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November 28, 2017 - State Highway 87 South at the intersection of FM 414 was the scene of a two-vehicle crash in a construction zone Monday, November 27, 2017.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper Dustin Ramos, at 8:15am a silver 2012 Chevrolet Equinox driven by Ben. J. Brittain, 84, of Shelbyville was southbound on State Highway 87 South at the intersection of FM 414.
As the Chevrolet was traveling through a construction zone, a yellow 2008 Caterpillar road paving machine driven by Shadrick Earl Jenkins, 29, of San Augustine was exiting a private drive on the right side of the roadway and failed to yield right of way to Brittain.
The Chevrolet's front distributive struck the left back quarter of the Caterpillar causing damage. Both vehicles came to rest in the roadway, the sun was a possible factor in causing visibility issues.
Brittain was transported from the scene to Nacogdoches Medical Center - Shelby Emergency Department for treatment. He was later transported to a hospital in Tyler where he is currently in ICU.
No citations have been issued at this time.
November 28, 2017 - In late October 2017, Brandi Wright , a white female of Center, Texas was reported missing to the Center Police Department. During the course of the missing persons investigation, her car was located at a residence on County Road 1012 in Shelby County, Texas. Investigators from the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office and Center Police Department, after a search warrant was issued to enter the property, responded to the address and had the vehicle towed to the Center Police Department, where it was processed by a DPS forensic team.
A secondary search warrant was obtained to search the property which included approximately 60 acres. Investigators for the District Attorney’s Office, Center Police Department, San Augustine Sheriff’s Department and Texas Parks and Wildlife executed the secondary search warrant on November 17, 2017. During this search, Investigators recovered several 5- gallon buckets of marijuana, an industrial size trashcan of marijuana, a large plastic tote of marijuana, 1,750 marijuana plants and implements that were clearly utilized for the cultivation of marijuana.
As a result, the resident, Charles Dan Dearing jr, a 69-year-old white male was arrested and charged with Possession of Marijuana Felony- 2. During his arraignment on the Possession of Marijuana charge, Mr. Dearing requested to speak with investigators and disclosed where Brandi Wright’s remains could be found on the 60 acres.
Investigators from the District Attorney’s Office, Center Police Department, San Augustine Sheriff’s Department and the Texas Rangers executed a third search warrant on the property where the remains of Brandi Wright were exhumed and transported to Tyler for an autopsy. Mr. Dearing was subsequently charged with Murder Felony- 1. Due to the ongoing investigation of the Murder, no more information can be released at this time.
Investigator Joey Haley
123rd District Attorney’s Office
Related article:
Shelby County Man Charged with Murder, Possession of Marijuana
November 28, 2017 - Brooks Street in Center was the scene of a vehicle versus house collision Sunday, November 26, 2017 from which the driver was arrested.
Center Police Officers and ACE EMS arrived at the scene where a vehicle had apparently driven into a porch at the front of a house.
According to Center Police Officer Brian Wright, at around 8am a gold Pontiac G6 driven by Megan Tipps, 28, of Timpson was northbound on Brooks Street.
Tipps was disoriented and turned right into a driveway she mistook for a different one, and struck the porch and front of a house.
The side of the house which the Pontiac collided with was not currently occupied; however, the other side of the house was.
Tipps was arressted and has been charged with driving while intoxicated.
November 13, 2017 - The City of Center Public Water System, PWS #2100001, will be conducting water system maintenance beginning January 1, 2018, and lasting until January 31, 2018. The system will be switching to free chlorine as its main disinfection.
This maintenance which is not a requirement, but is the recommended course of action set by the TCEQ/EPA for the accumulation of disinfection byproducts.
This is a routine maintenance procedure performed to help reduce unstable water conditions in our system and insure the highest quality of water being delivered to our customers.
During this maintenance period you may notice an odor or slight discoloration, but the safety of the water will not be affected. City maintenance crews and the Fire Department will also be aggressively flushing hydrants throughout the City’s distribution system.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact our Public Works Department at 936-598-5241.
November 27, 2017 - A crash on CR 3754 (Old Airport Road) caused the SUV involved to ignite and burn on November 18, 2017 endangering the lives of those in the vehicle and property nearby.
The Center Fire Department was dispatched to the scene where they extinguished the vehicle and area surrounding, which had caught on fire.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper Keith Jones, at 4:38pm a gold 2001 Nissan Pathfinder driven by Mindaye Tura Guga, 39, of Center was westbound on CR 3754.
Guga stated an unknown vehicle ran him off the road; however, no evidence at the scene corroberated his claim. The owner of the residence where the crash occurred, Willie Johnson, did not see or hear another vehicle at the time of the crash.
The Nissan ran off the roadway to the right and Guga overcorrected left, exiting the left side of the roadway. The Nissan then struck a utility trailer owner by Johnson and caught on fire.
No injuries were reported of Guga or his 12-year-old male passenger.
Following field sobriety test it was determined Guga was intoxicated. He was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated with child under 15 years old.
November 22, 2017 - Charles Dearing, Jr., 68, of Center was booked into the Shelby County Jail Wednesday, November 22, 2017 and charged with murder as well as possession of marijuana with a combined bond of $2,800,000.
Dearing is the person of interest in the suspected death of Brandi Wright, 38, of Center. Melissa Crouch, Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, performed the inquest on a body located this week and an autopsy has been ordered.
