Today is
Sunday June 07, 2026
TYLER — Former Smith County Pct. 1 Constable Curtis Traylor-Harris has pleaded not guilty, and a trial date has been set for Sept. 19 on his theft of property by a public servant and official oppression cases. According to our news partner KETK, Traylor-Harris’s attorney, Andrew Dammann, said usually his clients are given some leniency by the courts, but this time he says they aren’t cutting Traylor-Harris any slack. “That’s what the bond system does to people. It puts them in jail, it separates them from their family and it breaks them to the point where they’re willing to accept a deal that might not be the best for them,†said Dammann. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — Crews are battling a grass fire in the 15800 block of Shady Creek Road, according to Sgt. Larry Christian with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office. According to our news partner KETK, Christian said that Jackson Volunteer Fire Department requested law enforcement assistance around 4 p.m. to help block the road. The corner of Shady Creek Road and CR 398 is blocked as of this writing. The grass fire is about two acres. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — The cities of Tyler and Nacogdoches are among 23 other Texas cities filing a lawsuit accusing Disney DTC LLC, Hulu, LLC and Netflix Inc., of failing to pay millions of dollars in municipal franchise fees as far back as 2007. According to our news partner KETK, the lawsuit was filed in Dallas County on behalf of Abilene, Allen, Amarillo, Arlington, Austin, Beaumont, Carrollton, Dallas, Denton, Frisco, Fort Worth, Garland, Grand Prairie, Houston, Irving, Lewisville, McKinney, Mesquite, Nacogdoches, Pearland, Plano, Rowlett, Sugar Land, Tyler and Waco. Read the rest of this entry »
HENDERSON — The Henderson Police Department is asking for the public’s help in finding Betty Rowland (Pemberton). According to our news partner KETK, Pemberton was last seen on Monday, August 1, driving a green 1998 Toyota Tacoma, the department said. According to police, Rowland may be suffering from an episode of dementia and may be in a confused state. If you have seen her or her vehicle, contact the Henderson Police Department at 903-657-3512.
CHEROKEE COUNTY — One man arrested, one law enforcement official injured, following a stand-off just outside of Jacksonville. Our news partner KETK reports, Cherokee County Sheriff Brent Dickson said deputies were serving an arrest warrant for someone who missed a trial date and located the individual in a camper. Officials said he fled to a nearby residence on CR 1516 and barricaded himself in. When officers and a SWAT team got to the house, the subject was hiding in one of the rooms. Officers entered the house moments later and a fight began while officers attempted to restrain the suspect. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — The Smith County Sheriff’s Office has announced the funeral arrangements for fallen Deputy Lorenzo Bustos. According to our news partner KETK, the funeral will be held at Green Acres Baptist Church on Friday, Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. in the sanctuary, located at 1607 Troup Hwy in Tyler. Bustos died early Friday morning during a traffic stop when he was struck by an alleged drunk driver. He was 29 and leaves behind a wife and three children. Read the rest of this entry »
UPSHUR COUNTY — The Upshur County Sheriff’s Office has been searching for a missing 30-year-old man out of Laporte since Thursday. According to our news partner KETK, Corey Dean Williams was reportedly last seen in Gilmer at around midnight on Wednesday at a friend’s house. His car, a 1995 white Mercury Cougar, was later found off of Azalea Road near Highway 154, east of Gilmer. Williams was last known to be wearing a neon yellow shirt and blue jeans. The sheriff’s office says that he has the letter “C†tattooed on his right hand, between the thumb and index finger, and the letter “W†tattooed on his left hand, again, between the thumb and index finger. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — 29-year-old Smith County deputy Lorenzo Bustos died after being struck by a drunk driver while conducting a traffic stop, according to Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith. Smith said the deputy was with his training officer when the back of the patrol unit was rear-ended at a moderate speed while he was standing at the back of the car. The patrol car had two handcuffed individuals in the back of the unit when the wreck happened. The training officer sustained mild injuries and was treated and released. One person who was detained at the time also received minor injuries. The deputy was “launched†under the patrol unit, according to Smith, and sustained major head injuries that he succumbed to at around 6 a.m. surrounded by his family and law enforcement family. He had been with the department for about five to six months, and Smith said he was well-loved by the department. The identity of the deputy will be released later this afternoon. Daniel Nyenze Nyabuto, 21 of Grand Prairie, was arrested for driving while intoxicated and intoxication assault but Smith said there are plans to upgrade those charges to intoxication manslaughter.
