News of the Ark-La-Tex

A house fire this morning in Redwater destroyed the home of Belinda Hastings Clark.

Texarkana police have arrested a man in connection with a vehicle theft.

Both the prosecution and defense have rested their cases in the Taylor Parker murder trial.

The Houma, Louisiana, Police Department responded to a call about a woman throwing her child from a bridge on September 23.

A six-year federal investigation has led to five members of a white supremacist gang being sentenced to prison.

A man was booked into the Travis County Jail on Wednesday after authorities say he drove onto the grounds of the Texas State Capitol, damaging a gate and metal bollard.

A “Topping Out” ceremony was held yesterday at the Texarkana Regional Airport as construction continues on the new terminal building.

Leaders of the American Red Cross in Texarkana held an open house event yesterday seeking volunteers.

A Texas couple found an abandoned baby in their backyard shed.

Four men from the Texarkana Texas Fire Department are traveling to Florida to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

Shreveport Police are seeking a suspect in an unusual burglary.

Foreman Arkansas has issued a boil advisory.

McCurtain County began fighting their third wildfire of the week yesterday.

Jurors saw videos taken after Taylor Parker’s arrest in the ongoing murder trial in New Boston.

A rate hike on water and sewer bills will go into effect on October 1.

Police have arrested a man in connection with the death of a bicyclist.

Dr. Marilynn Harris Wallace of Huntsville, Alabama, recently established the Dr. Marilynn Harris Wallace Endowed Scholarship at the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana.

A registered sex offender in Shreveport has been found guilty of having sexual contact with a teenager.

Area law enforcement agencies are still searching for a missing Cass County woman.

A twelve-and-a-half-foot alligator was pulled from the Sulphur River by three young hunters near Fouke.

Yesterday, jurors heard the grim details of the crime scene in the Taylor Parker murder trial.

A pedestrian who was hit by a motorist in Longview and remained atop the vehicle until the driver arrived at work has been identified.

A traffic stop in Cass County has led to money laundering charges for three men.

22-year-old Hayden Fant pleaded guilty on Friday to the sexual abuse of a 7-year-old girl.

A pair of teenagers will be tried as adults for an armed robbery in Shreveport.

A wildfire in McCurtain County Oklahoma caused several people to evacuate their homes.

The car of a Texas teacher who went missing September 22 has been found in New Orleans.

A trailer house fire has spread to multiple houses on Buchanan Loop Road.

The University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana will host the Southwest Arkansas Data Science and Computing Ecosystem (ArDSCE) Meeting at Hempstead Hall on October 14 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

The Miller-Bowie Health Coalition is hosting their fourth annual coat drive.

Day nine of the Taylor Parker murder trial brought testimony from the staff at McCurtain County Medical Hospital.

Out of an initial pool of 39 applicants, only six remain in the running for Arkansas-side chief of police.

A Shreveport man has been sentenced for sex crimes against children committed more than two decades ago.

Schools across Texas will be holding “random intruder detection audits” in the following weeks.

A Winthrop, Arkansas, man faces eight years in federal prison for receipt of child pornography.

A Caddo Parish Sheriff’s deputy was injured in a wreck Friday along with two other people.

A 61-year-old man is recovering after being struck by a bullet Sunday on I-20 near Shreveport.

A Plain Dealing man faces charges stemming from the sexual abuse and kidnapping of a child.

Police have arrested several men in relation to recent commercial burglaries.

A vehicle collision at the intersection of U.S. 82 and County Road 13 on Saturday night left one dead and four injured.

A wreck involving a semi-truck has left a woman and child dead in Oklahoma’s Choctaw County.

A pedestrian in Longview is dead after being struck by a vehicle on Friday morning.

On Wednesday, Atlanta Police Department Dispatch received a call concerning a reckless driver on East Main Street.

According to New Orleans police, a man stabbed a woman after she refused to go on a date with him.

A 25-year-old man has been sentenced in Sevier County for his part in a fatal wreck that occurred in 2020.

Two Shreveport officers have been placed on administrative leave after an officer-involved shooting.

A woman who was hit by a falling cell phone at the Oklahoma State Fair two days ago has returned to the hospital.

Windstream services are experiencing issues in the Texarkana area this morning.

Reagan Hancock’s mother took the stand yesterday in the capital murder trial of Taylor Parker.

A jury has found a Longview man guilty of killing a woman in January of last year.

Little River County will hold a mass flu clinic from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Little River County Health Unit.

