Tyler County News

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By Chris Edwards
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Matthew EdgarSABINE COUNTY  – A manhunt continues for a Sabine County man who was sentenced three months ago to 99 years in prison for murder.

Matthew Hoy Edgar, a 25 -year-old Hemphill man, has been at large since he failed to show up for day four of his trial on Jan 27. On that day, he was found guilty, and subsequently sentenced. Despite his absence, the trial continued through his attorney. He was last seen on the previous day.

Edgar was convicted of murdering his girlfriend Livye Lewis on Oct. 31, 2020. According to Sabine County Sheriff Tom Maddox, the search continues and “has intensified and broadened” as of Sunday, he said in a news release. 

While Edgar has remained at large, Maddox has reported on social media as well to regional media outlets that there have been leads followed as to Edgar’s whereabouts, but all 10 leads were cleared and closed with no contact with the convicted killer.

“As these investigative leads come in, they are assigned to a deputy or completed by the lead investigator for the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office,” Maddox said. Several of the leads to date involve leads from East and Northeast Texas as well as Western Louisiana.”

Last week, Maddox said that the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office has checked out sightings of Edgar in Jasper and Orange counties.

Maddox said for any Sabine County residents, as well as anyone in the region who has seen Edgar, or has knowledge of his whereabouts, to contact either the Sabine County Sheriff’s Office at 409-787-2266 or to call 911. He said that anyone who sees him should not try to contact or try to stop him. He is considered armed and dangerous. He is described as having short brown hair, blue eyes and is approximately six feet tall. 

Maddox said anyone who sees Edgar can also contact the US Marshals’ Office through its website at https://www.usmarshals.gov/tips/index.html.

Maddox provided a recent photo of Edgar, which was taken during his trial, exiting the courthouse. Most photos of Edgar available on regional media are of his booking photo, which show him with shoulder-length hair.

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(Austin, TX) - State Representative James White is now taking applications from Southeast Texas students who want to be selected as recipients of the Texas Armed Services Scholarship Program (TASSP). The purpose of the TASSP is to encourage students to become members of the Texas Army National Guard, the Texas Air National Guard, the Texas State Guard, the United States Coast Guard, or the United States Merchant Marine, or to become commissioned officers in any branch of the armed services.

Students who wish consideration must be enrolled in an institution of higher education directly from high school and meet two of the following four criteria at the time of application:

- Be on track to graduate (or have graduated high school) and complete the curriculum requirements of the Distinguished Level Achievement Plan or the International Baccalaureate Program (IB);

- Have a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher;

- Achieve a college readiness score on the SAT (1590) or ACT (23); and

- Be ranked in the top one-third of the prospective high school graduating class.

"It is an honor to be able to recommend outstanding Southeast Texas students who plan to be active in Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) programs for this scholarship opportunity," said Rep. White. “As a former officer in the army, I am glad to see these young men and women, who are interested in serving our country, seek out a quality college education.”

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board will open legislative member nominations for the TASSP scholarship on April 19th, 2022. We ask that those interested apply as soon as possible.

Additional information and applications for the TASSP can be found at www.hhloans.com. Students may send their applications to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before July 31st, 2022. If you have any questions, please contact State Representative James White's office at (512) 463- 0490 or (409) 283-3700.

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By Chris Edwards
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Richard SniderIVANHOE  – An Ivanhoe man was arrested on multiple charges after Tyler County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a disturbance call last week.

According to Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford, a call came in on Thursday, April 21, when deputies were dispatched to an Ivanhoe residence in reference to a family disturbance involving weapons. When deputies arrived at the house on Sir Henry Drive, they were able to make contact with, and talk with, witnesses and a victim. 

They were told that a suspect, identified as 37-year-old Richard Jacob “Jake” Snider, of Ivanhoe, had already left the residence. Allegedly, Snider had fired several gunshots outside the house and entered, and threatened the victim.

The deputies managed to college several items of evidence, Weatherford said, as well as witness statements, but could not locate Snider.

The next morning, at 1:15 a.m., deputies were made aware that Snider had returned to the residence. When they arrived, they detained him, and he admitted that he had, in fact, entered the residence and threatened the victim while holding a 9 mm. handgun.

The deputies also learned that an active warrant was out for Snider’s arrest from the city of Jasper on a Class A theft charge.

Snider was booked into the Tyler County Justice Center, and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, as well as the active warrant from Jasper. His bonds, set by Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Ken Jobe, totalled $63,000.

Snider is currently out on bonds.

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By Chris Edwards
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CECIL ZIMMERMANSPURGER – Tyler County Sheriff’s Office recently concluded an investigation and made an arrest of a Warren man.

According to Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford, deputies began an investigation late last year in reference to a dollar bill that was received at the Spurger Exxon and covered in an unknown white powder. 

Weatherford said that TCSO recently received a lab report from the Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab that confirmed the white powder to be methamphetamine. 

Additionally, deputies were able to work with the store’s employees to gather evidence, including video surveillance footage. 

“With video footage and knowledge of the individual, deputies and clerks were able to identify the individual in possession of the meth as Cecil Zimmerman,” Weatherford said.

Zimmerman, a 29-year-old Warren resident, was located and arrested in Spurger at a residence, and transported to jail on a felony possession of a controlled substance charge, as well as a parole violation warrant issued by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Parole Division.

Zimmerman is a registered sex offender, and according to the Texas DPS Sex Offender Registry, has a lifetime registration requirement, stemming from two rape charges from 2010, one of a 15-year-old girl and another of a 14-year-old. He was on 10 years’ parole and probation for each charge.