When One Just Can’t Catch a Break
C. Garcia
He just can’t catch a break. Christopher Brandon Garcia, 32, has been held since February of this year in Hopkins County Jail on $400,000 bond. Tuesday, April 5th, he sought a bond reduction in the Eighth Judicial Court in Hopkins County. The good news is his bond was reduced to $100,000. The bad news is that last Friday additional bond for charges from Washington County for burglary of a building in the amount of $200.000 were added. The final bond total is at least $50,000 less than where he started.
In February of this year, Garcia along with Dustin Kyle “Dud” Garcia, 33, of Mesquite, were arrested in room 221 at the Seagoville Inn in Seagoville Texas. Both were transported to Hopkins County Jail where B. J. Teer set bond at $400,000 each. No JP’s were available in Seagoville according to Seagoville Police. With these two arrested on active warrants only one other active warrant remains. Christopher Lee Chambers of Maybank is also wanted in connection to the theft ring.
In late January, seven (7) individuals involved in the theft of utility, all-terrain vehicles in three states had been booked into Hopkins County Jail. Brian E. Wheeler of Balch Springs; David Paul Rockwell of Terrell; Ricardo Saldivar, 34, of Combine; James Lindy Minter, 37, Joshua Christopher Terry, 34, and Laronda Kaye Reed, 29, all of Kemp; and Darrell Wayne Waites from Deville, Louisiana. All have been charged locally with organized criminal activity. Hopkins County Criminal investigators, Sulphur Springs Police Department Detectives, and Investigator Tony Hurley have been working since last November with others to round up what is thought to be a ring plying their trade of theft in Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Texas.
Goodson Sentenced to Seven Years
In Eighth Judicial District Court Tuesday, April 5th, Zataviane Quamaine Goodson, 19, was sentenced to seven (7) years on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and burglary of a habitation. Both were a motion to revoke probation. He created several problems with his parole in January of this year.
He was arrested Thursday afternoon, January 21st for a theft at Walmart in Sulphur Springs, but his self-inflicted problems increased. Goodson was contacted in the parking lot by Sulphur Springs Police Department Officers where it was discovered that the subject had an active Criminal Trespass Warning in connection with two previous thefts which prohibited him from being on the Walmart property. A witness at the scene claimed to have observed Goodson remove an item from its packaging and hand it to a subject he was with who then concealed the item in his clothing.
During transport to the Hopkins County Jail, Goodson advised the Officer “I’m gonna call my boys and have them deal with you.” The subject then strung together a long sentence full of expletives aimed at further threatening the Officer. “You [expletives] should say your final words to your family, cause when I get out I’m gonna kill you and your family.” The subject then claimed to have recognized the Officer at the Sulphur Springs Livestock Auction on Monday, January 18 and advised during transport that “I should have shot you in the back at the sale barn.”
SSHS Plant Sale
The Sulphur Springs Horticulture and FFA departments will be holding their annual plant sale this Saturday, April 9th. All plants sold were grown by floral design students. Current floral design students and FFA members will run the plant sale. Plants being sold include Boston ferns, geraniums, begonias, lantanas, verbenas, pentas, vincas, impaitens, petunias, and celebrity tomato plants. Only cash and checks will be accepted. Contact Melissa Robbins with any questions at 940-536-9094 or [email protected].
It’s Game Day!
It’s another busy Tuesday game day. Lady Cats soccer at regional quarterfinal, softball hosting Marshall, Wildcats baseball hosting Marshall, Golf teams in the second day of district tournament, and tennis in first day of district play.
The Lady Cats’ soccer team will play Mansfield Legacy in a regional quarterfinal match in Terrell at 6 p.m. today. The Lady Broncos of Mansfield Legacy were the district champions in their district 14-5A. They have no given up a goal in two playoff victories, 7-0 over Dallas Adamson and 5-0 over Lindale. We’ll bring you all the action tonight on KSST Radio beginning at 6 p.m. We’ll also videotape the game for replay on Channel 18 TV at a later day on Suddenlink Cable. Following the soccer game, KSST will join Texas Rangers baseball in progress.
Also the Wildcats’ baseball team and the Lady Cats’ softball team will both be hosting Marshall tonight. The Lady Cats’ game starts at 6 p.m. at Lady Cat Park. The Wildcats game gets underway at 7 p.m. at Eagle Stadium.
Meanwhile the Wildcats and Lady Cats’ golf teams have day two of their district golf tournament in Rockwall today.
Finally the Wildcats Tennis Team is in day one of their district tennis tournament in Texarkana today.
Lady Cats Place First; Wildcats Fourth at Mt Pleasant
The Lady Cats Track team finished first and the Wildcats’ track team finished fourth at a Mt. Pleasant meet last Friday. Both Wildcast and \ Lady Cats squad will compete in the district meet April 13-14 in Pine Tree.
Coach Matt Young said 65 points was not too bad considering the quality of the competition there.
In field events, Derrick Weeks was fourth in the discus with a throw a little shorter than his usual. Newcomer Josh Thompson threw the discus 116-feet and was fifth. Sophomore Ian Blanch was sixth in shot put with a toss over 40 feet. Bubba Hall was fifth in the long jump with a leap of 18-feet 10-inches, a little less than he’s been jumping. Coby Hutchings claimed third in the pole vault with an 11-feet effort.
