Today is
Sunday June 14, 2026
HEMPHILL – Sabine County Sheriff Tom Maddox died on Thursday morning after medical complications from a long-term illness according to our news partner KETK.
The sheriff’s office said Maddox died at his home in Sabine County surrounded by family. Multiple sheriff’s offices, police departments and DPS all assisted in escorting Maddox home from the hospital on Wednesday afternoon. Maddox has been the sheriff of Sabine County since 2001 and was former president of the Texas Sheriff’s Association and a Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper.
“Mike Mills, Sabine County Liaison Officer, State Division of Emergency Management presented Tom Maddox with
“The State of Texas is a better place due to the efforts of Sheriff Tom Maddox,” the sheriff’s office said. “His leadership and determination will be missed by all.” Read the rest of this entry »
GUN BARREL CITY – The Gun Barrel City Police Department said they’ve arrested a man after he allegedly threatened to shoot up a local Walmart on Saturday.
According to our news partner KETK, officers with Gun Barrel City PD responded to reported threats made against the Walmart at 1200 W Main Street at around 6:33 p.m. on Saturday. Once inside, Gun Barrel City PD said officers found an armed man who had threatened to “shoot up” the store. John Thomas Martin, 22 of Kerrville, was identified by officials as the man allegedly making the threats against the Walmart. The responding officers reportedly found a Glock 10mm handgun, three magazines, an extended magazine, 63 rounds of 10mm ammunition, shooting ear plugs and a ballistic vest in Martin’s possesion.
Martin was arrested and charged with terroristic threat, a 3rd degree felony, and unlawful carrying of a weapon, which is a class A misdemeanor. He’s currently being held in the Henderson County Jail on a total bond of $1,025,000. Read the rest of this entry »
AUSTIN — East Texas State Representative Cole Hefner, R-Mount Pleasant, has been appointed to serve as the Chair of the Texas House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Veterans’ Affairs. According to our news partner KETK, Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows appointed Hefner to lead Homeland Security committee and he also appointed him to serve as a member of the Committee on Transportation and the Committee on Redistricting.
“The Texas House stands ready to address the most pressing issues facing our state, and I have full confidence Chairman Hefner’s leadership of the Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans’ Affairs Committee will greatly contribute to the success of the 89th legislative session,” Burrows said. “Every Texas House committee serves an important role guiding the policies that shape our state and ensuring proper oversight of the legislative process. Chair Hefner is a proven champion of conservative policies that leave a positive impact on the lives of all Texans, and I look forward to our collaboration to deliver another monumental conservative session for Texans.” Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER — A home in Tyler has unexpectedly became the backdrop for proposals being deemed the “engagement house” on social media. According to our news partner KETK, while he was in Tyler for work, James Meador was driving around town and found a home that he knew would be the perfect spot to ask his girlfriend Laura Hammers to spend the rest of her life with him. The home is located in the Azalea District and it is a popular destination during Christmas season because of its beautiful decorations.
The lights hold a special meaning for the homeowners who had a tree in their wedding that was decorated with crystals.
“In our own wedding, we had a tree. It was not a tree with lights, it was a tree with crystals, it was an indoor tree that my parents actually made for our wedding,” homeowner Ashley Lesniewski said. Read the rest of this entry »
JACKSONVILLE – An East Texas man is dead after a traffic accident that led to a shooting on Thursday. According to the Jacksonville Police Department and our news partner KETK, around 9:50 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. The police department said no other details will be released due to it being an ongoing investigation.
LONGVIEW – The Longview Police Department said they arrested a man on Friday after he allegedly pointed a rifle at officers from a home on Tupelo Drive. According to our news partner KETK, Longview PD officers were responding to a domestic incident in the 200 block of Tupelo Drive at around 8:50 p.m. on Friday when they first made contact with Benjamin Howell, 41 of Longview.
After the officers arrived at the Tupelo Drive home, Howell reportedly fled inside and then pointed his rifle out at the officers. According to a Longview PD press release, the officers then took cover and called for the Longview SWAT unit and the Negotiations unit.
