Homicide Suspect Released from Jail

TYLER — Smith County judicial records show 40-year-old Larry Cowart, a suspect in a June 9 homicide, has been released from jail. That’s according to our news partner KETK. Sheriff Larry Smith says deputies were initially sent to a location on CR 1145 around 2:20 a.m. on June 9 but initiated a traffic stop in Tyler after learning the victim was being transported in a private vehicle. EMS was called after 43-year-old Heath Bearden was seen unresponsive in the passenger seat, and Smith says Bearden was dead on arrival of EMS. Witnesses said several people were at Cowart’s home when Cowart shot Bearden once in the chest. An autopsy was ordered, and a bond of $750,000 was recommended for Cowart.