Today is
Sunday July 26, 2026
SMITH COUNTY — Two East Texas men have been killed in a head-on collision Friday night. It happened around 10:15 on FM 1253 at County Road 455, about 6.5 miles northeast of Van. According to the DPS report, John Hunt, 39, of Big Sandy, was traveling southbound on FM 1235 when he drove onto the wrong side of the roadway. He collided with an oncoming vehicle driven by Timothy Pickens, 55, of Van. Both drivers were killed. The crash remains under investigation.
TYLER — After months of often tense discussion, Tyler’s Robert E. Lee High School may have a new name by the end of Monday’s TISD board meeting. The agenda includes two items related to the topic. In an item for discussion only, board members will first hear an update on the costs of such a move. No details are provided yet, with information to be presented at the meeting. Then trustees are due to consider amending the school’s name to Lee High School. Under the heading of “administrative recommendation,” there’s a single sentence: “The administration recommends the board resolve this issue.” The topic was initially removed last month from the June 7 board agenda, but it’s under consideration once more following outcries from those both for and against the change.
ANDERSON COUNTY — A female inmate was found dead inside the Anderson County Jail on Friday evening. According to our news partner KETK, a white female, age 50, died of an apparent medical condition. An autopsy has been ordered. The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office requested an independent investigation by Texas Rangers.
TYLER — Smith County authorities say 34-year-old Sean Waite of Murchison is jailed on a murder charge and more after leading deputies on a motorcycle chase Thursday night. Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Darrell Coslin says Waite was being pursued by Tyler police on Highway 31 West towards Toll 49 when deputies picked up the chase. Coslin says Waite and 28-year-old passenger Alicia Ann Adams were ejected after the motorcycle crashed at the intersection of Highway 31 West and FM 2661. According to Coslin, Waite was captured after a short foot chase, but Adams was pronounced dead at the scene. Bond for Waite is $961,000 on charges of murder, evading arrest, theft of property, and Credit card abuse out of Denton County.
TYLER — Tyler police have arrested four suspects in an assault case at the Stone Creek Apartments on Hollytree Drive. Officer Don Martin says police responded around 1:20 Friday morning to multiple shots fired in the parking lot near the pool. They found that no one was struck but that a vehicle and two apartment buildings were hit by the gunfire. Officers also recovered an AR-15 and pistol at the scene. Officers were told a security guard was trying to break up an assault by two females against a third female. A large group had gathered in the area. The guard ran for cover behind a vehicle after being threatened by two men with guns. Martin says several shots were then fired by the men in the direction of the guard who had taken cover behind the vehicle that was struck by gunfire. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — A Texas regulatory agency has recommended Smith County Constable Henry Jackson have his peace officer licenses suspended for 10 years. Jackson is appealing the decision. According to our news partner KETK, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) alerted Jackson to the pending suspension in May. TCOLE Government Relations Director Gretchen Grigsby confirmed the appeal. The appeal will be heard by an administrative law judge who will make a recommendation to TCOLE commissioners. Jackson holds a reserve officer license and peace officer license. Both have been placed on a hold. In April, the constable finished serving a 6-month sentence in federal prison for four counts of willful failure to file federal income tax returns.
GREGG COUNTY — Longview Police are investigating a shooting at a motel. According to our news partner KETK, police received a call around 10:30 Tuesday night reporting shots fired at the Motel 6 on South Access Road. A disturbance between a tenant at the motel and another party who was not staying there resulted in gunfire. No injuries reported and no arrests have been made.
UPSHUR COUNTY — An East Texas man has pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child. Testimony in the sentencing phase for Mark Randall Beasley, 59, of Diana, is expected to begin June 21 in the 115th District Court. According to our news partner KETK, Beasley is facing up to life in prison on each offense of aggravated sexual assault of a child and 2-20 years for the indecency with a child offense. He can also be assessed a fine of up to $10,000.00 for each offense.
UPSHUR COUNTY — A Gilmer man has been sentenced to prison for selling drugs near an East Texas high school. According to our news partner KETK, Austin Keith Wolfe, 32, of Gilmer, was scheduled to go to trial for selling meth across from Gilmer High School as part of a three-person crime ring. Prior to jury selection in Upshur County Monday morning, he entered into a plea agreement with the state. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison and waived his right to appeal. Ashley Nicole Grubbs, 20, of Gilmer, pleaded guilty to the same charge in February and was sentenced to 40 years.
