TYLER -- Tyler Fire Chief Neil Franklin announced today that he will be resigning after more than 21 years with the City of Tyler effective Aug. 8, 2008. He will be pursuing a new career with the Brook Hill School in Bullard in leadership training and character development. He will also be the assistant boy’s basketball coach. We'll have more on this story later -- and you can go to http://www.cityoftyler.org for additional information.

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TYLER -- Tyler Police catch two suspects in the act of burglarizing cars this morning. Samuel Isai Ortega, 17, and Josue Joel Rodrigues, both of Tyler were taken into custody. It happened around 4:00 in the 1300 block of Barbara Street where the victim had seen two suspects enter her car, which was parked in her driveway, and take her satellite radio. As officers arrived, the two took off in their vehicle and were arrested shortly after they wrecked on a dead-end street near Green Acres Baptist Church. Several other items believed to be stolen were recovered from the suspect's vehicle. Ortega was charged with burglary of a vehicle and Rodrigues was charged with burglary of a vehicle, along with 2 warrants for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and failure to stop and render aid.

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LONGVIEW -- Longview police officers captured seven suspects from two different burglaries early Thursday morning. The first burglary officers responded to was at L.C. Automotive at 610 S. Green Street just after midnight. A passerby called police and reported that she saw two men breaking into the building.

Arriving officers say they spotted the two suspects inside the building gathering property and placing it next to a hole they had kicked into an overhead door. Officers then went into the building and arrested the two suspects, 19-year-old Christopher Dee Bridges of Longview and 24-year-old Jeremy Ray Overman of Kilgore. It was determined that officers had arrived before the suspects were ever able to remove any property from the business and both Bridges and Overman were booked into the Gregg County Jail for burglary of a building.

The second burglary officers responded to was shortly after 4:30 a.m. at the Blockbuster video store at 2430 S. High St. #E. Dispatch had received an alarm call at the store and arriving officers found five people in a vehicle, attempting to leave the location. The suspects were stopped, and officers noticed gloves, burglary tools, and an electrical meter box inside the car. Additional responding officers found that several meter boxes had been pried off the rear wall of the Blockbuster building and that forced entry had been made into the store. Officers discovered numerous items missing from inside Blockbuster video.

As the investigation continued, Officers discovered that the back door to the neighboring Acceptance Insurance Company had been pried, but not opened. Police say an illegal shotgun was located inside the suspects’ vehicle, and one of the suspects had illegal knuckles in his pocket. Authorities say several DVDs stolen from Blockbuster were recovered outside the building on the ground. The suspects were arrested and booked at the Gregg County Jail.


The suspects' names and charges are as follows:
-20-year-old Stephen Crooks of Ft. Worth is charged with failure to identify, burglary of a building, attempted burglary of a building, and criminal mischief.
-17-year-old Ashton Lamar Lloyd of Ft. Worth is charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, burglary of a building, attempted burglary of a building, and criminal mischief.
-17-year-old Datwan Maurice Dickson of Ft. Worth is charged with failure to identify while a fugitive from justice, burglary of a building, attempted burglary of a building, and criminal mischief.
-18-year-old Marcel Deshaun Chiles of Ft. Worth is charged with failure to identify, burglary of a building, attempted burglary of a building, and criminal mischief.
-21-year-old Deandre Lamar Pipkin of Longview is charged with burglary of a building, attempted burglary of a building, and criminal mischief.

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LONGVIEW -- Longview police are following up after a man was assaulted and his vehicle stolen. Police and EMS responded just after 8:30 Thursday morning to a report of a person lying in the roadway at the intersection of Jarvis Avenue and Roosevelt Street. They found 45-year-old Stephen Sawyer of Longview with injuries to his head. Sawyer was able to tell officers that an unknown person assaulted him and took his SUV. Officers searched the area and found Sawyer’s vehicle in a wooded area west of Stamper Park on Molton St. There is currently no suspect description available for release. The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to call Gregg County Crime Stoppers at 903-236-STOP or Detective Eric Hewitt at 903-237-1151.

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OVERTON -- East Texas authorities are looking for two men who robbed the Brookshire’s Grocery in Overton. The holdup happened around 11:30 Wednesday morning. The armed men escaped with an unknown amount of money. No injuries were reported. At last report the suspects were seen north bound on Farm Road 3053. They were said to be in a maroon car, possibly a Chevy Cavalier.

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VAN ZANDT COUNTY -- A Fort Worth man pleads guilty to having fake checks in Van Zandt County. Ramadan Shabaz, 21, will serve 4 years for conspiring to distribute forged checks. According to KETK, in 2007, a state trooper pulled over Shabaz and three other passengers in Van Zandt County for speeding. The trooper found 21 counterfeit checks in the car.

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TYLER -- The East Texas Food Bank is joining the ranks of local agencies assisting in relief efforts for Hurricane Dolly. Food bank trucks will deliver over 20,000 ready-to-eat meals and over 34,000 bottles of water to South Texas. “We are always on standby and ready to respond in times of disaster,” says food bank director Robert Bush. "This comes at a time when family budgets are being impacted by food and fuel prices -- and we are working with our sister food banks to assist these families during this time."

"Together our network is able to respond quickly to provide food assistance to families who are affected by Hurricane Dolly," says Vicki Escarra, President and CEO of America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network. "We are thankful for the East Texas Food Bank and their quick response to disasters when called upon."

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LONGVIEW -- The City of Longview Partners in Prevention and the Longview Police Department are announcing the city’s participation in Texans Against Crime (TAC). This year marks the 18th year the City of Longview will participate in an awareness campaign against crime. Previous participation was in National Night Out, sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch. Officials say this year will mark the move to Texans Against Crime (TAC) to better accommodate Texans and beat the heat by being held on Tuesday, October 14.

