Today is
Sunday April 20, 2025
WHITEHOUSE â Our news partner, KETK, reports that the grandfather of Whitehouse native and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes passed away on Wednesday.
Mahomesâ mother, Randi, shared on Instagram that her father, Randy Martin, has died. The announcement comes after Martin entered hospice care just days before the Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship.
âHard to find the words of holding my fathers hand as he goes to Heaven. I know heâs in a better place. I love you daddy. Well done, good and faithful servant! Matthew 25:23,â Randi Mahomes wrote in her Instagram post on Friday.
Randi Mahomes said her father was âhanging onâ to watch his grandson in the Super Bowl while in hospice in an interview with People Magazine. Martinâs death comes just three days after Super Bowl LIX. Martinâs obituary said he was born on Jan. 6, 1947, and died on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 78-years-old. A funeral service will be held for Martin at the Chapel of Rader Funeral Home at 800 Kilgore Drive in Henderson on Monday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. before his burial at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Overton.
LONGVIEW â Our news partner, KETK, reports that a woman was hospitalized with minor injuries following an overnight shooting, according to the Longview Police Department.
Officers were dispatched to the 100 block of Sidney Street on early Monday at around midnight in regards to a shooting. When they arrived, officers found a woman who had been shot. She was taken to a local hospital by fire personnel for non-life-threatening injuries. Officials said the suspect had fled before police arrived. During an investigation, officials identified the suspect as 59-year-old Richard Lynn Williams. He was later arrested and faces charges of unlawful carrying a weapon with felony convictions, possession of a controlled substance, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
He is being held at the Gregg County Jail on a $200,000 bond.
NACOGDOCHES â Our news partner, KETK, reports that a Nacogdoches man has died after being thrown off his motorcycle during a major vehicle accident Thursday evening.
According to the Nacogdoches Police Department, at around 8 p.m. dispatch received calls of an crash involving a SUV and motorcycle on NE Stallings (Loop 224) and Center Hwy. Officers determined the motorcyclist, Shawn Pritchard, 45 of Nacogdoches, was northbound on NE Stallings and the SUV driver was traveling southbound when the two vehicles collided in the intersection. Authorities said that the SUV driver turned left in front of Pritchard causing the collision and ejecting him off the motorcycle. Pritchard was transported to a local hospital but later died due to his injuries while the SUV driver was treated for minor injuries.
The police department said that the investigation is still ongoing âto determine any and all circumstances related to the accident.â
HENDERSON COUNTY â Our news partner, KETK, reports that a Waco man was booked into the Henderson County Jail on Friday after reportedly attempting to meet with minors for sexual purposes.
The Henderson County Crimes Against Childrenâs Task Force conducted an online investigation and identified Jose Antonio Arriaga-Perez, 32 of Waco, who was allegedly attempting to meet with minors for sexual purposes. The Henderson County Sheriffâs Office said Perez was arrested for online solicitation of a minor sexual conduct and is also facing a federal ICE detainer charge. Perez was transported and booked into the Henderson County Jail.
TYLER â Cheyenne Russell was settling into her new apartment with her two children when her ex-boyfriend, Jorian Jackson, arrived with belated Christmas gifts.
Russell, 26, and Jackson, 29, began to fight over their fractured relationship that ended about a year prior. Thatâs when Jackson allegedly shot and killed Russell. Russellâs children saw it all. Jackson âcaused the red on mommyâs dress, then she started making choking and coughing sounds,â they told police. Russellsâ death on Jan. 6 is part of an escalating trend and comes at a time when advocates are again beseeching lawmakers to broaden protections for domestic violence survivors. Advocates see a number of proposals as opportunities to strengthen Texas law as it relates to domestic and sexual violence.
