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Sunday June 14, 2026
NACOGDCOHES COUNTY – According to our news partner KETK, a Houston man was arrested on Tuesday morning after more than 17 pounds of ecstasy was found in the back of his car.
Donte Demond Brown, 44, was confronted by deputies at a gas station in the 3500 block of South Street after he was seen speeding through a construction zone on U.S. 59 South. Officials said they could smell marijuana as they were approaching Brown’s vehicle, although Brown claimed he did not use drugs. Once deputies searched the vehicle, they reportedly discovered drug paraphernalia and a bag containing pills that were later identified as ecstasy. In the trunk, officials said they found an additional 17.36 pounds of ecstasy, 11.2 ounces of meth and 1.11 pounds of cocaine.
Although deputies said they were unable to confirm whether Brown had recently used drugs, he was charged with three counts of possession of a controlled substance.
“Each charge carries a possible punishment of five to 99 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $10,000. His bonds were set at $80,000 on each charge for a total of $240,000,” the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office said
CHEROKEE COUNTY – The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office conducted two search warrants and a traffic stop on Tuesday leading to the arrest of five people and recovered meth, cocaine, marijuana and firearms according to our news partner KETK.
The first arrest occurred during a traffic stop on Loop 343 in Rusk. During the stop, officials discovered 56 grams of methamphetamine inside the vehicle, officials said. The owner of the vehicle was identified as Joe Castillo, 56 of Rusk. Castillo was arrested and taken to the Cherokee County Jail and was charged with manufacture and delivery of a substance. His bail has been set at $50,000.
First Search Warrant
Following the traffic stop, deputies conducted a search warrant on a home on County Road 1817 in Maydelle. During the search of the property, officials said they recovered 198 grams of methamphetamine along with 12 firearms. The residents of the property were identified as Ronnie Goff, 56, and Lee Deshawn Cockrell, 47. Read the rest of this entry »
LONGVIEW — Our news partner, KETK, reports that a pedestrian has died, the Longview Police Department said, after a pick up truck reportedly struck them on Tuesday night.
Longview police officers responded to the call on Tuesday at around 9:14 p.m. in the 200 block of West Loop 281. An initial investigation shows that a man was crossing the roadway “at an improper location” when a pick up truck traveling eastbound struck him.
Authorities said the pedestrian was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, and an investigation is still in progress.
RUSK COUNTY – Our news partner, KETK, reports that the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office arrested five people on Feb. 28 after drugs were seized along with a firearm.
An investigation led county law enforcement to Henderson, where they carried out a controlled substance search warrant at the Woodlawn Hills Hotel on U.S. Highway 79. Authorities said they found 39 individual packages of suspected cocaine and a firearm in the possession of Cameron Horn, 23 of Henderson. She has since been charged with manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance and received bonds totaling $65,500.
She was also wanted on a Harris County warrant. Officials said, Tamara Simon, 44 of Henderson, was found in possession of suspected methamphetamine. She was charged with possession of a controlled substance and received bonds totaling $10,000.Jayme Hogan, 20, and Aaron Yelverton, 22, were reportedly found in possession of suspected concentrated THC. Each were charged with the state jail felony possession of a controlled substance in penalty group two and received bonds of $10,000 separately.From Longview, Harold Holman, 31, had an outstanding Rusk County warrant for possession of marijuana and was given a $1,000 bond.
Future arrests are expected as the investigation continues and the sheriff’s office said no further information will be released at this time.
CAMP COUNTY– Our news partner, KETK, reports that two people had to be rescued from their RV’s following Tuesday morning’s intense thunderstorms.
The dangerous wind blew cabins into campers and overturned RV’s at Barefoot Bay RV Park on Lake Bob Sandlin in Pittsburg.
Vaia Hernandez was one of the people entrapped in her camper. Her RV was picked up by the intense winds and flipped it over on its side. A tree fell on her truck, leaving both properties a total loss.