Brenda Buck, Co-Coordinator of TAC from Partners in Prevention stated, “Last year, Longview hosted 117 parties and well over 6,000 residents participated. This is a tradition we plan to carry on in 2008.” According to Mayor Jay Dean, “this initiative reinforces the unity in community efforts and encourages our citizens to be a part of the solution when possible.” All citizens are encouraged to participate by hosting or attending one of the many TAC parties designed to promote neighborhood alliances that strengthen our community and preserve the quality of life in East Texas. For more information about TAC, or to host a block party, you're asked to call Brenda Buck at 903-237-1019. You can also log onto http://www.TexansAgainstCrime.org to learn more.

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TYLER -- At least two area cities have imposed mandatory water rationing due to excessively dry conditions. But Tyler isn't considered likely to join their ranks. Officials say thanks to careful planning, Tyler Water Utilities has enough water to meet the needs of all of the citizens of Tyler for the next 75 years. In fact, officials say, the City of Tyler is positioned to provide water to meet the needs of all of Smith County through the year 2084. But Director of Utilities and Public Works Greg Morgan does encourage residents to water lawns early in the morning instead of during the heat of the day to reduce evaporation. You can go to http://www.cityoftyler.org to read more.

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ANGELINA COUNTY -- An Angelina County man is arrested and accused of beating a 3-month-old girl. Kenneth Ray Loftin Jr., 26, is charged with injury to a child. According to KETK, authorities say hospital x-rays show the child with 5 rib fractures, a broken right leg and a healed left leg injury. Authorities say the child's mother saw Loftin push the baby on the ground and squeeze her ribs.

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TYLER -- A garbage truck driver says he's fine after hearing a loud explosion and seeing fire on the back of truck. It happened around seven Wednesday morning at the Royal Crest Apartments on the 1900 block of Sybil Lane. The driver says he was on his regular route dumping trash in his garbage truck, when he began compressing the trash he heard an explosion and saw the back of the truck in flames. He pulled into an abandoned Wal-mart parking lot off Troup Highway to dump out the trash. KETK reports that firefighters were able to extinguish the flames. The driver says this has happened twice in his 13 years on the job.

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WHITEHOUSE -- After earlier ordering an odd/even system, the city of Whitehouse now says no outdoor watering will be allowed until further notice due to Tuesday afternoon's high demand on the system. City officials say the system now needs time to recover to its normal levels. Crews are currently working to place two new wells at the city's Southside Treatment Plant temporarily online to help meet current demand. The city hopes to update residents sometime next week as to when odd-even watering may resume. Once the odd-even system is back in effect, it's not expected to end until late September or early October. The notice does not include Walnut Grove W.S.C. customers

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LONGVIEW -- A Longview home has been extensively damaged by fire. The blaze was reported around 12:30 yesterday morning in the 3500 block of Judson Road. The initial report said the fire was caused by fluorescent light ballast in a rear bedroom closet. No injuries were reported.

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TYLER -- Starting yesterday, motorists traveling on Old Bascom Road, County Road 2120, just west of the intersection of Old Bascom and Old Omen Roads found a detour. The detour will meet Old Omen Road, County Road 262, south of the intersection of Old Bascom and Old Omen Roads. There is a three-way stop at the intersection of the detour and Old Omen Road, which means that traffic traveling on Old Omen Road will be required to stop. This detour will be in place for at least three months while Old Omen Road is under construction. Motorists are encouraged to use caution and pay attention to warning signs while driving in this area.

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LUFKIN -- A Lufkin judge plans to ban Nintendo Wii and Gamecube controllers, after the company lost a $21 million patent lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Ron Clark ruled in favor of Tyler-based Anascape Ltd., which claims ownership of technology used in the Wii Classic Controller, the Gamecube controller and the wireless WaveBird controller. The standard Wii remote and the Wii nunchuk are not affected. Nintendo may escape the ban by posting a bond or putting royalties in escrow. According to KETK, a Nintendo spokesman says the company plans to make a federal appeal, and retains the right to sell the Wii Classic Controller pending the appeal.

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Some remnants of Hurricane Dolly blew off roofs and knocked trees across several blocks in San Antonio. Emergency officials say no one was injured but firefighters and other officials are going door-to-door to assess damage.

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HARLINGEN (AP) - Downed power lines from Hurricane Dolly remain the greatest danger today in South Texas, and officials are urging people to stay home one more day "unless it's life or death." One person died in Matamoros, Mexico after walking past a downed power line. President Bush declared south Texas a disaster area to release federal funding to 15 counties, and insurance estimators put the losses at $750 million.

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GRAPEVINE (AP) - The Baylor University Board of Regents has ousted President John M. Lilley. The regents say he was unable to unite the school's students, faculty and administrators. Board Chairman Howard K. Batson repeatedly declined to discuss specific shortcomings. Lilley had been president since November 2005.

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Lawmakers and former polygamist church members met at a hearing Thursday in Washington to accuse a West Texas polygamist group of denying women and children their basic rights. The panel -- requested by Senator Harry Reid -- met to consider ways to better coordinate federal and state law enforcement's response to groups like the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Prosecutors say the church has successfully avoided some law enforcement action by moving across state and international boundaries.

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MIDLOTHIAN (AP) - The Department of Public Safety says a small plane crashed Thursday after clipping the side of a quarry in Midlothian. DPS says the pilot died in the crash about 25 miles southwest of Dallas. No word yet on what caused the single-engine plane to strike part of the limestone quarry operated by TXI.

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WASHINGTON (AP) - A South Texas soldier missing in action since a 1950 battle during the Korean War will be laid to rest next month. The Defense Department Thursday announced identification of the remains of Master Sergeant Cirildo Valencio of Carrizo Springs. DNA testing helped ID the remains that were located in 2002.

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