The story headline links to a better view of the story and share features.
News
August 26, 2025 - A Nacogdoches felon has pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking and firearms violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Jonathan McArthur Brewer, 55, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christine L. Stetson on August 26, 2025.
According to information presented in court, on June 30, 2024, local law enforcement responded to a “shots fired” call and observed Brewer fleeing the scene in a vehicle matching the description of the suspect. A high-speed chase ensued, and Brewer was stopped. A search of the vehicle revealed a firearm and a large amount of methamphetamine. Further investigation revealed Brewer is a convicted felon and prohibited from owning or possessing firearms.
Brewer was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 15, 2025, and faces up to life in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald S. Carter.
August 25, 2025 - John Pope was sworn in as Shelby county Constable Precinct 5 on Monday, August 25, 2025.
Constable Pope was sworn in by Shelby County Judge Allison Harbison in the Shelby County Commissioners courtroom.
Pope was accompanied by his family and several friends and law enforcement from both Shelby County and surrounding area including Sabine County Sheriff George Griffith and Roy Cheatwood, Shelby County Constable Precinct 3.
County Commissioners Stevie Smith and Shannon Metcalf were also in attendance for the event.
Pope has over 20 years of experience in law enforcement and is a 2003 graduate of Kilgore Police Academy.
Pictured are (from left): John Pope, Raegan Pope, Angela Pope, Briley Pope, Dawson Pope and Becky Pope.
Pictured are (from left): Shannon Metcalf, Commissioner Precinct 2; Roy Cheatwood, Constable Precinct 3; Allison Harbison, Shelby County Judge; John Pope, Constable Precinct 5; and Stevie Smith, Commissioner Precinct 3.
John Pope (right) is seen taking his oath of office administered by Shelby County Judge Allison Harbison (left).
August 25, 2025 - The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Troopers are investigating a one-vehicle crash on Farm-to-Market Road 417, just east of Center, that occurred on Friday, August 22, 2025.
The preliminary crash investigation indicates that at approximately 4:10am, a 2017 Freightliner Cascadia driven by Gilberto Cardenas-Nava, 27, of Center, towing a 2007 Utility Trailer, was traveling east. It is reported that Cardenas-Nava failed to drive in a single lane, left the road to the right, and overturned.
Cardenas-Nava was not injured.
This is an ongoing investigation, and no further information is available at this time.
August 22, 2025 - A Shelby County Grand Jury delivered 21 indictments on Thursday, August 21, 2025. The grand jury was impaneled for the July 2025 term of the 123rd/273rd Judicial District Courts.
Robert Marcus McDonald was indicted for injury to a child, elderly individual or disabled individual, third degree felony. The indictment alleges, on February 28, 2025, McDonald caused bodily injury to Joseph Gennaro, an individual 65 years of age or older, by pulling him from a vehicle and punching him in the face. (123rd Judicial District Court)
Robert Marcus McDonald was indicted for assault by choking, third degree felony. The indictment alleges, on February 28, 2025, McDonald recklessly caused bodily injury to Joseph Gennaro, a member of McDonald's household as described by Section 71.003 of the Texas Family Code, by intentionally, knowingly and recklessly impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of Gennaro by applying pressure to the throat or neck of Gennaro. (123rd Judicial District Court)
Tracy Leroy Young was indicted for unlawful possession firearm by felon, third degree felony - punishment enhancement: second degree felony. The indictment alleges on March 26, 2025, after having been previously convicted of securing execution of documents and injury to a child on June 21, 1996, in the 273rd Judicial District Court in Shelby County, Young possessed a firearm before the fifth anniversary of Young's release from confinement following conviction of the felony. The indictment further presents Young was finally convicted on April 30, 1998 on the offense of injury to a child. (273rd Judicial District Court)
Simon Abel Esparza was indicted for tampering with physical evidence, third degree felony. The indictment alleges, on July 9, 2025, Esparza attempted, while knowing that an investigation was in progress, to conceal a handgun with intent to impair its availability as evidence in the investigation. (123rd Judicial District Court)
