Police

Phillips arrested; charged with false subpeonas

Lance Phillips, son of Smith County Precinct 3 Commissioner Terry Phillips and County Clerk Karen Phillips, remains in the Smith County Jail this week after being arrested for issuing subpoenas without authorization, county officials said. According to the warrant, a detective with the Smith County Sheriff’s Office was asked to investigate three processes that were

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Lance Phillips surrenders to authorities after court incident

Lance Phillips, son of Smith County Precinct 3 Commissioner Terry Phillips, turned himself into authorities this past weekend after evading arrest on a contempt of court charge last Thursday in Winona, officials said. Smith County Precinct 4 Constable Josh Joplin confirmed Phillips surrendered on Saturday, July 29. Phillips was booked into the Smith County Jail

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Lindale man sentenced to 30 years for child sex crimes

Colin Wade Turner, 67 of Lindale was sentenced to 30 years in prison this past week after pleading guilty to multiple child sex crimes in 2022, officials said. Turner was arrested on Dec. 2, 2022 on five counts of possession of child pornography and one count of indecency with a child. On Tuesday, July 25

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Body found off I-20 in Van Zandt County

TYLER – At 4:03 yesterday afternoon, DPS Troopers responded to a report by Texas Department of Transportation road crews of a body they discovered while cleaning debris from the grass on the south side of IH-20 approximately 2.6 miles west of the city of Canton in Van Zandt County.  An investigation is under way to

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Suspect jailed on murder, aggravated assault charges

Demarkus Bircher, 21 of Tyler, remains in the Smith County Jail on murder and aggravated assault charges stemming from a shooting which occurred around midnight on Tuesday, Jan. 19, Smith County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Larry Christian said. Deputies responded to a shooting call in the 3200 block off Jackson Avenue in the New Chapel Hill

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New K-9 officer, handler join constable staff

Deputy Constable Alvin Gordon and Officer Blaze, a 71-pound Belgian Melanois, will be traveling to the Austin area to attend handler school soon. Though Blaze is already certified, Gordon who joined Precinct 5 Constable Jeff McClenny’s office in March has been waiting for a training school he can attend. For more about Gordon and Blaze,

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Louisiana man arrested after intense multistate investigation for cattle theft

  QUITMAN — Thanks to a five-month investigation by Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) Special Rangers and Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) Brand Inspectors, a Louisiana man is behind bars on three felony cattle theft charges out of Texas. TSCRA Special Rangers Larry Hand and Bo Fox were in Louisiana Tuesday

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Narcotics Arrest Completed after Lengthy Investigation

  During the month of February 2018, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit and Texas Department of Public Safety initiated an investigation into Kevin Ramon Erwin. During the investigation, investigators developed probable cause which led them to believe Erwin was manufacturing and delivering a controlled substance, namely Heroin and Methamphetamine. A lengthy investigation led

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Sheriff’s Office Investigating Several Mail Thefts

  In the past three to four months the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and Tyler Police Department have received an excessive amount of mail theft reports.  During these criminal episodes, the suspect(s) are indiscriminately fishing large amounts of envelopes from the blue mail receptacles typically found in the parking lots of local businesses.  The intended

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Tyler Man Sentenced for Online Solicitation of a Minor

  Ruben Hernandez Contreras (DOB: 01/27/1995), of Tyler, was sentenced to 11 years in prison yesterday for the offense of Online Solicitation of a Minor by a Smith County Jury in the 114 th District Court. On October 17, 2018, Agents of the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted an investigation where undercover agents posed

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