The Animal Care and Adoption Agency will hold a ribbon cutting for their new building at 4 p.m. on September 30.

Wednesday morning in the Taylor Parker murder trial saw evidence from cameras and testimony from witnesses which places Parker near the scene on the morning Reagan Hancock was killed.

A top executive at plant-based food company Beyond Meat has been charged with felony battery after a fight outside a college football game in which he was accused of biting a man’s nose.

After a two year hiatus due to Covid-19, the Ashdown High School Alumni Association will finally have their 14th “annual” banquet.

The University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana TRiO Student Support Services Department has served students on the UAHT campus for 25 years.

AEP SWEPCO has announced a planned power outage this Thursday morning for Larry and Sidney Drives off Moores Lane.

Testimony from Wade Griffin’s mother Connie continued Tuesday morning in the Taylor Parker murder trial.

An Ashdown man has been awarded for saving a woman’s life in April of 2021.

The Texarkana Arkansas Police Department is seeking assistance locating a juvenile who ran away from the Department of Human Services Facility.

The Texarkana, Arkansas, board of directors met Monday to discuss the budget for 2022-23.

The Taylor Parker murder trial resumed yesterday.

Attorney General Ken Paxton announced the finalization of a substantial settlement with Centene Corporation and its subsidiaries that provide services to the Texas Medicaid program.

The Little River Chamber of Commerce is seeking individuals, businesses, and civic groups to participate in their Trunk or Treat event on Sunday, October 30.

Shreveport police are seeking a suspect in a Saturday shooting that left a woman dead.

The Hope Police Department have located a 17-year-old who went missing on Friday.

Mena police and fire officials have requested the Arkansas State Police to investigate the death of a woman whose body was found inside a residence Saturday.

Deputies and police from several East Texas counties pursued a man in a stolen vehicle into Caddo Parish on Sunday.

The Texarkana, Arkansas, School District is installing new smart labs at four of their campuses.

A missing woman is being sought by Cass County deputies and Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Wardens.

The Texarkana Arkansas Police Department is seeking assistance from the community in locating suspects who are on video trying to break into vehicles in a residential neighborhood near Razorback Stadium.

On Wednesday, Ashdown police arrested Robert Edward Gregory Jr. after the suspect fled into a wooded area near Highway 71.

The Wednesday “Precautionary Boil Water Notice” is hereby rescinded following the repair of a water main break, which impacted the residents located east of East St., south of East 9th St, west of Pinehurst St. and north of Pearl St, Texarkana, Arkansas.

A Texarkana man is being held in Bowie County jail after his dogs allegedly attacked a nine-year-old boy, leaving him with severe injuries.

Detectives have arrested a Bossier City couple after an investigation into grave desecrations in Haughton, Louisiana.

Routine maintenance is being performed by the U.S. Army Corps. Of Engineers at Wright Patman Lake.

Republican governors are escalating their partisan tactic of sending migrants to Democratic strongholds without advance warning, including a wealthy summer enclave in Massachusetts and the home of Vice President Kamala Harris, to taunt leaders of immigrant-friendly “sanctuary” cities and stoke opposition to Biden administration border policies.

During yesterday’s session of the Taylor Parker murder trial, Parker’s ex-husband Tommy Waycasey took the stand.

The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement announced yesterday that the Natural State has made progress in expanding opioid overdose treatment.

Arkansas will receive more than $50 million in federal funds in order to expand electric vehicle infrastructure.

A Shreveport man has been found guilty in a 2018 double murder.

Testimony yesterday in the Taylor Parker murder case brought to light a $20 million real estate deal that Parker tried to pull off while only holding part-time jobs at a staffing agency and OB/GYN clinic.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today announced a lawsuit against David Tyler, who conducts business as Tyler Pools & Construction, of Fayetteville, for violating the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (ADTPA).

The Food and Drug Administration has recalled more than 220 cases of Starbucks Vanilla Espresso Triple Shot.

A group of Red River Army Depot officials have received sentences in a case involving bribery and conspiracy.

Testimony in the Taylor Parker murder trial continued yesterday, including more details in the killing of Reagan Hancock and her daughter Braxlynn.

An ordinance approved by the Texas-side city council last month goes into effect this week requiring residents who aren’t licensed breeders to spay or neuter their animals.

Lawmakers in Louisiana are seeking to get rid of the state’s income tax.

A teenager from Shreveport has been sentenced to 85 years in prison for a motel shooting that left one dead and two injured.

