Today is
Sunday July 26, 2026
HENDERSON COUNTY — Thousands have come to the defense of a school bus driver in East Texas. They’ve signed a petition appealing to the Henderson County District Attorney to drop charges against John Stevens. The 78-year-old bus driver with the Athens school district was indicted on two separates charges related to a crash with a train that killed a 13-year-old boy and injured a 9-year-old girl. Court papers say Stevens had stopped at the crossing before driving onto the tracks. A change.org petition now has more than 4,000 signatures. Some of the signers say they’re familiar with that crossing and it’s dangerous. One called it a “death trap.” Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — A Longview man is set to face a jury in September after making threats to Longview and Kilgore high schools. According to our news partner KETK and the Longview News-Journal, David Alexander Nelson, 22, had his trial moved from July 15 to September 16. The threats were reportedly made on the messaging app Snapchat beginning in October of 2018 against Kilgore High School. Nelson confessed to creating the posts as a prank, according to Kilgore police, but he now faces a charge of making a terroristic threat. Threats to Longview High School resulted in an all-call to parents. The call and concern about the threats led to many parents taking their children home for the day. After two days of investigation, Kilgore investigators determined the threats were made at a residence in Elderville. Nelson was arrested and booked into the Gregg County Jail October 28, 2018.
ANGELINA COUNTY — Residents in Angelina County are urged to be on the lookout for mail theft. So far, two suspects have been arrested for stealing mail. According to our news partner KETK, Angelina County Sheriff Greg Sanches said, ““What we’re asking is people to make sure they get with their neighborhood, kind of keep an eye out,†said Angelina County Sheriff Greg Sanches. “If you’ve got cameras you can at least point your camera toward your mailbox.†The sheriff says the thefts are happening in the rural communities. The sheriff also said the thieves have postal service decals on their vehicles and are driving right up to the mailboxes. Read the rest of this entry »
UPSHUR COUNTY — An Upshur County inmate, jailed on two counts of sexual assault of a child, died suddenly on Thursday. According to our news partner KETK, Omega Lynn McCellon, 65, felt ill in his cell and suddenly became unresponsive. An Upshur County deputy, who was a certified EMT, provided immediate assistance until medics arrived. McCellon was transported to Good Shepherd Hospital in Longview where he was later pronounced dead. An autopsy has been ordered. The Texas Rangers are investigating the incident.
TYLER — A Tyler man is sentenced to life in prison after his latest brush with the law. Larry Hicks, 47, was sentenced Wednesday for the assault of a parole officer. Officials said in May 2018, the officer went to Hicks’ residence to check on him because he had just installed an ankle monitor three days prior. Hicks had since cut the ankle monitor off. Hicks charged at the parole officer and assaulted him. When law enforcement arrived, Hicks refused to exit the residence, leading to an hour and half standoff with Smith County Sheriff’s Office Deputies. Read the rest of this entry »
LUFKIN — Blue Bell may be thinking about changing its packaging in light of the ice cream licking case. In a statement, the Brenham based creamery says it is ‘looking at methods within our manufacturing process to add additional protection to the carton.’ The company didn’t get specific, but Blue Bell has been criticized following the case in Lufkin for not including familiar protections in is packing process, like seals under the lid or some sort of plastic wrapping. Blue Bell says when it makes its ice cream, it flips the package which freezes the ice cream to the lid, and should make it obvious when a package has been opened.
PALESTINE — An 84 year old Palestine woman has been charged in the death of her husband 35 years ago. Johnnie Albritton was fatally shot in May of 1984 while he was entering his Leon County home. The case was first investigated as a murder during a burglary in progress. But Sheriff Kevin Ellis started looking back at the case in 2015 and even reached out to the TV show Cold Justice. He assigned two investigators exclusively to the case. Norma Albritton was arrested July 1. She’s currently free on a $50,000 bond. Ellis said she did not seem confused and didn’t confess or deny the crime.
GREGG COUNTY — Henderson woman was arrested Tuesday afternoon for DWI with a child under the age of 15 and evading arrest. According to our news partner KETK, Laura Biggs, 36, of Henderson, was taken into custody around 2:15 p.m. The age of the child is unknown. She was booked into the Gregg County Jail. Bond has not been set. Biggs has an extensive criminal record. This is her second DWI arrest with a child in the car. She was convicted in 2017 for the same crime and sentenced to 10 years in prison. She was released on probation earlier this year. Biggs has multiple past convictions for assault on family members over the past two decades.
SMITH COUNTY — Two teens have been arrested following a lengthy narcotics investigation. According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, a search warrant was issued July, 2 at the Foundry Apartments on Varsity Drive. Smith County Narcotics Investigators found Devonte Jones III (pictured), 19, and Braylen Jones, 17, to be in possession of marijuana, disposable cartridges containing liquid THC, a large amount of cash and drug paraphernalia. Investigators also recovered a handgun inside the residence with the serial number removed. Read the rest of this entry »
CHEROKEE COUNTY — Law enforcement officials are investigating a fatal vehicle/pedestrian accident. It happened around 3:15 Sunday afternoon on Highway 69, 3.5 miles north of Rusk. According to DPS Troopers, a north-bound truck towing a trailer struck a pedestrian after she reportedly ran into the roadway chasing after a dog. Katherine Ann Petty, 60, of Garland, was taken to a Tyler hospital where she died a short time later.
