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Former cop pleads guilty to indecency charge

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By Chris Edwards
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MUGSHOT DeesWOODVILLE – Johnathan Broussard Dees, a former law enforcement officer and Doucette resident, who is currently serving time for multiple sex offenses against children, pleaded guilty to another charge on Monday in District Court.

Dees was charged with Indecency with a Child by Exposure. According to Tyler County District Attorney Lucas Babin, a plea deal netted Dees a five-year sentence, which will run concurrently with his existing sentence he is serving. Those sentences run until March 2029.

The five-year sentence handed down in 2023 to Dees was for convictions in Jasper and Orange counties. The victim in the Tyler County case, according to Babin, was the same victim in the case from Orange County.

Dees was arrested in September of 2022 by the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office on another indecency charge (sexual contact). At the time he was already registered as a sex offender; classified as a low-level offender, with a requirement for annual verification.

His offender status stemmed from an investigation on an incident from 2006, where he sexually assaulted a child under the age of 14, according to one account of his crime. He had worked as a sheriff’s deputy for both Jasper and Jefferson counties.

Dees was indicted in December of 2011 for the charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child, a first-degree felony. He took a plea bargain in 2016, and avoided jail, with seven years’ deferred adjudication, a $2,500 fine and 160 hours of community service, along with the lifetime sex offender registration requirement and a permanent surrender of his peace officer license.

The conviction on the 2022 charge got him the five-year sentence he is currently serving, and he is being held at the Ellis Unit in Huntsville. Records indicate he is eligible for parole in March 2026.

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Harmon named to DETCOG leadership position

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Andrew Harmon DETCOG

By Chris Edwards
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LUFKIN – Last Friday, the Deep East Texas Council of Governments (DETCOG) and Economic Development District announced Tyler County native Andrew Harmon to serve as the new Assistant Executive Director.

Harmon will work under DETCOG’s executive director Lonnie Hunt and said “I’m thrilled to announce my new role as the Assistant Executive Director…it’s an honor to have been selected, and I’m blessed to be in a position to serve my community in this capacity.”

Harmon, who graduated Colmesneil High School, earned college degrees at the University of Texas in Austin, and dating back to his high school career, has worked in service-based positions within the community and in governmental entities, having worked for the county as an intern.

He also worked as a journalist, having written for the Tyler County Booster during his high school days as a stringer reporter and later as part of an internship while obtaining his master’s degree.

He has been employed by the state’s General Land Office since graduating with his master’s degree from UT.

“Although I’ll miss my time at the GLO, I’m proud of the direction the agency is heading under Commissioner Dawn Buckingham’s leadership,” he said.

Harmon added that he is “grateful for the relationships I formed during my time at the GLO, and I’m excited to continue working with many familiar faces in this new capacity.”

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Texas files Colony Ridge suit for fraudulent practices

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Residents of the Houston-area development, who were maligned by Republicans last year, have complained about the developer for years.

By Alejandro Serrano,
Texas Tribune

HOUSTON — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday sued Houston-area developer Colony Ridge for committing deceptive trade practices and real estate fraud against homebuyers there, months after state Republicans claimed many residents were undocumented immigrants and the area was a hub for drug cartels.

The state’s allegations mirror a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in December that alleged Colony Ridge lured thousands of Latinos into seller-financed mortgages and set them up to face foreclosure. The alleged practice, repeated thousands of times, destroyed those Latinos’ dreams of owning property, government officials said.

Paxton’s suit filed in federal court in Houston marks the most significant action to date taken by the state, whose agencies have received complaints from Colony Ridge residents for years about potential problems — including some that echoed the federal government’s allegations of financial wrongdoing. However, the state had little to show for those complaints, according to an investigation by The Texas Tribune and Houston Landing.

“Colony Ridge’s business model is predicated on churning land purchasers through foreclosure mill,” Paxton’s lawsuit says. “Namely, Colony Ridge targets foreign born and Hispanic consumers with limited or no access to credit with promises of cheap, ready to build land and financing without proof of income.”

A Colony Ridge spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Right-wing media last year portrayed the development as a magnet for undocumented immigrants and criminal activity. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered lawmakers to address the development, but legislators struggled to craft bills that addressed the area after hearing from local officials and the developer. The Legislature ultimately approved up to $40 million in funds that could be used to pay for state troopers to patrol the Liberty County development.

A 2023 Houston Landing investigation found Colony Ridge had reacquired 45% of the 35,000-plus properties it had sold since 2012. The company’s practices raised concerns of a predatory lending scheme, experts told the Landing, which published the report in December, days before the Justice Department announced its lawsuit.

 

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Warren ISD investigating threat

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By Chris Edwards
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WARREN – An incident being described as “a possible terroristic threat” within the Warren Independent School District was reported on Friday.

In a statement from the district, Warren ISD acknowledged awareness of the threat, which was directed toward the district’s junior high campus. “It is being handled and investigated, with law enforcement being involved,” the statement read.

All parties involved, according to the statement, are safe and secure and there is no immediate danger at this time. Warren ISD Superintendent Rusty Minyard said that “everyone is safe,” and added that “we’ve got law enforcement personnel on all our campuses.”

Minyard explained that the threat itself was “not credible”; that the student in question “had no means to carry it out,” he said.

Sources indicate that Warren ISD held meetings on Tuesday regarding a plan of action and addressing the incident.

According to a source, the threat allegedly involved a student who threatened to shoot at the school. However, due to the fact that it is an ongoing criminal investigation, the district cannot speak about the nature of the threat at this time.

Warren ISD stated that the safety of both students and staff/faculty is the district’s “number one concern and priority at all times,” and that the district is taking the matter “very seriously.”

Minyard said in the event of such a situation, Warren ISD is prepared, and with this incident, once school officials were made aware, he said the situation was handled.

“We’re on top of the situation,” Minyard said. “This infraction is being handled in accordance with our student code of conduct.”

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Lakeside Apostolic Church destroyed in blaze

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Lakeside Apostolic Church was destroyed by a fire on Saturday afternoon. CHRIS EDWARDS | TCBLakeside Apostolic Church was destroyed by a fire on Saturday afternoon. CHRIS EDWARDS | TCB

By Chris Edwards
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DAM B – A weekend fire destroyed Lakeside Apostolic Church in Town Bluff. The cause of the fire is officially undetermined at present.

According to reports, the fire broke out on Saturday afternoon at the church, which is located on Highway 92, east of Dam B.

According to Lakeside Apostolic pastor Harold Davies, there was speculation that the fire might have begun in the kitchen area of the church, as a new major appliance had recently been installed.

While the cause is unknown at this time, a fire marshal will be investigating the scene, according to Dam B Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mark Holcomb.

Initially, firefighters with the Dam B VFD responded to the alarm which went out around 1 p.m., but soon after, requested additional assistance from other fire departments in the area.

Firefighters and emergency personnel from Spurger; Woodville; Beech Grove and Tri-Community responded to assist with the efforts.

The church building is a complete loss, after firefighters fought to control the blaze for more than two hours. Holcomb said that while the damage sustained to the building in the fire made it a total loss, there were, thankfully, no injuries.

Holcomb added that in addition to several fire departments showing up to assist, community members also volunteered with tasks such as handing out water bottles to the firefighters.

The church’s auxiliary building was not affected by the fire, and there were no injuries reported. Lakeside Apostolic Church is known around the region for its food distribution ministry.

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