Smith County

Travis Wayne Jones: Accused Sex Offender Nabbed After Ten Years on the Run

A 50-year-old former Texan is currently awaiting extradition to East Texas in an Arkansas jail, where he was escorted earlier this week by United States Marshals. According to Tylerpaper.com, Smith County Sheriff Ray Nutt said the Marshals got a tip that Travis Wayne Jones was hiding out in a home ... More >>

Moonshining On The Rise in East Texas

For the second time this month, East Texas cops have broken up a moonshining operation. The latest case took place near Tyler, in tiny New Chapel Hill. Smith County Constables seized two stills belonging to one man whom they have charged with a misdemeanor, with more charges possibly pending. Cops ... More >>

Tanya "Lil' Bit" Martin: ETX Woman Facing Felony Charge in Pumpkin Heist

In our second example of East Texas pumpkin-related mayhem this week, Hair Balls brings you the story of Tanya Lanea "Lil' Bit" Martin, a pint-sized Tyler-area woman in a heap of crap over a $3.99 gourd. Earlier this week, Martin was formally indicted on a felony robbery charge for an October 5 inc ... More >>

Toys R Us Fights Hooters-Like Restaurant Opening Next To It In Tyler

No breasts, please​The noble breastaurant concept has come under fire in Tyler, where a Toys R Us is seeking a judge's help in preventing a Hooters-like company from opening a location next to their store. Why, the waitresses there wear tight sleeveless t-shirts and tight shorts!! Young child ... More >>

Dead Center

Bad things keep happening to people in Shawn Roberts's orbit.

Jason Bourque and Daniel McAllister: East Texas Church Arsonists Sentenced to Life

Courtesy Smith County SO Daniel George McAllister and Jason Robert Bourque​The crimes that East Texans Jason Robert Bourque and Daniel George McAllister were convicted of last month were disgusting indeed. The two young men, sometimes working together and other times apart, admitted to torchin ... More >>

East Texas Murdered Girl's Brother Suspected of Crime

Cops in New Chapel Hill believe 19-year-old Amanda Anderson was murdered by her brother. ​The story seems made for a Dateline special:Nate Anderson, 15, was home on a Wednesday evening in September with his 19-year-old sister -- parents were at work -- and decided to go for a quick jog around the ... More >>

The Moonshine's A Harsh Mistress, East Texas (Of Course) Man Learns

Uncle Slaton's got his Texan prideBack in the thickets with his Asian brideHe's got an Airstream trailer and a Holstein cowStill makes whiskey 'cause he still knows how -- James McMurtry, "Chocktaw Bingo" Thanks to an informant's tip, a real-life Uncle Slaton was busted earlier this month in Smith C ... More >>

Justice, Texas Style -- Read About It While You Can

Raw Roots

Excavations for plantation artifacts - and the real truth - are unraveling the genteel gloss covering Texans' old notions about the slave era here

Letters to the Editor

Absent a Mother

A judge says Karen Shrader can't see or talk to her children because she's a bad influence. Shrader says any “bad influence” comes from the application of her ex-husband's deep pockets to the East Texas legal system.

Cry for Justice

It doesn't matter that other courts and D.A.'s have cleared wrongly convicted inmates. Roy Criner's case is in Montgomery County, Texas.