be contacted when the next drive-thru vaccine clinics become scheduled by the NET Health Immunizations Department. Click on the link to enroll in the electronic waiting list: https://www.NETHealthCOVID19.org/RegisterForYourFirstModernaVaccine
TYLER — Tyler Police are asking for the public’s help in finding a missing person. Corbin Stiefer, a 21 year old white male. was last seen Wednesday morning on Briar Creek Drive in Tyler. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt and blue jeans. Corbin is 5’9, 108 lbs with short brown hair and a patchy beard. He’s driving a red 2014 Mazda 6 with Texas LP# GXB1645. His family says he is ill and does not have his medication with him. They also said he left home without his ID or phone. Contact the Tyler Police Department with any information: 903-531-1000.
TYLER — Tyler police are investigating after an 18-year-old man showed up to Complete Care on Capital Dr with a gunshot wound to the chest. Police said Thursday afternoon, that the shooting did not take place at Rose Rudman Park, but actually occurred behind businesses in the 1200 block of SSW Loop 323. Police went on to say, the victim and witnesses have been uncooperative in the case. The victim, identified as James Sutherland, was transported to UT Health on Beckham for further care. Officials said the last known status of the victim was that he was in surgery but would recover.
BIG SANDY — The Big Sandy Civic Center was vandalized on Sunday, according to our news partner KETK. “Vandalism is ugly, expensive, and it’s the last thing we need to start 2021,†wrote the Big Sandy Police Department. The center is located at 612 North Tyler Street. Police do not know who damaged the building. They said someone or multiple people forced their way inside by throwing a concrete brick through a window. Nine fire extinguishers were also discharged, glass was broken as well as light fixtures and other “miscellaneous items.†Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — New information regarding the man accused of murdering 62-year-old Pastor Mark McWilliams at Starrville Methodist Church Sunday. According to Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith, 21-year-old Mytrez Woolen was charged with capital murder in the shooting death of the minister. According to our news partner KETK, Woolen had broken into the church and was hiding in the building. Shortly before services began Sunday, McWilliams came across Woolen who was trying to hide in the back area of the church. Sheriff Smith said McWilliams drew a pistol on Woolen, but Woolen was allegedly able to get his pistol and shoot the pastor. Woolen was arrested later the same day after stealing a car from the church. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY – Smith County Commissioner Pct. 2 Cary Nix announced he will not be seeking a fourth term as county commissioner, after being elected three times. According to our news partner KETK, Nix said he hasn’t closed the door for running for another public office. “I’m making this announcement at this time so that qualified individuals could consider this position,†Nix said in a Facebook post. “I’ve enjoyed my time being your commissioner but feel it’s time to let another serve. I also believe in term limits so I’m term limiting myself,†he said. “I want to thank the citizens of my precinct for electing my three times to this position, for that I’m eternally grateful.â€
WINONA (AP) — Authorities say a pastor has been killed and two other people were injured during a shooting at an East Texas church. Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith says the man was on the run from authorities late Saturday and had hidden in the Starrville Methodist Church near Winona. Smith says the pastor confronted the man in a church bathroom on Sunday morning. The man shot and killed the pastor, wounded another person and a third was injured in a fall. The shooting suspect fled in the pastor’s vehicle but was later arrested. Smith says he will likely face a capital murder charge. Read the rest of this entry »