William Keith Brown was indicted for deadly conduct discharge firearm, third degree felony. The indictment alleges, on February 28, 2025, Brown discharged a firearm at or in the direction of Tina Brown. (273rd Judicial District Court)
William Keith Brown was indicted for abandon/endanger child individual intentionally, knowingly, recklessly with criminal negligence, state jeil felony. The indictment alleges, on February 28, 2025, Brown engaged in conduct that placed a minor child in imminent danger of death, bodily injury, or physical or mental impairment by firing a gun above the child's head and in the child's direction. (273rd Judicial District Court)
Jose Guadalupe Martinez was indicted for theft of property >=$2,500<$30K, state jail felony. The indictment alleges, on April 19, 2025, Martinez took a 2016 Lucon bumper pull car hauler trailer, of the value of $2,500 or more but less than $30,000 from Matthew Buchanan, the owner, without the effective consent of Buchanan and with intent to deprive him of the property. (273rd Judicial District Court)
Thomas Chase Lee was indicted for driving while intoxicated with a child passenger, state jail felony. The indictment alleges, on July 5, 2025, Lee operated a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated by reason of the introduction of alcohol into the body, and the vehicle was occupied by children younger than 15 years of age, a six-year-old child and four-week-old infant. (273rd Judicial District Court)
Edwin A. Humphrey was indicted for harassment by a person in a correctional or detention facility, third degree felony. The indictment alleges, on July 1, 2025, while Humphrey was imprisoned or confined in Shelby County Jail, a detention facility, and with intent to assault, harass, or alarm caused jailer Andrew Valadez to contact the saliva and feces of Humphrey. (123rd Judicial District Court)
Jordan Tyrese Osby was indicted for assault on a public servant, third degree felony. The indictment alleges, on June 25, 2025, Osby recklessly caused bodily injury to [Deputy] Jimmy Matthews by knocking him down, and Osby knew that Matthews was a public servant, namely a law enforcement officer, and that Deputy Matthews was lawfully discharging an official duty, namely Shelby County Sheriff's Office Patrol Deputy. (273rd Judicial District Court)
(Some of the following content contained within indictments is of a sensitive nature and may not be suitable for younger viewers.)
Sarah Elizabeth Ramon was indicted for three separate counts including sexual assault, second degree felony; improper relationship between educator and student, second degree felony; and indecency with a child by exposure, third degree felony. The indictment alleges in Count 1 - Sexual Assault that on December 15, 2023, Ramon caused the sexual organ of a child younger than 17 years of age to penetrate her sexual organ. In Count 2 - Improper Relationship Between Educator and Student, the indictment alleges that on December 15, 2023, while Ramon was an employee of Joaquin High School, she intentionally and knowingly engaged in sexual intercourse with a person who was enrolled as a student in Joaquin High School. In Count 3 - Indecency with a Child By Exposure, the indictment further alleges Ramon with intent to arouse and gratify her desire caused a child younger than 17 years of age to expose his genitals. (123rd Judicial District Court) (Related article: Shelby County Sheriff Reports Arrest of Teacher; Bonds Set at $275,000)
(Dates in parenthesis indicate the date of the alleged incident):
- Jerry Glynn Bell, possession of a controlled substance PG1/1-B >=1G<4G (methamphetamine), third degree felony (Punishment enhancement - Habitual Offender: 25 years to Life) (December 13, 2024). (123rd Judicial District Court)
- Michael Keith Mize, possession of a controlled substance PG1/1-B >=1G<14 (methamphetamine), third degree felony) (May 27, 2025). (273rd Judicial District Court)
- Jacarro Keion Bennett, felony driving while intoxicated, third degree felony. (March 26, 2025). (273rd Judicial District Court)
- Christopher Lance Askew, manufacture or delivery of substance in penalty group 1 (phencyclidine), second degree felony (Punishment enhancement - Habitual Offender: 25 years to Life) (December 28, 2024). (123rd Judicial District Court)
- Christopher Lance Askew, manufacture or delivery of substance in penalty group 1 (methamphetamine), state jail felony (Punishment enhancement - Habitual Offender: 25 years to Life) (December 28, 2024). (123rd Judicial District Court)
- Christopher Lance Askew, felony driving while intoxicated, third degree felony (Punishment enhancement - Habitual Offender: 25 years to Life) (June 9, 2025). (123rd Judicial District Court)
