Tyler County News

Hicks sentenced to life in prison for 2019 murder

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By Chris Edwards

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Blaze HicksWOODVILLE – A jury handed down a guilty verdict and life sentence to Blaze Hicks for the 2019 murder of Brandon Wood.

Hicks, 29, a Silsbee man, stood trial last week in a five-day trial before District Judge Delinda Gibbs-Walker. The verdict and sentence were both handed down on Friday, Feb. 11 in the District Courtroom inside the Tyler County Courthouse.

Tyler County’s District Attorney Lucas Babin said the conviction was a victory for law enforcement in the county and added that “East Texas is safer now that Blaze Hicks has been removed from society.”

Babin said that during the trial, evidence made a case that Hicks had a long history of violence prior to the murder of 28-year-old Wood on the afternoon of Sept. 23, 2019.

During trial, more than 20 witnesses and 45 different pieces of evidence exhibited to the jury told the story of the day that Hicks traveled from Silsbee to Warren looking for Wood. The story that unfolded in the courtroom showed that Hicks carried a loaded .22 rifle with him and began firing at Wood, who was unarmed, shortly after he saw him.

Hicks shot Wood four times in the back and fled the scene, and although he got away, he dropped his cellphone in the process. That phone was recovered by law enforcement later, and it contained a selfie of Hicks on its home-screen, according to Babin.

Wood was able to dive into the woods after being shot and ran a short distance before collapsing. Some bystanders attempted CPR on him until paramedics arrived. Wood was later pronounced dead at Tyler County Hospital.

The witnesses on the scene, who heard multiple gunshots and saw Hicks’s vehicle leave the scene and a high rate of speed, described Hicks’s truck, a black pickup with the phrase “Break ya Neck” emblazoned on the windshield. He was arrested later that day in Silsbee by deputies with the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office.

Hicks attempted to tell law enforcement that he had not left Silsbee that day, and that his truck was in the driveway all day, however, security camera footage from a business near the Tyler/Hardin county line showed otherwise.

First Assistant DA Pat “Hawk” Hardy added that Newton County deputy Keith Franklin was also a valuable contributor to making the case against Hicks.

“This was a team effort to get a dangerous individual off the street,” Hardy said.

Brian Seales, who worked at the time for TCSO as an investigator, had recovered two .22-caliber cartridges from Hicks’s truck, as well as two additional cartridges at the crime scene, which were sent to the DPS Crime Lab for forensic analysis. Upon testing, all four cartridges were determined to have been fired from the same gun.

Hicks, who was represented by Ryan Gertz, was originally set to stand trial last August, and then reset for September. At one point, last May, while he was being held in the Tyler County Jail, he and another inmate escaped, but were both caught later the same day in the Silsbee area.

February 16, 2022
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Police arrest sex offender

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By Chris Edwards
news@tylercounty>booster.com

Marcus Dion BrownWOODVILLE – A tip from Child Protective Services led to the arrest of a man who had been convicted of a sex crime in Indiana.

According to Capt. Jathan Borel with the Woodville Police Department, officer Troy Costello received the priority one report, and immediately began looking into it. The report indicated that a man, Marcus Dion Brown, had felony warrants out of state.

Brown was wanted in Indiana for failure to register as a sex offender. Borel said that the 43-year-old Brown was residing locally under an alias, “Lopez.”

When Costello made contact with Brown, he was staying in the Woodville Inn, and continued to deny his true identity. Borel said that he also was in possession of a firearm when he was placed under arrest last Wednesday.

“Further investigation of Brown revealed that he was a suspect in a CPS investigation for sexual abuse of a child,” Borel said.

Borel added that Brown has a documented history of intimidation. “Therefore, we are concerned that there may be additional victims. There may be people who have been coerced to doing things under duress,” Borel said.

Brown was booked into the Tyler County Justice Center, where he remains in custody; booked in for the out-of-state warrants, as well as possession of a firearm by a felon. He was issued a no bond by Woodville Municpal Judge Judith Haney, and Borel said more charges are anticipated.

In their investigation, Woodville PD found that Brown had previously stayed in Hillister, as well as Silsbee, and they are still working to find out how long he had been in Woodville, and looking to find out how and why he wound up in Tyler County.

Borel said that the police work of his colleague was key to getting Brown off the streets. “Officer Costello did a really good job on this,” he said. “He took a small bit of information that he had, which could have easily been nothing, because a lot of the time the info CPS gets is just concern or suspicion.”

“Every once in a while it takes someone to pick up the ball and run with it,” Borel said of Costello. “Officer Costello did a great job.”

Borel said that Woodville PD wants to do its part to locate anyone else who may have information about Brown, as well as anyone who may have been victimized by him. Anyone wishing to come forward may contact Woodville PD at 409-283-3791, or can visit the police station, located at 113 N. Charlton Street in Woodville. Borel noted that anyone with information will remain anonymous.

February 12, 2022
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Man injured at Woodville Pellets plant

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TCB Staff

WOODVILLE – An accident at the Woodville Pellets plant resulted in an injury to a worker, sources indicate, last week, on the night of Wednesday, Feb. 2.

According to publicly available Facebook posts, Robby Bertrand was taken to the UTMB Galveston burn unit with injuries, and sustained burns to more than 70% of his body.

According to posts, his condition is stable, but he has a long road ahead of him, according to one family member’s public post.

At present, there is no statement from Woodville Pellets on the accident.

In the meantime, according to the Facebook page Chester Chat, there are community efforts to help Bertrand and his family during this time.

One member of the page has begun a “food train” for the family, with volunteers able to get meals to the family at the hospital. In public posts, friends of Bertrand have asked for prayers on his and his family’s behalf.

February 9, 2022
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Regional manhunt continues for murderer

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By Chris Edwards
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Matthew EdgarSABINE COUNTY – A regional manhunt continues for a Sabine County man who was sentenced last week 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 trial last Thursday. On that day, he was found guilty, and subsequently sentenced. Despite his absence, the trial continued through his attorney.

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 last week during his trial. Most photos of Edgar available on regional media are of his booking photo, which show him with shoulder-length hair.

February 6, 2022
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Hicks trial scheduled

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Blaze HicksBy Chris Edwards
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WOODVILLE – The trial of a Silsbee man accused of a 2019 murder is scheduled to begin next Monday with jury selection.

Blaze Daniel Hicks, 29, is set to stand trial in Tyler County’s 1A District Criminal Court. Hicks, who is from Silsbee, is accused of killing 29-year-old Brandon Wood of Kountze.

Hicks’s trial was originally scheduled for last August, then cancelled and reset for September. Hicks is also being charged with three other felonies: aggravated kidnapping with a deadly weapon; unlawful possession of firearm by felon and escape while arrested/confined.

Hicks is being represented by Ryan Gertz, is accused in Wood’s murder, which occurred in late September of 2019.

The case began when deputies with the Tyler County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about a shooting east of Warren. When they arrived, they discovered a man laying at the edge of the roadway with an apparent gunshot wound to his upper torso.

The man, identified as Wood, was later pronounced dead at Tyler County Hospital, and according to witnesses on the scene, an altercation had taken place at the residence, and saw Hicks drive down to Wood’s location and stop.

Witnesses also heard multiple gunshots and Hicks’s vehicle leave the scene and a high rate of speed, according to Tyler County Sheriff Bryan Weatherford. He was later arrested near Silsbee by deputies with the Hardin County Sheriff’s Department.

Hicks has remained in the custody of Tyler County since his arrest, however, in May of last year, he and another inmate of the jail, Christopher Mobley, briefly escaped. Both were caught in the Silsbee area later that same day.

February 5, 2022
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