If passed, these bills could make it easier to remove firearms from people accused of family violence, teach teenagers about dating violence and create a state database of violent offenders that is similar to the one for sexual offenders. Other bills would remove firearms from known sexual predators and create a process for survivors to sue institutions that protected sexual offenders. Similar proposals have been debated at the Texas Capitol before, with advocates enjoying moderate success. Those same boosters hope to see equal support moving forward as more Texans seek help from community organizations created for survivors. Representatives of shelters across the state will converge in Austin on Feb. 20 to voice their concerns and proposals to lawmakers. Read the rest of this entry »
JACKSONVILLEâ Our news partner, KETK, reports that an East Texas man is dead after a traffic accident that led to a shooting on Thursday.
According to the Jacksonville Police Department, around 9:52 p.m. Jacksonville police and firefighters responded to a traffic accident at the intersection of Myrtle Drive and Sam Boles Road.
Officials said they saw that one of the occupants, identified as Angel Balderas Jr., 33 of Jacksonville, had a single gunshot wound. Balderas was transported to a local emergency room where he later died.
The shooter was detained and questioned but officials said no charges will be filed at this time. At this time the police department said no other details will be released due to it being an ongoing investigation.
JACKSONVILLE â In reports from our news partner, and the Cherokee County Sheriffâs Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have arrested five âundocumented aliensâ in Jacksonville.
According to a press release from Cherokee County Sheriff Brent Dickson, an ICE Removal Operations team and Homeland Security investigators arrested five people in a âtargeted enforcement action.â
The five people arrested were described as âundocumented aliens ranging in age from mid-30âs to mid-60âs with criminal histories.â No further information on their arrests was provided by the sheriffâs office.
The arrests come during continued stress and confusion around this latest round of ICE raids. On Jan. 30, several East Texas sheriffs held an immigration Q&A session held in Tyler to explain the role of local sheriffâs offices in regards to ICE raids. The Cherokee County Sheriffâs Office is not a part of ICEâs 287(g) program unlike Smith County and Gregg County, which just joined the program on Tuesday. The program allows local deputies to identify undocumented immigrants with criminal charges for ICE to pick up.
UPDATE: According to the Tyler Police Department Cathy Gray was found on Thursday evening not far from her home.
TYLER â Our news partner, KETK, reports that Tyler officials are searching for missing 62-year-old Cathy Gray who is believed to have walked away from her home.
The Tyler Police Department said Gray was last seen at her residence in the 3400 block of Pebblebrook Drive at around 9 a.m. on Thursday. She is described as being 5 feet, 2 inches and is slim with brown hair and blue eyes. Authorities said she was last seen wearing a white puffy coat, blue jeans and brown shoes. Anyone who has seen her is asked to contact the Tyler Police Department.
SMITH COUNTY â Our news partner, KETK, reports that an East Texas man has been sentenced after a jury found him guilty of murder in July 2024.
Melvin Orlando Guevara, 22 of Tyler, was sentenced on Wednesday in the 114th Judicial District Court for capital murder by terror threat. This comes seven months after the murder of Eduardo Torrez, who was shot at his birthday party. According to the Smith County Sheriffâs Office, deputies were dispatched to a house in the 8900 block of CR 4136 at approximately 6:30 p.m. after receiving reports that a man had been shot and was not breathing.
Once deputies arrived, they reportedly found Torrez in his bedroom, and began lifesaving measures before EMS arrived and pronounced him dead at the scene. A court document said that Torrez was celebrating his birthday with family and friends when Guevara walked into the residence displaying a pistol, entered Torrezâs room, and shot him multiple times in front of his ex-girlfriend. After obtaining an arrest warrant, officials located a vehicle said to belong to Guevara at Highway 31 East and Loop 323. A felony stop was conducted at a nearby car wash and he was taken into custody.
CHEROKEE COUNTY â Our news partner, KETK, reports that two men were arrested on Tuesday after Cherokee County authorities located 44 grams of crack cocaine in back-to-back search warrants.
