Today is
Friday June 05, 2026
HENDERSON COUNTY– A 17-year-old man from Trinidad was arrested on Wednesday after a car chase in Henderson County, where officials said he struck another vehicle. According to an arrest affidavit and our news partner KETK, officers from the Tool Police Department were dispatched to Arnold Hills Road after receiving reports regarding a suicidal man who had stolen a dark colored 2022 Kia Soul.
After locating the suspect, an officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop on Lyndell Drive, but the driver disregarded the officer and continued to flee from authorities.
As the pursuit continued, the suspect collided with another vehicle that was traveling on State Highway 274. After the collision, the pursuit continued toward Tool and eventually ended in Trinidad.
Following the pursuit, the suspect was identified as Caidyn Farris. He was booked into the Henderson County Jail after being charged with evading arrest, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful use of a vehicle.
TYLER – A man was arrested after a shooting was reported in the Montgomery Gardens Boulevard area in Tyler on Monday. Deputies responded to the 2200 block of Montgomery Gardens Boulevard at around 1:30 p.m. on Monday for reports of shots fired. Our news partner KETK reports that two individuals arrived at a house and exited their vehicle to speak with the occupants. An argument ensued when a man emerged from the house while brandishing a weapon.
One of the people from the vehicle had returned to the passenger seat when the man who had emerged from inside the house allegedly started firing at the car’s passenger side door.
The man inside the vehicle was uninjured, according to the sheriff’s office. The man who fired at the car was arrested and will be charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and booked into the Smith County Jail.
LONE STAR — Local and state officials are continuing to investigate an oil spill that spread across much of the shoreline at Ellison Creek Reservoir, with inspectors identifying the source at a well site on U.S. Steel property. According to our news partner KETK, Morris County Judge Doug Reeder met with the Precinct 2 Commissioner and the County Attorney on Monday morning to review the status of the oil spill at Ellison Creek Reservoir.
Reeder also added, a Railroad Commission inspector is on site and continuing an inspection of the spill in coordination with a Texas Game Warden. The inspector determined the source of the unauthorized oil release was a reserve pit at a oil well site located on U.S. Steel property. Investigators with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality are expected to meet with the Railroad Commission inspector Monday to continue assessing the scale of the spill, its environmental impacts and any possible next steps.
Read the rest of this entry »
SMITH COUNTY – One person has been injured following a head-on collision involving a day-care bus and a pick-up truck on Monday morning. According to our news partner KETK and the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, the crash happened in Tyler, on FM 2493, near Whataburger and Tyler Legacy Trails at around 8:20 a.m. Monday.
The driver of the pickup truck sustained injuries and was transported to the hospital, according to Nikki Simmons, the public outreach coordinator for Smith County Emergency Services District 2. No children were aboard the bus at the time of the crash and the driver had no reported injuries. However, both vehicles were heavily damaged.
TYLER – As severe weather moves through East Texas, many power companies and electricity co-operatives have reported thousands of power outages across the area.
Lake O’ the Pines marina docks flipped over by high winds
Our news partner KETK has compiled the following list of East Texas counties from the Texas power outage map and as of 11:00 a.m. on Monday, about 2,694 customers were without power. You can view that list here.
ATHENS – Four people have been charged for attempting to bring suspected cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and illegal pills into the Henderson County Jail with a tube of eczema cream. According to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office and our news partner KETK, a narcotics investigator was investigating drug trafficking in Henderson County when they learned about a plan to deliver illegal drugs to the Henderson County Jail on Saturday morning.
Several sheriff’s office investigators and K9 deputies were able to intercept the delivery of drugs, which reportedly made use of a Gold Bond eczema cream tube to hide balloons of suspected cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and pills.
The sheriff’s office has arrested Megan Chapman, 36 of Eustace, and Shannon Boyle, 47 of Eustace, with allegedly attempting to make the delivery to two inmates in the jail, Jessy Pierce, 28 of Mabank, and Joshua Sallings, 40 of Mabank. Read the rest of this entry »
JEFFERSON, Texas (KETK) – The Bullfrog Marina on Lake O’ the Pines was damaged by high winds during severe weather on Sunday. According to the Lake O’ the Pines Chamber of Commerce, the outer section of the marina’s boat slips were entirely flipped over by Sunday’s high winds, likely damaging many boats docked there.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office reported multiple downed trees and a downed stop sign on Sunday as well.
EAST TEXAS — Several East Texas firefighter crews have been deploy to help respond to wildfires and elevated fire conditions being reported across the state. According to our news partner KETK, Smith County Emergency Services District 2 has deployed a NWCG qualified dozer operator, a dozer operator trainee and a heavy equipment boss trainee to Childress to help fight wildfires there.
The district said this was the first time the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System (TIFMAS) has been used to deploy their dozer operators. TIFMAS Coordinator Josh Bardwell said their deployment has been years in the making.
“A couple of us former TFS heavy equipment operators that came to the County years ago are proud to see this come to fruition,” Bardwell said. “We retooled the county’s fire dozer training and qualification process to meet state standards years ago and it’s paying off.” Read the rest of this entry »
TYLER – Crime rates declined in most East Texas counties over the past year, according to newly released FBI data, though a handful of counties reported significant increases. Data from the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Crime in Texas (CIT) Online Portal shows reported crime fell in 18 of the 28 East Texas counties between 2024 and 2025.
