Today is
Saturday June 13, 2026
TYLER – The Smith County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a woman after she allegedly gave birth to a baby that was found dead in her bathtub on Wednesday. According to our news partner KETK,, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office received a call from an emergency room in Tyler about a woman who claimed to have delivered a placenta in her home earlier that day. 27-year-old Esmeralda Duran Rodriguez, reportedly had no baby with her when she arrived at the emergency room. The sheriff’s office said deputies then went to her home in north-central Smith County to investigate.
Deputies met Rodriguez’s brother and officials reported that the deputies were allowed into the home to search for a baby. Deputies found the placenta on a bed along with a severed umbilical cord, according to a press release. After initially searching, deputies could find no baby in the home but the deputies kept searching and eventually officials said they were able to find the body of a dead baby.
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TYLER – The Tyler Police Department is currently managing a traffic flow at the intersection of Bow St. and N. Broadway in Tyler, Smith County, Texas. A fallen power pole has brought down LIVE electrical lines, blocking the roadway. As a result, all northbound and southbound traffic in the 700-900 block of N. Broadway is closed. Encore Electric has been notified and estimates a response time of three to four hours. Motorists are urged to use alternate routes and exercise caution in the area.
SMITH COUNTY – When Smith County officials attempted to push out an alert to residents about high winds and fire danger on Friday, a system error sent out the wrong message.
At 12:08 p.m., Smith County residents instead received a text labeled urgent that warned them of a hazard and to avoid the area.
Smith County recently started using FEMA’s IPAWS (Integrated Public Alert & Warning System), which allows officials to send urgent texts to all Smith County residents’ cell phones. The IPAWS delivery report contained the original intended message and not the mistaken message that was sent out to 9,262 people. There was never a hazard in Smith County nd officials are trying to figure out why the system sent the wrong message.
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WINONA – 
Our news partners at KETK report the Smith County Sheriff’s Office said a person was killed on Friday near Winona after equipment fell on them while at work. A spokesperson with the sheriff’s office said dispatchers received an emergency call about a workplace incident where a piece of equipment had fallen on someone at around 12:43 p.m. while working on Southside Circle near Howell Club Lake. CPR was performed on the victim until 12:56 p.m. and they were pronounced dead at 1 p.m., the sheriff’s office said. Local firefighters and EMS responded to the scene along with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, who is actively investigating the incident.
LONGVIEW – Our news partner, KETK, reports that a Longview man was sentenced to 100 years in prison after being found guilty for multiple counts of sexual abuse to a child.
According to the Gregg County District Attorney’s Office, on Thursday Justin Eugene Howard was sentenced to 80 years for aggravated sexual assault of a child to run consecutively with a 20 year sentence for sexual assault of a child followed by 10 years of probation for indecency with a child by sexual contact.
Officials said that Howard’s convictions come from his continuous sexual abuse of a girl that began back in 2008, when the child was 6-years-old and it continued through 2020. The testimony at trial showed that Howard committed several sexual offenses against the child from 2008 to 2020. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – According to reports from our news partner, KETK, an East Texas representative filed a bill in late February meant to protect children from sexually explicit material in public libraries.
State Representative Daniel Alders filed House Bill 3225 on Feb. 24, which would require public municipal libraries to restrict accessibility to sexually explicit material for minors.
“As radicals continue to target our children with obscene content tucked away in our children’s reading material, it’s high time for Texas lawmakers to take a stand and ensure our public libraries take the necessary steps to protect our children,” Alders said. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – 
A Shreveport, LA, man has been sentenced to over 21 years in federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. Darren Tremaine Jackson, 41, was convicted at trial in March 2024 of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Jackson was sentenced to 260 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on March 12, 2025. According to information presented in court, on February 13, 2020, Jackson, and co-defendant Gary Wayne Sepulvado, were stopped by law enforcement officers for a traffic violation in Smith County. After observing a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, a search was executed, and a kilogram of methamphetamine was discovered. Sepulvado pleaded guilty to related charges on November 15, 2023, and is awaiting sentencing.
MALAKOFF — Malakoff Independent School District held a special board meeting Wednesday as the Board of Trustees named Dr. PJ Winters the lone finalist for their new superintendent.
According to our news partner, KETK, Dr. Winters brings over 20 years of experience in education to the job. He was a teacher for over five years working at Lukfata Public Schools and Marshall ISD. Then, he became an assistant principal for Jefferson ISD for over three years.
Winters became a principal at Big Sandy High School for a year before returning to Jefferson ISD, where he was also a principal for two and a half years. Afterwards, he started working at the university level and became a professor. At East Baptist University he spent over eight years working as an associate professor and later as the director of music education programs. On June 2022, Winters joined Malakoff ISD becoming director of elementary curriculum.
