Tyler County News

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By Chris Edwards
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TOWN BLUFF – A recent arrest led to additional charges and another arrest for a Woodville man, and the arrest of another individual, regarding stolen property in the Dam B area.

Last Monday, deputies arrested both Keiosha Rowinsky, age 30 and 28-year-old Tommy Lee Chambless, both of Town Bluff. 

Chambless was out of jail on bond from an arrest two weeks ago, in which he led law enforcement on a high-speed chase, which ended in a wreck. Rowinsky and Chambless are both being charged with burglary of a habitation and engaging in organized criminal activity.

According to Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford, a report was made on March 28 of trespassers at a residence on County Road 4120, and while no one suspicious was found, Weatherford said deputies put extra patrol duty into place in the area.

The next day, Weatherford said, deputies who were patrolling that morning along CR 4120, observed ATV tracks which were not visible during the previous day, and led to the residence where the report was made of trespassers. 

When deputies came to the property, they discovered that two golf carts and an ATV were missing from where they had been parked the previous day, and they also found that an RV had been broken into.

Weatherford said the deputies found out from the property owner that a .22-caliber rifle, an auger, a Weed-Eater and mini-bike were missing.

Later that morning was when Chambless was arrested the first time, and Weatherford said that as the deputies gathered additional information, linking others to the burglary, Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace Milton Powers began issuing arrest warrants.

Powers set bonds for Chambless and Rowinsky at $125,000 apiece. “More arrests are expected as this investigation continues,” Weatherford said.

Rowinsky is also charged with felony manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance with a bond set at $100,000 by Judge Powers.

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FullerBy Chris Edwards
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WARREN – Tyler County Sheriff’s Office deputies made an arrest of an out-of-state fugitive last week in Warren.

According to Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford, deputies who were patrolling in the Warren area last Thursday, and arrested James Gregory Fuller, a 51-year-old man residing in Warren. The deputies appeared at Fuller’s residence to serve a felony warrant for his arrest.

Once Fuller was taken into custody and transported to the Tyler County Justice Center, he was charged with Felony Gross Sexual Imposition out of state from Ohio. The charge came by way of a secret indictment, according to Weatherford.

Pct. 3 Justice of the Peace Milton Powers told Fuller that a district judge in Stark County, Ohio had set a no bond on him. 

As of Monday, Fuller was still in custody, in Tyler County, awaiting extradition to Ohio. According to the Ohio Penal Code, the charge Fuller was handed alleges that he sexually assaulted someone by using threat or force, or the victim could not provide consent due to intoxication; or that the victim was 13 years old or younger.

A public records search revealed that Fuller is on the North Carolina state sex offender registry for a 2016 crime of indecency with a minor.

Under Ohio statutes, one who is convicted of gross sexual imposition is subject to more severe punishment than one who is convicted of other sexual crimes.

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ChamblessBy Chris Edwards
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DAM B – A high-speed chase last week in the Dam B area resulted in the arrest of a Woodville man, and could result in additional charges, according to Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford.

Last Tuesday morning, at approximately 10 a.m., Weatherford said that deputies with the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office were out patrolling around Dam B and attempted to make a stop on a 2006 Cadillac for a traffic violation on FM 92, just north of where U.S. 190 intersects. 

Weatherford said the suspect, Tommy Lee Chambless, a 28-year-old Woodville resident, refused to stop for the deputies, who had activated lights and a siren. 

Chambless continued onto county road 3725, and maintained high rates of speed, getting up near 100 mph, Weatherford said. He led deputies on the chase for two miles, before wrecking the car, after the road had turned to dirt.

Chambless attempted to evade capture, on foot, but was caught a short distance from the crash site. He was taken into TCSO custody, and transported to the Tyler County Hospital, where he was medically cleared a short time later, Weatherford said. 

He was then booked into the Tyler County Justice Center and charged with felony evading arrest (with a motor vehicle.) 

Chambless’s bond was set by Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Ken Jobe at $75,000. He is currently out on bond, but according to Weatherford, could face additional charges, along with several other individuals. 

TCSO has been investigating several recent burglaries in the Dam B area, Weatherford said.

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By Chris Edwards
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WOODVILLE – For East Texans who love live music (and shame on you, if you don’t) the name Randy C. Moore should set off a few bells.

Since re-settling back into Texas in 2020 with his wife Linda, Moore has been a regular presence on stages throughout the region and the state. Moore is bringing some of his engaging wit and storytelling acumen along with his prowess as a solo acoustic act to Woodville on Sunday, April 9, when he plays the Emporium Stage downtown.

Doors open at 2:30 p.m., and local musician “Wild Bill” Spurlock will open the show. Spurlock, of course, is the namesake proprietor of Wild Bill’s Grill in Woodville, where Moore has performed several times.

For many artists, the love of their chosen medium can be all consuming, and with Moore, it is evident that he lives and breathes music. 

Moore identifies as a country artist, but his sound and tastes come from a variety of places. A veteran of the music industry and Nashville, Moore can rattle off seemingly esoteric facts about everyone from Neil Young and U2 to the late, great Carl Perkins, in a way that makes for fascinating storytelling.

Onstage, Moore can impersonate several artists, including Johnny Cash, vocally, and he covers songs from a variety of sources, but at the end of the day, Moore’s own sound is tempered with a warm, friendly vocal cadence and an intimate identification with the songs – whether they came from his pen or others’.

“An artist is someone who takes something that feels right for them and can deliver it to an audience,” he said. 

Since he relocated to Texas, he and his wife used the pandemic-stricken year of 2020 as a time to resettle and move, or “Texas-ize,” as he calls it. 

“[The pandemic] afforded me the opportunity to reset my studio and reset my songwriting,” he said.

They settled in Nacogdoches, after Moore said they made a conscious decision to move back to Texas, two years before the pandemic put the hold on so many things.

“I just decided I did not want to live in Tennessee anymore, and had done all I could there,” Moore said.

In the time since then, Moore has become a steady presence to audiences across the region, and he is also popping up on some upcoming festivals, including the Wildflower Festival in Richardson in late May and TwisterFest in Oklahoma.

He has also released a couple of albums, Lufkin and Hwy. 59, both of which are filled to the brim with his heartfelt lyrics and inescapable melodies. Such songs as “I Sold a Lot of Beer” and “Big in Texas” have gotten radio play.

Moore said he is also working on an upcoming EP, which he is co-producing with Norbert Putnam, a music legend who played bass on many Elvis Presley recordings. 

For the Emporium show, Moore promises that audiences can “come and enjoy music the way it was meant to be, with a voice, a guitar and some great stories.”

He said he will draw from the repertoire of original tunes, as well as covers. “They’ll hear me play songs from other writers who I’ve met, and whose stories I know,” Moore said.

One artist who he promises to cover is his late influence Perkins, whom he knew quite well. Moore is also working on a screenplay about Perkins’ life, with Perkins’ daughter.

Tickets to the show on Sunday are $20 for reserved seats; $15 for general admission. For tickets, call 409-283-3832 or 409-200-4759.