There will be a Food Desert Focus Group for the Southwest Arkansas Region on September 16th, at Life House Church, 915 East Street, Texarkana, Ar.

The Miller-Bowie Health Coalition is hosting their fourth annual Coat Drive until October 17th.

A Sunday morning wreck claimed the lives of a third-grade student and his father and injured seven others.

The Harrison County Sheriff's Office has arrested a man in connection with the death of an Avinger man whose body was found on Herschel McCoy Road on Saturday.

At their weekly meeting, the Texas-side City Council discussed the passing of businessman Davis Gus Orr, recognized David Baumgardner's service to the community, unopposed candidate re-elections, amending the budget, and several other items up for consideration.

A Precautionary Boil Water Notice has been issued for the residences east of East St, south of East 9th St, west of Pinehurst St. and north of Dudley St, Texarkana, Arkansas.

Testimony has begun in the capital murder trial of a Simms woman who is accused of killing a New Boston mother and extracting the child from her womb.

The City of Texarkana, Texas would like to notify motorist of projects occurring in two locations this week that could impact traffic.

Walnut Hill Communications recently donated $20,000 to establish the Walnut Hill Communications Endowed Scholarship at the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana.

A 61-year-old Texarkana man who is accused of beating another man with an aluminum baseball bat allegedly used a box cutter to injure himself after the attack.

The body of a man was found in Harrison County on Saturday night.

The United Way of Greater Texarkana has started its 99th campaign year.

An East Texas judge has been arrested on a DWI charge.

The Arkansas State Police and the Department of Human Services have launched a new website to report child abuse.

A capital murder suspect set to be extradited to Arkansas has allegedly assaulted a Bowie County correctional officer.

Texarkana Police are warning local businesses about potential credit card scams after multiple stores in the area were hit last week. According to Public Information Officer Shawn Vaughn, there have been three incidents over the last few days where people used fake credit cards to make some big purchases. They say the scam artists are using blank credit cards to trick cashiers into believing that the transaction is being run as credit even though the back of the card has instructions to run it as cash.

Texarkana police are seeking a man who allegedly rammed his girlfriend’s car Friday afternoon, then shot her passenger in the arm. TTPD officers say around 5 p.m. Friday, Princeton Crawford became upset when he learned his girlfriend was giving rides home to one particular co-worker.

Miller County District Court and sister court at the Bi-State will be running an Amnesty Program through April 30th. Individuals can receive up to $350 off of any active misdemeanor warrants.

47 year old Christopher Jeff Langston has been sentenced by a Bowie County jury to life in prison for sexual assault of a child involving a victim who got pregnant and had his child at 14 years of age. The jury convicted Langston of sexual assault of a child Thursday after also hearing testimony from two other witnesses who allege they were sexually abused by Langston when they were 14.

Hooks High School student James Deanda has won the Texas High School state championship for UIL STUDENT CONGRESS after a grueling couple days of fierce competition in Austin.

The Animal Care and Adoption Center in Texarkana has closed temporarily. The adoption center is located on the 200 block of Harrison Street.

CHRISTUS St. Michael is writing another chapter in its more than 105-year history in Texarkana with the construction of the multi- million CHRISTUS St. Michael Hospital – West, set to break ground early this year. Set to open next year, the new, fully-licensed hospital will be conveniently located at Gibson Lane and Arista Blvd. in Texarkana.

With the public appearance of the Omicron variant, many COVID testing sites are being overrun by residents wanting to know whether they are infected or not. This being the case, Arkansas has taken another step to relieve some of the pressure at these sites. Bridging The Gaps of Arkansas in Texarkana has teamed with the Arkansas Department of Health in distributing free COVID-19 testing kits to residents. Johnny Riley, of Bridging The Gaps, said interest in the kits is running high. His organization received nearly 300 kits Tuesday, Jan. 12 and they were out by midmorning the next day.

Schools are closing on the Texas side of Both Texarkana school districts are now closed due to COVID related issues and will remain closed through at least Monday.

Texarkana Fire investigators are figuring out the cause of a blaze that destroyed a former outlet mall in the 2600 block of New Boston Road in Texarkana, Texas, Monday evening.

According to Texarkana Emergency Management Coordinator Eric Schlotter, a surge in positive COVID cases since Christmas is a major cause of Monoclonal antibody treatment centers across the ArkLaTex being affected by a national shortage of treatments such as Regeneron.