Rains County recorded the largest decrease, with reported crime falling 36.03% between 2024 and 2025. Meanwhile, Anderson County saw the largest increase, with reported crime rising 53.19% during the same period. Smith County reported 5,793 crimes in 2025, giving it a crime rate of about 2,293.4 per 100,000 residents after adjusting for population. While Nacogdoches County has less than half the population of Smith County, it recorded a higher crime rate of 2,702.5 in 2025, meaning crimes occur more frequently there relative to the county’s population.
Our news partner KETK compiled a list showing how crime rates changed across East Texas counties from 2024 to 2025. You can view that list here or by continuing to read below. Read the rest of this entry »
RUSK — The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Rangers, HEAL Corp, ALERT Academy and Houston County Search and Rescue are conducting another search for Rusk missing man James David Blount.
According to our news partner KETK, Blount was last seen near his residence on Dec. 2, 2025, more than 90 days ago. The 57-year-old white man is around 5-feet-9-inches tall, weighs about 200 pounds and has brown hair and blue eyes. His vehicle was later found abandoned on U.S. Highway 84 at the Neches River.
The sheriff’s office is searching the woods behind Blount’s house and workshop on Highway 84. Officials are searching this area more thoroughly on Friday and Saturday in order to rule out the area immediately surrounding Blount’s home.
Cherokee County Sheriff Brent Dickson told KETK News that “a bunch of different stuff” was found during their search but they can’t say whether any of the items are actually related to Blount’s disappearance. Dickson added that they’re looking into all of the things they’ve found during their continuing search. Read the rest of this entry »
NACOGDOCHES — A judge ruled on Thursday that Stephen F. Austin State University must maintain all existing women’s sports teams, after the university cut several sports teams in August 2025. According to our news partner KETK, a U.S. District Judge approved a stipulated agreement requiring SFA to continue its current women’s teams with funding, staffing and benefits comparable to other varsity intercollegiate programs while the plaintiffs’ claims proceed in court.
“We are pleased that SFA has entered into this agreement, which will preserve the existing women`s teams and allow the case to move forward as quickly as possible,” the Arthur Bryant Law Firm said in a statement.
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by several women athletes in August 2025 alleging the Nacogdoches-based university violated their Title IX rights when it decided to cut the women’s beach volleyball and bowling teams, as well as the women’s and men’s golf programs.
JACKSONVILLE — The Jacksonville Police Department has arrested a man following a lengthy investigation into alleged sexual coercion, stalking and harassment involving multiple victims. According to our news partner KETK, Jacksonville PD said Dewayne Scott Chapline, 58, was taken into custody Friday after investigators linked him to a prolonged campaign of online harassment carried out through email accounts, social media platforms and impersonation-style identities.
According to investigators, Chapline allegedly used threats and intimidation to pressure a victim into sending sexually explicit images. Police said he then used those images to blackmail the victim, continuing to demand additional content while threatening further harm.
Chapline faces charges of sexual coercion, stalking, online impersonation, obstruction or retaliation and harassment. Read the rest of this entry »
ANGELINA COUNTY — A Lufkin man found guilty of causing severe burns to a child was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday. In the 159th Judicial District Court, Judge Todd Kassaw sentenced Miguel Gonzalez, 28, to life in prison starting Thursday for his charge of injury to a child in an incident that occurred in September 2022.
According to law enforcement and our news partner KETK, Gonzalez intentionally put a female child younger than 14-years-old in a bathtub with hot water on Sept. 26 2022, causing severe burns that made parts of her skin allegedly peel off. At the time of the incident, Gonzalez was dating the victim’s mother and was watching the child. The victim’s mother first told officers that her daughter had fallen into the bathtub, but upon further questioning, she said Gonzalez had pushed her.
Gonzalez later told officials that the water in the tub was lukewarm, but he allowed her to play while he spoke with his roommate for a couple of minutes. According to law enforcement, Gonzales said the child turned on the hot water. Read the rest of this entry »
RUSK – An attorney representing the Rusk Police Department said that it is aware of a sexual misconduct allegation against an officer stemming from a 2022 arrest. Attorney Antony J. King said the allegation comes from a June 20, 2022, arrest for driving while intoxicated. King said the department has begun reviewing evidence, including body camera footage, in-car dash camera recordings and incident reports.
According to our news partner KETK, the individual who came forward will remain anonymous and the department is committed to ensuring that the investigative process remains fair, objective, and consistent.
“The Department recognizes that allegations of this nature can have serious implications for all parties involved and for the community’s confidence in its public safety institutions,” King said. “Every complaint received by the Department is evaluated carefully, objectively, and without presumption. The goal of this review is to determine the facts, ensure accountability where warranted, and protect the rights and dignity of everyone involved.”
RUSK – The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Rangers and HEAL Corp are conducting another search for Rusk missing man James David Blount. According to our news partner KETK, Blount was last seen near his residence on Dec. 2, 2025, more than 90 days ago. The 57-year-old white man is around 5-feet-9-inches tall, weighs about 200 pounds and has brown hair and blue eyes. His vehicle was later found abandoned on U.S. Highway 84 at the Neches River.
The sheriff’s office is searching the woods behind Blount’s house and workshop on Highway 84. Officials are searching this area more thoroughly Friday and Saturday in order to rule out the area immediately surrounding Blount’s home.
Read the rest of this entry »