The Cherokee County Sheriffâs Office and the Jacksonville Police Department conducted a search warrant for a vehicle parked at 704 Sheridan Street. During the search, authorities reportedly found two grams of suspected methamphetamine and a firearm. Following an investigation, a second search warrant was conducted at on a residence on County Road 3509 in Cuney. Officials said they located 44 grams of crack cocaine, 11 grams of methamphetamine and five firearms were seized, one of which was reportedly stolen from Cherokee County. Rickey Lynn Allen, Sr., and Eddie Floyd Dennis were arrested in the investigation. Read the rest of this entry »
Undeterred by four years of sluggish progress and certain defeat at the Texas Capitol, the gambling industry is plodding ahead with its ambitious bid to legalize casinos and sports betting in a state with some of the most restrictive gaming laws in the country.
For the third straight session, the Las Vegas Sands casino empire has deployed a murderersâ row of high-powered lobbyists to coax the Republican-controlled Legislature into authorizing âdestination resortsâ with casino gambling in Texasâ largest cities.
Also part of the lobbying blitz is the Texas Sports Betting Alliance, a coalition of the stateâs pro sports teams, racetracks and betting platforms â such as FanDuel and DraftKings â that is looking to extend its momentum from 2023, when a proposal to legalize online sports betting squeaked through the Texas House.
Read the rest of this entry »
LIVINGSTON â A routine traffic stop in Livingston led to a narcotics investigation where five people were arrested. According to the Polk County Sheriffâs Office, during the night on Feb. 5, officers stopped a vehicle on Mill Gate Road for a traffic violation.
Officers identified the driver as Justin Martin, 36 of Cleveland, and passenger Holli Pederson, 27 of Livingston. They began to search the vehicle after allegedly smelling burnt marijuana. Officials then determined that Martin and Pederson were in possession of meth and marijuana. Martin was arrested for manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance with a $50,000 bond while Pederson was arrested for possession of a controlled substance with a $15,000 bond.
Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER â Our news partner, KETK, reports that officials have arrested a man wanted for murder after he fled from law enforcement on Thursday.
The U.S. Marshalsâ Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force tried to serve a failure-to-appear warrant for a murder charge to 29-year-old Billy Maddox Jr. at the Liberty Arms Apartments in Tyler. However, Maddox allegedly fled the scene, heading north. Officials from multiple agencies, including the Smith County Sheriffâs Office and Tyler Police Department, immediately began a search for Maddox. He was then spotted crossing County Road 35 before he was arrested near County Road 14 at around 3:25 p.m., Tyler PD said.
A representative from the sheriffâs office said Maddox was arrested on a homicide warrant in connection to the 2022 death of a 17-year-old who overdosed on fentanyl. Maddox was originally indicted and arrested for manslaughter on May 26, 2023, before bonding out on June 2, 2023. Read the rest of this entry »
TENAHA â Our news partner, KETK, reports that a Tenaha ISD student was removed from campus after making a threat towards one of the districtâs schools on Friday.
According to Tenaha ISD, campus administrators were made aware of an incident that may threaten the safety and security of their school. The student that made the threat was then reportedly removed from campus and no longer has access to TISD. School officials said that there is no further threat from this student and appropriate disciplinary and criminal procedures are taking place.
âThe safety of our students, staff and community continues to be at the forefront of responsibilities at Tenaha ISD,â TISD said.
TYLER â Our news partner, KETK, reports that a former receptionist at a Tyler law firm was arrested on Wednesday for stealing more than $30,000 from clients by falsifying receipts and hiding payments, an affidavit stated.
Sandra Arroyo Yanez was arrested on theft of property of more than $30,000 but less than $150,000. This comes after a lengthy Smith County Sheriffâs Office investigation that began late last year when deputies were contacted by an associate attorney from Moran Law Firm. The associate attorney said Yanez was hired in April 2024 as a receptionist and was responsible for accepting client payments including cash payments. However, the associate attorney told detectives that Yanez was using her own, non-firm approved receipt book, and issued receipts to the firmâs clients âas a way of hiding the monies from business records.â
The law firm claims they did not know these clients existed and hence were unaware of their obligation to provide legal services. The associate attorney said they learned of this incident on Jan. 1, when clients began calling for a status update on their cases, but the firm was unable to locate any case information. Read the rest of this entry »