GREGG COUNTY — A Longview man was arrested Sunday on a warrant for child sexual assault in Arlington. According to our news partner KETK, Tavares Jerome Akins Jr., 24, was booked for drug possession and misdemeanor traffic violations. He was also charged for child sexual assault and aggravated sexual assault after officials found an outstanding warrant in Arlington. Akins is being held in the Gregg County Jail with bond set at $1,500 for the drug and traffic violations. Bond has not been set for the charges in Arlington.
TYLER — Tyler police are investigating after a man’s body was found with multiple gunshot wounds near a grocery store Friday morning. According to our news partner KETK, the body was located near the Brookshire’s parking lot on Roselund Boulevard, in the Bergfeld Shopping Center. Police are investigating the cause of death as a possible suicide. The body has been sent for autopsy. Detectives and a crime scene unit remain at the scene. A portion of the parking lot has been blocked off.
LUFKIN — It’s a video that has sparked outrage — a woman licking a half-gallon of Blue Bell Ice Cream and returning it to the store freezer. It appears that the tub has been found. Blue Bell posted on its website that it has identified a Walmart store in Lufkin as the store where the incident took place. A woman recorded herself on Instagram taking the lid off of a half gallon of Blue Bell Tin Roof Ice Cream, licking the top, putting the lid back on and putting it back into the freezer. The “Little Creamery in Brenham” says based on security footage, the location and inspection of the carton, it believes that it has recovered the tampered container. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — A Tyler man has been charged with murder following a weekend homicide. Humberto Leal, 39, was booked into the Smith County Jail Tuesday with bond set at $500,000. According to the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a home on County Road 328 West around 1:25 Sunday morning and found the body of Luis Rene Murrufo, 36, of Tyler, inside a vehicle. He had apparently suffered fatal stab wounds. Another victim was found with a gunshot wound and was sent to the hospital with what are termed non-life-threatening injuries. The identity of the wounded person was not immediately available. Murrufo’s body was sent for autopsy.
EAST TEXAS — A Carthage man has been convicted of drug trafficking. On June 28, Winfred Earl Ware Jr., 30, was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. Over a three year period, Ware distributed more than 50 grams of meth. Ware created fake Facebook posts pretending to be a government official trying to prove his innocence. Ware sent these to the court in one last attempt to save himself, but upon examination, the government determined that the Facebook posts were bogus. Ware faces a minimum of 20 years in federal prison.
SMITH COUNTY — An Overton man is arrested on charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child. According to our news partner KETK, Octavian McKee, 18, was booked into the Smith County Jail Thursday. Judicial records indicate the arrest stems from an incident back in December of last year. McKee’s trial is scheduled for August 12. His bond was set at $350,000.
NACOGDOCHES COUNTY — A Nacogdoches man has been arrested for assaulting his girlfriend late Saturday night. Nacogdoches County Sheriff Deputies found the victim bleeding from the head and face. Malcom Creamer, 35, was found in the back bedroom and appeared to be heavily intoxicated. An investigation revealed that Creamer assaulted his girlfriend with a .40 caliber pistol by hitting her in the head several times with the weapon. Creamer was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was booked into the Nacogdoches County Jail.
HENDERSON COUNTY — A theft suspect has been arrested after a resident found a stolen ATV. According to the Henderson County Sheriff, John Salazar was booked into the Henderson County jail on a theft charge and an outstanding warrant. Sheriff Botie Hillhouse’s office received a call around 10:30 Sunday morning regarding a possible stolen ATV that they had seen on Facebook. A deputy responded to the area of FM 315 and CR 4336 and found Salazar, along with the stolen property. The VIN on the ATV did show the vehicle to be stolen out of Cherokee County.
GUN BARRELL CITY — Gun Barrel City firefighters rescued a local worker from what could have been a tragic situation over the weekend. According to our news partner KETK, GBCFD received a call Saturday morning just before 7:00 that a worker had fallen through the roof of the Burger King on West Main Street. Upon arrival, the rescuers found the man with his left leg tightly wedged through the roof. Firefighters used a roof saw to cut through the area around the victim, and could see his leg was wedged between two roof trusses. They had to cut through the trusses to free him, then lowered him down to the ground in a rope harness. The man was checked over by UT Health EMS and taken to an area hospital. Read the rest of this entry »
EAST TEXAS — Tyler police are warning small businesses in the area of a payroll check scam. According to the Tyler Police Financial Crimes Unit, in January, a group of Hispanic males cashed fake payroll checks on accounts that did not issue the checks. Lindale, Rusk and Marshall were also victimized. Investigators received several cases where the suspects have cashed a payroll check from small companies, predominantly nurseries. The company name is legitimate and the checks were forged using the correct banks and check numbers. The suspects are using fraudulent identifications from other countries and are believed to be foreign nationals. Read the rest of this entry »
WOOD COUNTY — A former Mineola ISD employee has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for online solicitation of a minor. According to our news partner KETK, Todd Karch, 50, the former technology and transportation director for MISD, was also fined $10,000. He was indicted in April of last year for using the online site Grindr to seek a sexual encounter with a 16-year-old Mineola student. Karch was sentenced Wednesday in Wood County.