- Christopher Lance Askew, possession of a controlled substance PG1/1-B >=4G<200G, second degree felony (Punishment enhancement - Life or 15-99 years) (June 9, 2025). (123rd Judicial District Court)
- Christopher Lance Askew, possession of a controlled substance PG1/1-B >=4G<400G, second degree felony (Punishment enhancement - Life or 15-99 years) (June 9, 2025). (123rd Judicial District Court)
- Christopher Lance Askew, unlawful possession firearm by felon, third degree felony (Punishment enhancement - Life or 15-99 years) (June 9, 2025). (123rd Judicial District Court)
- Shydra S West, possession of a controlled substance in penalty group 2 (tetrahydrocannabinol, other than marijuana), state jail felony. (123rd Judicial District Court)
Indictments and Information are not a conviction, and are a matter of public record. All individuals are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.
August 22, 2025 - The Shelby County Sheriff's Department requests the public’s assistance in gathering information regarding Old Home Baptist Church’s chapel and fellowship hall being shot multiple times with a firearm. Old Home Church is located a short distance from FM 699, on CR 3455, near Paxton. Several of the projectiles penetrated to the interior of both the chapel and fellowship hall.
This egregious act is believed to have occurred between 7:30pm, on August 20, 2025, and 8:30am on August 21, 2025.
If you have any information regarding this incident, please contact our dispatch at 936-598-5601, or you may contact Chief Deputy Mike Hanson directly at 936-234-3598. Thank you in advance for any assistance that can be provided.
August 21, 2025 - United States Geological Survey (USGS) confirms a 3.0 magnitude earthquake in the Huxley area August 21, 2025.
According to details from the USGS, the earthquake was approximately 9 km west of Huxley at a depth of 7.5 km and was at 4:09pm
August 20, 2025 - FDA Advises Public Not to Eat, Sell, or Serve Certain Imported Frozen Shrimp from an Indonesian Firm Frozen shrimp imported from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati is in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act. FDA’s investigation is ongoing.
Alerts, Advisories & Safety Information
Product and stores affected Certain raw frozen shrimp products processed by PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati (doing business as BMS Foods), a company located in Indonesia, and sold at Walmart stores in AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MO, MS, OH, OK, PA, TX, and WV.
These products include the following product names, lot codes, and best by dates:
- Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005540-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027
- Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005538-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027
- Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005539-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027
Additional product information is in a table below.
At this time, no product that has tested positive or alerted for Cesium-137 (Cs-137) has entered the U.S. commerce. FDA is working with distributors and retailers that received product from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati after the date of first detection of Cs-137 by Customs & Border Protection (CBP), but from shipments that did not alert for Cs-137, to recommend that firms conduct a recall. In conjunction with other information, FDA determined that product from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati violates the Federal Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act in that it appears to have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with Cs-137 and may pose a safety concern.
FDA has also added PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati to a new import alert for chemical contamination to stop products from this firm from coming into the U.S. until the firm has resolved the conditions that gave rise to the appearance of the violation.
FDA’s investigation is ongoing. This advisory will be updated as more information becomes available.
Health impacts of cesium exposure FDA detected Cs-137 in a single shipment of imported frozen shrimp from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati that did not enter U.S. commerce. The level of Cs-137 detected in the detained shipment was approximately 68 Bq/kg, which is below FDA’s Derived Intervention Level for Cs-137 of 1200 Bq/kg. At this level, the product would not pose an acute hazard to consumers. Avoiding products like the shipment FDA tested with similar levels of Cs-137 is a measure intended to reduce exposure to low-level radiation that could have health impacts with continued exposure over a long period of time.