Winters will be staying with Malakoff ISD as the new Superintendent. The Malakoff ISD Board of Trustees voted him as the lone finalist 7-0. Once the required 21-day waiting period is over, he will formally take over the role.
HENDERSON COUNTY – According to reports from our news partner, KETK, a sting operation in Henderson County has led to the arrest of a man who was attempting to solicit a minor.
During the sting operation on Monday, an officer utilized an online dating messaging platform to target individuals who were seeking to have sexual relationships with minors. The officer created an undercover persona, portraying himself as a 15-year-old girl living in Henderson County. The officer’s profile on the website received direct messages from an account with the username “Rob.” During their conversations on the platform, the user believed that the officer was a minor living in East Texas. Read the rest of this entry »
TERREL — A Wills Point teenager was killed during a car crash in Terrell on Tuesday.
According to our news partner, KETK, the Terrell Police Department received a 911 call at around 2:49 a.m. in regards to a crash detection notification from a cell phone in the area of State Highway 205 and Colquitt Road. When officers arrived, they found an orange 2020 Chevrolet Equinox that had struck a traffic light pole on the right side of the roadway.
The passenger of the vehicle, 19-year-old Bryson Malachi Barnes of Wills Point, was pronounced dead at the scene, Terrell PD said. The driver, Preston David Grosvenor-Reed, 18 of Royse City, was taken to a hospital for minor injuries. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Congressman Nathaniel Moran, who represents Tyler in the U.S. House of Representatives, has been appointed to the House Committee on Ethics by House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The committee has jurisdiction over the House Code of Official Conduct within the house, and is tasked with upholding integrity and accountability in Congress. According to reports from our news partner, KETK, Congressman Moran has been selected as one of the five Republicans to serve on the the bipartisan, ten-member panel.
“It is my honor to appoint Congressman Nathaniel Moran to the House Ethics Committee,” said Johnson. “His impeccable character, commitment to upholding the highest standards of Congress, and his unwavering dedication to public service make him perfectly suited for this role. I have full confidence that he will serve with integrity as we work to improve the American people’s trust in Congress.” Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Smith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue is strongly advising residents to not burn anything while outdoors on Friday, citing high winds and low moisture as potential fire dangers.
“Due to multiple fire danger triggers predicted on Friday, March 14, 2025, Smith County Fire Marshal Chad Hogue is strongly advising residents of Smith County to help eliminate ignition sources by not conducting outdoor burning and ensuring that all previous controlled burns are out cold,” Hogue said. “Smith County will experience very low humidity, low surface fuel moisture, and winds of 15-20 mph with gust up to 35 mph which results in unusual and dangerous fire weather conditions throughout the day on Friday. The most effective way to extinguish a fire is to prevent it.”
Hogue’s statement comes after several recent fires have popped up all across East Texas including in Smith County, Cherokee County, Rusk County and Gregg County.
CANTON – According to our news partner KETK, the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a man in connection to the theft of a vehicle that was reported stolen on Monday.
Deputies took a report of a stolen vehicle, and during an investigation, officials were able to identify the suspect as Mark A. Thomas of Wills Point and tied him to an address in Van Zandt County.
Mugshot of Mark Aaron Thomas Jr., courtesy of Van Zandt County Jail records. The sheriff’s office said: “A short time later, [deputies] saw Thomas drive by in the stolen vehicle and along with additional deputies, stopped the vehicle.”
Thomas was arrested for theft of property between $30,000 and $150,000 and an aggravated assault warrant. During a search of the vehicle deputies reportedly found suspected methamphetamines leading to Thomas also getting charged for possession of less than 1 gram of a controlled substance, according to the sheriff’s office.
UPDATE: According to our news partner KETK, the Diboll Police department have found Brynn Maxwell.
DIBOLL – The Diboll Police Department is seeking help locating a missing woman who is believed to be in danger. Brynn Maxwell was reported missing on March 7 and is believed to be with her boyfriend Anthony Cathcart, who police say had court orders to stay away from her. “Brynn is believed to be in danger and we are actively trying to locate her to ensure she is okay,” the police department said.
Longview company lays off 68 employees due to extensive facility issues
Anyone with any potential information regarding Maxwell is asked to contact Diboll PD and speak with either Lt. Reid or Assistant Chief Hopper at 936-829-5586.
TYLER – TJC police are searching for an individual after a student reported being a victim of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on Tuesday. According to our news partner KETK, the victim alerted police on Thursday at 1:10 p.m., two days after the incident occurred. He said he had been approached while at the library near the quiet room. The suspect asked to speak with him in a quiet room.
“The student and the suspect went into the quiet room where they talked,” TJC PD said. “After a period of time, the student went to leave and the suspect pulled a knife from a front pocket, held it to the student’s neck area and said, ‘We are not finished talking.’” Read the rest of this entry »