According to an affidavit and warrant issued on November 17, 2017 Center Police Officers sought to search a property at the 4000 block of County Road 1011 in Shelby County for the body of Brandi Wright who was reported by the Center Police Department (CPD) on November 3, 2017 to be missing.
CPD Det. Stephen Stroud gave probable cause for the search warrant in connection with the missing person/homicide investigation concerning Wright.
An individual who has access to property which connects to the Dearing land noticed a vehicle on November 4, 2017 not normally at that location. The individual recalled the vehicle was one for which the Center Police Department had been searching.
CPD Det. Bobby Walker was able on November 8, 2017 to positively identify the vehicle as belonging to Wright by verifying the color, make, model and license plate number. The car was a 2008 Pontiac G6.
According to the affidavit Det. Walker made contact with Charles Dan Dearing, Jr. on that same day, who stated, Wright brought him the car and left it there as security to repay a debt she owed him. A search warrant was executed on the same day and within the car a mobile phone belonging to Wright was located in the center console of the Pontiac.
Messages between Wright and Dearing were located on the phone, according to the affidavit, and one in particular stated Wright was going to pick up Dearing and "they needed to talk."
The CPD executed a search warrant on November 16, 2017 at the location where the car was found and, according to the affidavit, at that time recovered several large buckets full of marijuana, amongst other things. The affidavit states during an interview of a person of interest in the investigation, it was learned Wright recently had been in possession of "a large bucket of marijuana."
The affidavit's author infers Wright received the bucket of marijuana from Dearing and the debt owed was believed to be for the substance. The affidavit further indicated Wright had been in contact with another individual who she stated by text message "took money from her and she was coming to get it," it is not believed Wright recovered that money.
During the search on November 16, 2017, according to the affidavit, a recent Tyson photo ID of Wright was recovered from the bedroom of Dearing as well as a lighter with a woman's hairband and a strand of hair in Dearing's pick-up truck in the passenger door. A long strand of hair was also found on a log in the backyard, according to the affidavit, with blood also on the log. A pair of "Survivor" man's boots were also located with what appears to have been blood.
The affidavit goes on to say Dearing is a strong suspect/person of interest in the investigation as Wright did not have the money owed Dearing, because said money had been stolen from her and she had no alternate method of payment; and this is suggested as a motive for Dearing to harm Wright.
Dearing remains in the Shelby County Jail with a bond set by Melissa Crouch, Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, in the amount of $1,750,000 for murder and another bond set by LeAnn K. Rafferty, 123rd District Judge, in the amount of $1,050,000 for possession of marijuana.
Related Article:
DA's Office Reports on Location of Wright; Large Quantity of Marijuana
November 20, 2017 - FM 139 and the intersection of FM 2787 was the scene of a hit-and-run two-vehicle collision Sunday, November 19, 2017.
When emergency responders arrived at the scene, only one of the vehicles involved was at the location.
According to Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper Keith Jones, at 2:35pm a white 2012 Ford F-150 driven by a 16-year-old driver of Joaquin arrived at the intersection of FM 2787 at FM 139 and came to a complete stop.
The 16-year-old then failed to yield right of way while turning left onto FM 139 when the Ford was struck by a green 2003 Chevrolet Silverado with an unidentified driver, due to the driver of the Chevrolet failing to remain at the scene.
The registered owner of the Chevrolet was a William Clayton of Laneville, Texas.
The 16-year-old driver and his passenger Justin Webster, 21, were not reported to have received injuries resulting from the crash.
A citation was issued to the 16-year-old driver of the Ford for failure to yield right of way. The other driver was still being sought at that time.
Trooper Jones was assisted at the scene by Troopers Richard Hill and Jimmy Faulkner as well as Sheriff's Deputies Adam Renfro and Jesse Travis.
November 20, 2017 - County Road 1005 was the location of a house fire at 2:16pm November 13, 2017 where two fire departments joined forces in attempts to save the residence.
When the Center Fire Department arrived at the residence of Darrell and Pam Sanford, smoke could be seen coming from the backside of the house.
As the West Shelby County Volunteer Fire Department arrived on scene flames could be seen escaping from the roof of the house.
While smoke clouded the area surrounding the house, the firemen from both departments worked to extinguish the flames and firemen gained further access to the fire in the attic of the house.
It was discovered the cause of the fire was a barbecue pit which vented into the attic of the residence.
November 20, 2017 - The Shelbyville Volunteer Fire Department responded to a house fire on State Highway 87 just south of County Road 2110 (Cannon Cemetery Road) November 12, 2017 at 10:01pm.
When firemen arrived, smoke was billowing from the back and front of the house. After searching around and within the home, flames could be seen underneath the structure at both the front and back.
The Center Fire Department was dispatched to the scene to assist in putting out the fire. Once the flames were extinguished at both locations the firemen gained further entry into the home with hoses and were able to extinguish any remaining hotspots inside.
It was discovered the origin of the fire was the heating and air conditioning unit.
The home was owned by Joe Bolton and the residents was Latoya Howard.
November 20, 2017 - The Center Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire in the 500 block of CR 2230 (Neuville Road) on November 10, 2017 at 12:51pm.
When the firemen arrived, heavy amounts of smoke was emanating from the building. A nearby resident began spraying water on the fire using a garden hose previous to the arrival of fire fighters.
According to Center Fire Chief Keith Byndom, the fire was in a back bedroom and was able to be contained in that location.
The firemen prevented further spread of the fire and the cause was not determined at that time.
The owners of the building were determined to be Demetrius and Albert Smith. The resident was Kendrick Boyd.
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