HARRISON COUNTY — The National Weather Service confirms an EF-0 tornado touched down Wednesday morning in Harrison County. According to our news partner KETK, the NWS survey team says the twister hit a small area near Harleton on FM 450. EF-0 tornado wind speeds can be 65-85 mph. The National Weather Service says most of the damage in Nesbitt, Texas was due to straight line winds. The wind speeds topped 90 miles per hour. No injuries were reported. The Harrison County activity was part of a line of storms that made their way through East Texas Wednesday morning.
TYLER — Dick’s Sporting Goods will be coming to Tyler’s Broadway Square Mall in the winter of 2020, according to our news partner KETK. The store will be 45,000 square feet and located where Sears was once located. Sears was demolished earlier this year after the company filed for bankruptcy. “We are thrilled to welcome Dick’s Sporting Goods to Broadway Square and to the Tyler community,†Candace Foster, Broadway Mall Director of Marketing. Dick’s Sporting Goods made national headlines after it announced it would no longer sell assault rifles after the Parkland High School shooting back in 2018.
TYLER — Tyler Police are searching for a suspect wanted in a reported shooting that left one man injured. It happened around 12:45 Tuesday morning on W. Erwin Street. Upon arrival, officers found a 24-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his leg. Officers were not able to locate the suspect, who was seen running from the scene. The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment and released a short time later. The investigation in ongoing.
TYLER — Three juveniles were taken into custody following several reports of vehicle burglaries. Tyler police said the first crime was reported around 12:20 Thursday morning at Wood Trail Apartments on Shiloh Road. A resident apparently interrupted the three black male suspects in the act and they fled the scene. A second auto burglary was reported around 2:20 at Alpine Creek Apartments on Paluxy. Officers were already in the area looking for the suspects when they located three juveniles walking down Paluxy with backpacks and flashlights. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — A man injured Wednesday at a construction site in West Longview had to be lifted from a trench by emergency crews. According to the Longview News Journal, Longview Fire Department Special Operations Chief Andy Park said crews responded to the rescue call on West Harrison Road near Genpak. When they arrived, he said they found a person in a trench. Parker said the crew set up a way to lower the gurney into the trench to lift up the man to the surface before he was taken to the hospital. Initial reports were that a pipe had fallen on someone at the site. Parker said the man in the trench was not trapped under anything when crews arrived. He said he did not believe the construction was related to Genpak.
TYLER — One of two teens arrested in April following a mugging on Tyler’s downtown square has been indicted. Keith Whittington, 17, was indicted on robbery charges. He faces a first degree felony charge of aggravated robbery and a second degree felony charge of robbery. Whittington, along with a juvenile accomplice, was arrested April 23 after reportedly attempting to grab the purses of a mother and daughter. Both women were knocked to the ground during the incident. The teens ran off and were chased down by several witnesses The two were caught and brought back to the scene of the crime, on East Erwin. Whittington fled again, but was caught a short time later by police officers.
PALESTINE — A Crockett man has been arrested following a police chase through Palestine on Monday.According to our news partner KETK, Robert Eldrige Lee, 44, was booked into the Anderson County Jail on a charge of burglary of a habitation and a charge of evading arrest. Officials said Lee was seen breaking into a home on CR 386, then fled the scene. Cherokee County deputies attempted to pull him over when a chase ensued. Lee eventually wrecked his vehicle in Palestine and fled on foot. He was found about 20 minutes later and was taken into custody. Bond has not been set.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP/Staff) — Richland County, South Carolina has a new administrator in place — and he’s headed there from Tyler, according to the newspaper The State. Richland County in a news release Friday announced the hiring of Leonardo Brown. He is scheduled to start July 15. Brown has served as Smith County administrator for over five years. The Shreveport, Louisiana native is also Smith County’s director of human resources and was an area manager for Enterprise Rent-A-Car. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from LSU-Shreveport. The South Carolina position has been vacant since April 2018, when the council voted to fire former administrator Gerald Seals. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — A Longview man has been charged with aggravated assault following a shooting. It happened around 4:30 Saturday afternoon at the intersection of Pine Tree Road and Tenneryville Road. Police said a gunshot victim was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The suspect was found in the area a short time later. Brendan Kyle Austin, 23, of Longview, has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon family assault. He was booked into the Gregg County Jail. Bond has not been set. The victim’s identity has not been released.