TYLER — Authorities have arrested the second suspect in connection to a shooting at Fun Forest Park. On Friday afternoon, June 8, officers received a tip on the location of Davonta Hill, 25, of Tyler. Officers located Hill in a house on W. Claude Street in Tyler. He was booked into the Smith County Jail on two charges of aggravated assault causing bodily injury and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. His bond was set at $1.5 million. Read the rest of this entry »
NACOGDOCHES — A Nacogdoches man has been arrested for multiple charges after entering a residence where he did not live early Saturday morning. Joe Howard Jr., 38, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, criminal trespass of a habitation and resisting arrest. According to our news partner KETK, Howard allegedly entered a home on CR 805 around 1:45 a.m. and got into bed with the homeowners. The homeowners immediately called 911 and also asked Howard what he was doing inside their residence. He said he lived there. A deputy arrived and found Howard sitting on the couch in the living room. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — No injuries reported after a small plane crashed in a Longview neighborhood. According to the DPS report, the accident happened just after 7:30 this morning in the Mission Creek subdivision, between Airline Road and East Loop 281. The pilot has been identified as Randall Coggin, 74, of Longview, who advised that he had made repairs to the plane and was testing it when he experienced engine failure and made a hard landing. The aircraft took off from a private runway approximately two miles from the crash site. Coggin and his passenger Coby Melvin, 67, of Longview, were treated and released at the scene. Officials from the NTSB and FAA are en route to the scene for further investigation.
SMITH COUNTY — A woman is wanted by the Smith County Sheriff’s Office for questioning in a burglary of a habitation investigation. According to our news partner KETK, officials are searching for Kashira D. Ochoa, 32. Ochoa is described as 5’1″, around 125 pounds, brown hair and brown eyes. If you have any information pertaining to the location of Ochoa, contact the SCSO at 903-566-6600 or Tyler Police Department at 903-531-1000. If you have recently purchased items from Ochoa, please contact the detective assigned to the case at 903-590-2784.
GREGG COUNTY — Jury selection set for Tuesday in Gregg County has been canceled, the District Clerk’s Office reported. According to the Longview News-Journal, residents who received a summons to report Tuesday may disregard it. Their names will be reshuffled into the database for future jury service.
TYLER — Tyler police are continuing to search for a car thief. Officers said just before 3:30 Saturday afternoon, an 85-year-old woman was eating dinner at Yami Buffet, on Troup Highway, when her purse was stolen. A witness notified the woman. She checked the parking lot for her vehicle and realized it had bed stolen. The vehicle is described as a 2016 dark blue Kia Forte, “Surviving Spouse” License plate 8HC. The suspect was described as a Hispanic male, 5’4″, medium build, dressed in a blue t-shirt with white letters on the front. The male also wore tan cargo shorts and a gray base ball cap, backwards. The victim was not harmed. The incident is under investigation.
UPSHUR COUNTY — A Gladewater man has been indicted on a charge of capital murder in the fatal shootings of his ex-girlfriend and one of her sons in Upshur County. According to our news partner KETK, Joseph Lee Adkins, 53, was arrested March 6 in the death of Lisa Moore, 49, and her son, Dylan Moore, 19, at her home in the 1000 block of PR 1999 in the Gladewater-Union Grove area. Authorities say Adkins also wounded another of Moore’s sons. Investigators at the time said they suspected the homicides were connected to an ongoing domestic dispute between Adkins and the victims. Adkins remains in the Upshur County Jail under $2 million bond.
TYLER — A Tyler man has been arrested after police say he fired a gun at his girlfriend. Kendarius Gray, 21, was arrested around 2:00 this morning and charged with aggravated assault. Officers responded to a home off Hwy 69 on a report of shots fired. The victim said she was arguing with her boyfriend, Gray, at a location off 26th Street when he started shooting at her. She was not injured and fled the scene in her vehicle. Her back window was shot out. Officers located Gray a short time later at his mother’s home in Tyler. He was booked into the Smith County Jail.
ARP – An East Texas elementary school counselor has been indicted on two counts of improper relationship between a student and educator and two counts of sexual assault of a child. According to our news partner KETK, Barbara Orpineda, 32, of Arp, was indicted May 17 in the 241st Judicial District Court of Smith County. Orpineda was arrested in October by the Arp Police Department. At the time, she was a counselor at Arp Elementary School. Arp ISD officials confirmed to KETK in October that a staff member had been placed on administrative leave following allegations of an improper relationship with a student.
ANGELINA COUNTY — Angelina County authorities have identified a body found in a wooded area last weekend. According to our news partner KETK, the body has been identified as Joseph Todd Basham, 45, of Angelina County. He was found off Willie Nerren Road Saturday. Basham had been previously reported as a missing person. A news release from Angelina County Sheriff Greg Sanches said preliminary autopsy results indicate no foul play but further forensic testing is being done. Investigators say further test results may shed light on the exact cause of death.