Officers reportedly heard one gunshot from inside the home and after negotiators made repeated attempts to contact Howell, the SWAT team had to resolve the standoff through non-lethal force measures, Longview PD said. Read the rest of this entry »
PALESTINE – Current and former educators are demanding answers regarding the school voucher bill that was recently passed by the Texas Senate.
According to our news partner KETK, a protest over the bill took place on Friday afternoon at 519 North Sycamore Street in Palestine near the office of Texas State House Representative Cody Harris. The protest included current and former educators expressing their frustration at the bill that was passed.
Harris released a statement expressing his disappointment with the protest and wished the group would have come to him directly to vocalize their concerns.
“While I will always encourage constituents to reach out to my office to share their views, I was disappointed that this group did not choose to try and schedule an appointment to sit down and visit about their concerns.” Harris said. Read the rest of this entry »
Tyler – 
The East Texas Food Bank will hold the second annual Empty Bowls Tyler event on Thursday, February 27 at the ETFB, to bring awareness to the 1 in 6 adults, including 1 in 4 children in East Texas who are hungry, brought to you by presenting sponsor the Hall Family of Dealerships and restaurant sponsor Hibbs- Hallmark Insurance. “We are so excited to bring Empty Bowls back for our second year,” said David Emerson, CEO of ETFB. “We have some of the best restaurants in Tyler participating in this event. We hope people will come out and enjoy some great food and drinks, listen to live jazz music and take home a bowl made by Tyler ISD children.” Empty Bowls will feature live music and a raffle and silent auction for great prizes. Guests can purchase handcrafted bowls from East Texas artists. The event will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 and are available at EmptyBowlsTyler.com. No guests under 21 years of age. Each ticket provides 250 meals to our neighbors facing hunger.
NACOGDOCHES — 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 “to determine any and all circumstances related to the accident.”
HENDERSON COUNTY — 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 Children’s 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 Sheriff’s 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 — 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. That’s when Jackson allegedly shot and killed Russell. Russell’s children saw it all. Jackson “caused the red on mommy’s dress, then she started making choking and coughing sounds,” they told police. Russells’ 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 »
JACKSONVILLE– 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.
TYLER – According to our news partner KETK, a Romanian national was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after he was found guilty of engaging in organized criminal activity in Smith County. Fabrizio Slatineanu reportedly entered America illegally from Mexico and was caught taking part in a credit card skimming scheme where he stole over $280,000 from Smith County residents in a single weekend, according to the 114th District Court.
During the sentencing hearing, multiple victims testified about how they had lost thousands of dollars from their savings accounts. During the hearing, Captain Jeff Roberts, a member of the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center, testified about how Romanian organized crime played an increased role in types of financial crimes similar to Slatineanu’s case.
Roberts also said he thinks open borders have helped to increase these kinds of crimes. Read the rest of this entry »
LUFKIN, Texas (KETK) – A Lufkin man was sentenced to more than 14 years in federal prison for drug trafficking and illegal possession of a firearm on Thursday.
According to our news partner KETK, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas Abe McGlothin, Jr. said that Bradley Skyler Bryan, 27 of Lufkin, has pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamines and possession of a firearm by a felon.
In April 2024, Bryan’s vehicle was searched during a traffic stop in Lufkin. An officer reportedly found “marijuana, vape pens, pills and a large amount of methamphetamine” along with a concealed handgun. Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY – Acccording to our news partner KETK, Smith County Sheriff Larry Smith has apologized after holding an immigration panel where he attempted to ease concerns within the Hispanic community. Smith said the forum came about after Hispanic employees working for the sheriff’s office reportedly advised Smith that many illegal immigrants were afraid to send their children to school, attend church, go to work and report violent crimes.
“I am but a mortal human being who strives to always do what is right. That does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that I am exempt from making mistakes. In a rush to try to make matters better, unfortunately I made some of those matters worse,” Smith said.
He apologized to Smith county residents, Gov. Greg Abbott and his office, Border Czar Tom Homan and President Trump. Read the rest of this entry »