MABANK – A Mabank woman, Judy Coggeshall, 60, was arrested and charged with stalking in Henderson County on July 25. According to our news partner KETK, on the evening of June 6, law enforcement received a call from Henderson County Communications advising of a disturbance at a woman’s residence. The woman informed officials that Coggeshall had been stopped in front of her house for approximately 10 minutes, recording her, yelling vulgar language, and saying, “I’m going to get you†while shaking her fist at her, according to a probable cause affidavit. The outcome of this incident was a citation to Coggeshall for disorderly conduct. Read the rest of this entry »
WHITEHOUSE — On Tuesday evening, a public hearing was held in Whitehouse to consider a rezoning request. According to our news partner KETK, a company is looking to develop a 28-acre tract of land located at the corner of Hagan Road and Railroad Avenue. Residents said that this rezoning request came too quickly and shared they only want to protect their privacy and quiet country life. “With all that’s going on and the new housings that are predicted to be built, we are concerned about our water and sewage situation and the fact that the streets are very narrow,†said Margaret Higgs, a Whitehouse resident. Residents voiced their worries about a rezoning request for 28 acres of land to be turned into a gated community. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — A 23-year-old man was arrested in connection to a shooting that happened on Harroun Drive in Longview on Tuesday afternoon, according to our news partner KETK. Officers located and arrested Malik Thompson in the area following the shooting. He was booked into the Gregg County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to officials. The victim was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
WASHINGTON/COLLEGE STATION (AP/Staff) — A couple of major and interlocking developments involving Sanderson Farms, including a reported lawsuit and new leadership. The Justice Department is reportedly filing suit against some of the largest poultry producers in the United States, including Sanderson, which has a strong presence in East Texas. It’s part of an effort to end what the government says are longstanding deceptive and abusive practices for workers. Three people familiar with the matter tell The Associated Press the suit was being filed Monday in Maryland. Read the rest of this entry »
EAST TEXAS — Smith County has seen a rash of trail ride shootings. Law enforcement broke down the expectations of Chapter 751 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, also known as The Mass Gathering Act in a town hall meeting Sunday afternoon. According to our news partner KETK, Smith County Constable Josh Joplin shared that just in the last two years alone, more people have lost their lives at the expense of these violations. “I’ve had people shot in the head at these trail rides, I’ve had people shot in the face, I’ve had people shot in the leg… I mean gunplay is a serious issue with this as well.†Constable Joplin said. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY — Officials said five are dead after a two-vehicle crash on Smith County Road 48 and Highway 110 North caused traffic detours for hours. According to our news partner KETK, officials with DPS said the call came in around 5 a.m. Friday, and all passengers from both cars involved are dead. There were two passengers in a Chevy Tahoe and three in a Dodge Charger which caught fire at the scene. The passengers of the Dodge Charger were identified as 23-year-old Matthew Reneaux, of Henderson, 26-year-old Jennifer Felix, of Tyler, and 38-year-old Marvin Jenkins, Jr., of Tyler. The passengers of the Chevy Tahoe were identified as 39-year-old Gabriel Salamanca and one juvenile, whose name was not disclosed, both of Mexico. Read the rest of this entry »
RUSK COUNTY — Danielle Harrison is working to become an Eagle Scout, but to do that she had to come up with a project. She saw there was a need for a K9 training course in East Texas. According to our news partner KETK, right now, officers have to travel to Dallas at their own expense to train their K9s. That’s why Danielle Harrison chose to make one in Rusk County for her project. “I found out we don’t have training facility for police K9s in East Texas. So, I decided that I would just make one,†said Harrison, Eagle Scout candidate. “Since there isn’t anything like this, it’s going to be great especially to fill up training days. We have to do so much training every month and so this will be a good thing to add to our training. Some variety and also fun for the dogs too,†said Lucrecia Davidson, K9 officer. Read the rest of this entry »