SMITH COUNTY — At least three people are dead following a four-vehicle accident that caused hours of traffic tie-ups on Interstate 20 in Smith County between Highway 155 and FM 2015. According to DPS, preliminary crash reports indicate that the driver of a car was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes of traffic around 1:00 Wednesday morning. The Oldsmobile struck a pickup towing a flatbed trailer in the eastbound inside lane. At the same time, the driver of a truck tractor towing a semi-trailer, also traveling eastbound, took evasive action to the right and then left to avoid the collision. That action caused the truck and towed semi-trailer to cross the center median and overturn in the westbound lanes, where it was struck by a westbound truck tractor towing a tanker trailer. Read the rest of this entry »
WHITEHOUSE — Two people have been taken to the hospital after a crash involving a Whitehouse Independent School District bus and a vehicle. The crash happened at the intersection of FM 346 and Rhones Quarter Road around 6:45 Tuesday morning. According to our news partner KETK, a vehicle struck the bus on its side. No children were on bus No. FB8 at the time of the wreck. The driver of the vehicle and the passenger, said to be a WHS student, were taken to a local hospital with unknown injuries.
ANGELINA COUNTY — A Lufkin woman was shot during an argument. According to our news partner KETK, the shooting, identified as Ashleigh Elijah,24, had been on life support at a Lufkin Hospital since the shooting. She’s since been declared “medically dead.” Police said Andre Woods, 21, shot Elijah twice during an Friday evening. Woods remains in the Angelina County Jail on a $1 million bond. He’s charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
GREGG COUNTY — A Longview man pleads guilty to aggravated robbery and engaging in organized criminal activity. Devonte Smith, 20, was sentenced to 20 years for each charge. According to our news partner KETK, Smith was arrested last May after he and several others committed armed robberies at the Tree House Apartments and the Summer Brooks Apartments in Longview. Smith is the second of five men to be convicted on charges arising from the incidents. Kaleb Bush was sentenced last month.
SMITH COUNTY — The late Smith County Fire Marshal Jim Seaton was posthumously inducted into the Texas Division of Emergency Management Hall of Fame May 15. The award was accepted by his widow, Nancy Seaton; his daughter, Melissa Seaton; and Smith County Fire Marshal/Emergency Management Coordinator Connie McCoy-Wasson, during the Texas Division of Emergency Management Conference in San Antonio. “Jim was all about emergency management,†Mrs. Seaton said. “He took protecting the citizens of Smith County very seriously. Receiving this award, he would have been so honored, and I am very proud to have received it for him.†Seaton served as Smith County Fire Marshal/Emergency Management Coordinator from 1999 to 2014. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — A Tyler man was arrested after a shot was fired Monday night on South Bonner Avenue. According to our news partner KETK, Finist Lee Brooks, 41, has been charged with aggravated assault. Police said Brooks was arguing with his girlfriend when he fired a shot in the air. He then threatened the victim by pointing the gun at her. No one was injured during the incident. Brooks was released from the Smith County Jail Wednesday on $5,000 bond.
ANGELINA COUNTY — A 3rd party is called in to investigate the death of an Angelina County inmate. Janet Hartman, 44, died Sunday night after becoming ill at the jail. According to our news partner KETK, Hartman was taken to a Lufkin hospital where she later died. Her cause of death is unknown. Hartman’s body was sent for autopsy.
TYLER — One person has been injured in a shooting Sunday night in Tyler. Officers responded to an aggravated assault call just before 11:00 on Houston Street. The victim, Wilber Medina, 35, was shot in the leg with a hand gun. He told officers he was arguing with a man staying at his home over a cellphone. The unidentified suspect shot Medina and left the scene before officers arrived.
MCLENNAN COUNTY — A Bullard woman is dead after the vehicle she was in rolled over on Interstate 35 near West. Texas DPS says the crash happened around 1:40 p.m. Saturday. DPS determined the Toyota 4Runner was traveling northbound when a tire blew out, causing the driver to lose control. The vehicle flipped multiple times, ejecting three passengers. Anna Wegener, 19, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver and three passengers were transported to a local hospital. Family members say Blake Rodgers is in a coma, while Mackenzie Davis is recovering from a broken pelvis. The driver of the car is said to have received minor injuries. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — An arrest warrant affidavit has revealed a Longview ISD employee charged with sexually assaulting a child was also the victim’s pastor. According to our news partner KETK, court documents show Richard Leland Williams, 25, of Longview, is a pastor of the child’s family. A search of social media shows the suspect is the pastor of Hebron Missionary Baptist Church in Longview. Williams began a sexual relationship with the victim in August or September 2017 when she was only 16, according to the arrest affidavit. Read the rest of this entry »
LUFKIN — The father of an East Texas child who died after being found submerged in a motel pool has turned himself into authorities. According to our news partner, KETK, Rondarius Smith, 26, of Lufkin, surrendered to officials on a charge of injury to a child in connection with his daughter Arianna’s death. An arrest warrant states Smith failed to adequately watch his daughter when he fell asleep after using drugs and alcohol. On March 20, police say Arianna exited the room and entered the pool area due to a broken gate latch. Arianna was submerged for 10 minutes. The child was taken to a Houston hospital where she died the following day. Read the rest of this entry »