The primary health effect of concern following longer term, repeated low dose exposure (e.g., through consumption of contaminated food or water over time) is an elevated risk of cancer, resulting from damage to DNA within living cells of the body. Additional information about Cs-137 and your health is available through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry resources.
Recommendation If you recently purchased one of the impacted lots of Great Value raw frozen shrimp from Walmart, throw it away. Do not eat or serve this product. Distributors and retailers should dispose of this product and should not sell or serve this product. If you suspect you have been exposed to elevated levels of cesium, talk to your healthcare provider.
Product Descriptions Consumers should not eat or serve certain lots of Great Value raw frozen shrimp sold at Walmart stores in AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MO, MS, OH, OK, PA, TX, and WV
Brand - Product Name - Product Type - Best By - Item Code - Lot Code - Distributor
- Great Value, Frozen Raw White Vannamei Shrimp, Frozen Raw Ez Peel Tail-On Farm-Raised White Vannamei Shrimp, 2lb bag, 3/15/2027, 7383108 8005540-1 Walmart
- Great Value, Frozen Raw White Vannamei Shrimp Frozen Raw Ez Peel Tail-On Farm-Raised White Vannamei Shrimp, 2lb bag, 3/15/2027, 7383108 8005538-1, Walmart
- Great Value, Frozen Raw White Vannamei Shrimp Frozen Raw Ez Peel Tail-On Farm-Raised White Vannamei Shrimp, 2lb bag, 3/15/2027, 7383108
John Pope (left) is seen seated beside Taylor Fanguy, Constable Precinct 4 (right).
August 20, 2025 - Following an executive session held during Shelby County Commissioners’ Court on August 20, 2025, John Pope was appointed Constable Precinct 5
Commissioner Tom Bellmyer moved that John Pope will be established as the Constable for Precinct 5 and he would like for that to take effect starting Monday, August 25, 2025, to allow time for Pope to get his bond established also to give notice to Sabine County. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Stevie Smith and it carried.
County Judge Allison Harbison stated they would not be able to make decisions on any of the other issues they discussed during executive session.
August 17, 2025 - A strong thunderstorm will impact southwestern De Soto Parish and southeastern Panola and northeastern Shelby counties until 5:15pm CDT.
At 4:47pm CDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over Joaquin, or 14 miles northeast of Center, moving northeast at 25 mph.
Hazard: Wind gusts up to 50 mph and pea size hail.
Source: Radar indicated.
Impact: Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible.
Locations impacted include: Center, Logansport, Tenaha, Joaquin, Huxley, Keachi, Grand Cane, Longstreet, Stanley, Paxton, James, Deadwood, Keat Chie, Front and Reeds Store.
Precautionary/Preparedness Actions: Monitor the weather situation closely and be alert for threatening weather conditions.
This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio stations and available television stations for additional information and possible warnings from the National Weather Service.
August 17, 2025 - The Joaquin Volunteer Fire Department, along with several mutual aid departments, responded to a significant hay barn fire off of County Road 441 in Panola County on the morning of August 17 at approximately 9:30am.
Firefighters were dispatched to a barn that contained an estimated 150 to possibly 200 bales of hay. The structure was already fully involved in flames upon arrival. The location of the fire was within the jurisdiction of the Woods Volunteer Fire Department in Panola County, but Joaquin VFD arrived at the same time due to proximity.
Multiple departments provided mutual aid to contain the fire. These included Woods, Tenaha, Timpson, Huxley, Shelbyville, and DeSoto Parish Fire Departments. The joint effort lasted around five hours before the fire was brought under control.
Thanks to the coordinated response, the fire was contained to the barn structure itself. No other property was damaged beyond the barn and the hay. The Texas State Forest Service also responded and determined that a containment line would be placed around the site. The remaining fire will be allowed to burn out safely over the next several days.
Pages
