Man Found Guilty of Murdering Panola County Deputy

LONGVIEW– Our KETK News partner reports that A jury found Gregory Newson guilty for the murder of Panola County deputy William Chris Dickerson on Monday afternoon. Trial started on Monday.

Gregory Newson’s trial started in Gregg County on Wednesday morning.

It was moved out of Panola County, where the accused crime took place, after a judge determined that an impartial and fair trial could not happen there. The state is seeking the death penalty and Newson has pleaded not guilty.

Newson was charged and is accused of shooting and killing Panola County Sheriff’s deputy William Chris Dickerson. He is also accused of fleeing the scene, leading to a high-speed chase that ended in a crash in Louisiana back in 2019.

In Gregg County court on Wednesday morning, several witnesses were called to the stand, including former Panola County Sheriff Kevin Lake and deputy Dickerson’s partner at the time. Lake described his experience the night after one of his deputies was shot, becoming emotional.

“I can tell you right now, I can get up walk away and forget where I put my glass. That was 1,758 days ago … you don’t forget something like that,” Lake said. “Then we explained to them Chris had been involved in a shooting in a traffic stop and that he did not survive.”

Testimonies from several first responders who arrived to the scene were heard as well.

Body camera footage and dash camera footage of the night, showed the deputy being shot and the accused driving away was shown in court as evidence.