“I don’t think you can repair this, I kind of don’t want to bother with it, I don’t want to look at it anymore, it’s just it’s traumatizing,” Hernandez said. Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — A former accountant at a Tyler nonprofit has been accused of stealing nearly $100,000. According to our news partner KETK and an arrest affidavit, a manager at Hand Up Network alerted officials to a fraud alert from their work bank after a debit card for the organization was used twice at a casino in Lake Charles, La. The manager told officials that the card was used by their accountant, Dawn Pitcock. When confronted by the manager, she reportedly said she had used the card by mistake and paid the organization back.
However, the manager then became suspicious and began reviewing the bank account where he found 283 transactions to Apple.com since March 2024 totaling $96,826.58. When confronted, Pitcock said she believed that he was the person making those transactions, hence why she never questioned them. Read the rest of this entry »
VAN ZANDT COUNTY — One person has died after a tree fell on an RV in Van Zandt County on Tuesday. According to our news partner KETK, Van Zandt County Sheriff Kevin Bridger said a woman died after the tree fell on her RV at the Reserve RV Park on County Road 4914. Bridger said her body was recovered from the RV and officials are working to notify her family. Additional information was not available.
TYLER — As much of East Texas was under a thunderstorm or tornado warning on Tuesday morning. Our news partner, KETK, has compiled pictures sent in from the community.
To view those pictures, click here.
TYLER – After severe weather hit East Texas on Tuesday morning, about 80,000 customers are reportedly without power as of 12 p.m.
Our news partner, KETK, has compiled a list of East Texas counties from the Texas power outage map and electric co-ops with power outages. To view that list, click here.
SMITH COUNTY – 
Smith County residents who suffered property damage due to Tuesday morning’s storms are being asked to report them the Texas Division of Emergency Management. Smith County Emergency Management Coordinator Brandon Moore reported that a couple of mobile homes in The Grove at Brook Hollow, located off Rhones Quarter Road, had trees that fell through them. The Smith County Road and Bridge Department reported a partial wash out of County Road 165, also known as Henry Moore Road, southwest of Tyler.
Road crews also responded to trees down on County Roads 134, 135, 168, 2115 and 2116. To report downed trees or wash outs of county roads, please call Smith County dispatch at 903-566-6600. To report property damages caused by the storm on March 4, 2025, click here. The Tyler-Smith County Tornado and Severe Weather Response Plan for 2025 as been released and can be found here.
BULLARD – Due to a power outage impacting about half of the campuses at Bullard ISD, all of the campuses will be released at 12pm. A district spokesperson added that school buses will also run beginning at 12 pm.
TYLER— As East Texas battles the storms, some roads have been shut down due to flooding, damages or car crashes.
Our news partner, KETK, has a full and updated list of road closures. To view that list, click here.
MINEOLA — Texas Republicans are making moves that they say will protect teachers. A bill filed by State Senator Bryan Hughes, of Mineola, would give protection to school workers who are facing complaints from transgender students, upset over being misidentified in the classroom. He says teachers should not be pressured to support something that conflicts with their deeply held religious beliefs.
The bill faces opposition from several civil rights groups, which testified at a hearing this week. They fear it will lead to bullying in the classroom.
TYLER — Our news partner, KETK, reports that staff were evacuated at People’s Petroleum in Tyler Monday afternoon after smoke was coming from the building.
According to Tyler Fire Department Assistant Chief Kelly Adkinson, when firefighters arrived they found no smoke but made the decision to evacuate people to investigate the situation. Adkinson said after Encore arrived they determined it was an electrical issue with an underground transformer located under College Street. Due to a strong smell of smoke, firefighters performed ventilation to help clear the smell out.
Officials said there were no injuries reported and staff and patrons were allowed to reenter the building after around 30 minutes.
HENDERSON COUNTY – Our news partner, KETK, reports that a 21-year-old from Kemp has been arrested for continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 in Henderson County.
On Feb. 10, an investigator with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office’s Crimes Against Children Task Force was shown a forensic interview of a child at the Maggie’s House children’s advocacy center in Athens.
According to arrest documents obtained by KETK, the child was interviewed after they made an outcry at school which was reported to Child Protective Services. The child said they had earned a dollar bill by “doing something nice” to a man named Ian. Read the rest of this entry »