In running events, Jacob Gatewood continues to shine in the 1600-meter and 3200-meter runs. Coach Young said his time was a little show in the 3200-meters but it was understandable because he was not being pushed by other runners. Gatewood set a personal record of 4:37 in the 1600-meters. Peyton Vickery picked up points in both the long runs and Eli Sellers placed in the 1600-meters. Terrell Turman competed in both the 110-meter hurdles and the 300-meter hurdles but finished out of the points in both. Dallas Holt showed continued improved in the 100-meter dash but picked up no points. Will Fain finished fifth in the 400-meter run with a time of 53.1. Bubba Hall won the 200-meter run with his characteristic strong finish. The Wildcats 4X400 relay team of Fain, Hall, Lawrence Worth and Mason Cleveland ran their fastest time of the year at 3:36.
Lady Cats Track Coach Triston Abron has been looking for his team’s first victory of this track season and the Lady Cats delivered with a first place finish at a Mt. Pleasant.
In field events, Ajalon Pryor was fourth in the shot put, Abbi Beggs placed in the discus. Imani Taylor was third in both the triple jump and long jump. Abbi Baier placed in the long jump.
In the 100-meter dash, N’ysa Dugan finished first with Raleigh Potts sixth. Coach Abron said Sadavia Porter should have been credited with placing in the race but was overlooked due to a discrepancy in the timing system. Brooke Williams got sixth place in the 800-meter run. In the 110-meter hurdles, Abbi Baier took first shattering the school record with a time of 15.6. Faith Hatley and Mackenzie Moore also placed. Baier also took first in the 300-meter hurdles with Hatley fourth. In the relay races, the Lady Cats 4X100 relay was second, the 4X200 relay was first and the 4X400 relay team was fourth but ran their best time of the year. The 4X100 and 4X200 relay teams will compete in a Kennedale meet Thursday.
SSHS UIL Takes 2nd Place At District Meet
Sulphur Springs High School competed in the District 15-5A UIL Academic competition on Friday, April 1st and Saturday, April 2nd. Results are as follows:
In Lincoln-Douglass Debate, Corban Philo placed fourth
In Ready Writing, Patricia Parks placed first and Lydia Burleson placed third.
In Computer Science, Trenton Brock placed first, Sean Allemang placed second, Tim Charlton placed third, and Mauro Basio placed fifth. The team placed first.
In Journalism, Steven Payne, intern for KSST, earned second-place honors in Feature Writing, third-place honors in News Writing, and fourth-place honors in Editorial Writing. Patricia Parks placed third in Editorial Writing and sixth in Headline Writing.
In Literary Criticism, Patricia Parks placed first, Chloe Ross placed second, Jesse Allen placed sixth, and Carissa Carter placed seventh. The team placed first.
In Social Studies, Owen Lee placed second and Christian Corona placed sixth. Felipe Alba and Andrew Foster completed the first-place team.
In Spelling and Vocabulary, Mandy Eckhardt placed first, Lydia Burleson and Carson McIllwain placed second, and Chase Charlton placed fourth. The team placed first.
Overall, SSHS placed second at the meet. Individuals who placed first, second, or third will advance to the regional level of competition as will first-place teams. Regional Competition will be held at Stephan F. Austin State University on April 23rd. Congratulations and good luck to our UIL Academic competitors.
Winnsboro Police Department Report for March 29-April 3
Two arrests, an accident, 141 calls for service, 58 citations and 23 warnings written occupied the time of the Winnsboro Police Department March 28 – April 3.
Kerry Bell, 40, of Winnsboro was arrested Wednesday, March 30th for driving while license invalid with a previous conviction.
On Friday, April 1st, Thomas Lawrence, 47, of Winnsboro was arrested for a DWI.
One minor accident involved a white GMC truck towing a boat in the 200 block of State Highway 37N which had stopped at the signal light. A Toyota SUV traveling southbound on 37N failed to control speed striking the boat causing damage. No injuries were reported.
Fourth Annual Tanner Higgins Warrior Run is Saturday
The 4th Annual Tanner Higgins Warrior Run is Saturday, April 9th at Cooper Lake State Park. The event was created to honor the memory of Sergeant Tanner Stone Higgins killed by enemy forces during a heavy firefight during combat operations in Logar Province, Afghanistan April 14, 2012. Sgt. Higgins, team leader assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, was leading an assault against an enemy compound when he was mortally wounded by small arms fire. It was his fourth deployment to Afghanistan.
The Warrior Run serves as a funding mechanism for the Tanner Higgins Military memorial Fund, a soon to be 501 C. 3 non-profit, dedicated to raising funds and offering financial and social support beyond what he government offers to men and women of service and their families. In its first year, the fund awarded three $500 scholarships to Sulphur Springs High School seniors who had enlisted in a branch of military service. In 2014, a scholarship was given an SSHS senior who had enlisted and a MacBook Pro was presented a transitioning soldier in Higgins’ unit as he began his new business venture into civilian life. In 2015, the fund purchased medical equipment and provided a substantial monetary gift to a former Army Ranger whose newborn has suffered adversity since birth and is in need of a kidney transplant.
For more information regarding the run or to register www.TannerStoneHiggins.com
Another Week to Wait
Although Hopkins County Memorial Hospital Board set a called meeting for noon Monday, April 4, hoping to finalize the proposed partnership with CHRISTUS , they will meet again next Monday, April 11 with the same hope. In an executive meeting early last week, the local board addressed 11 questions to CHRISTUS. During a meeting last Thursday, nine of those 11 questions were answered but two remain (see story here). CHRISTUS had not responded to the two questions remaining questions Monday.
Memorial Chief Administrator Michael McAndrew remains optimistic that those questions will be answered and the partnership between the local hospital and CHRISTUS will be ratified.
