CRIME & SAFETY

December 8, 2023 - Roy Cheatwood, Constable Precinct 3, reports the arrest of Dakota Rodgers, 25, of Center on December 7, 2023, in relation to several outstanding warrants out of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department. Law enforcements agencies in Shelby County have been seeking the whereabouts of Rodgers in...

December 5, 2023 - The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed the incidence of a shooting on November 30, 2023, in Timpson. According to Shelby County Sheriff’s Lt. Chad Hooper, officers were dispatched to a residence on Garrison Street around 9pm in response to a request for assistance. When deputies arrived they discovered one individual who had been shot and a suspect which they took into custody.

According to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, calls have been made to residents using a spoofed number owned by the sheriff’s office claiming to be with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The sheriff’s office said the scammer has told residents that their homes have had narcotics traced back to them. According to the sheriff’s office, the scammer tells the residents to call a provided phone number every three hours if they leave home. The scammer will explicitly say they cannot contact anyone regarding this phone call. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office instructed residents not to give out any of their information and to block the caller’s phone number.

Two incidents occurred in Center, Texas this week. The first incident involved a three-vehicle crash at the intersection of Hurst Street and Roughrider Drive on November 15, 2023. A 17-year-old driver in a blue 2005 Ford Mustang attempted to turn left through an unprotected green light and collided with a white 2024 Buick Encore driven by Denny King. The second incident involved the theft of a 2013 Artic Cat 700 Prowler from a hunting lease on US 96 S between November 20-23, 2023.

November 28, 2023 - The intersection of hurst Street and Cass-Caid Drive was the scene of a single-vehicle crash on Thursday, November 23, 2023. According to the Center Police Department, at 1:35am a maroon Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck driven by Jorge Vazquez, 21, of Center was northbound in the 800 block of Hurst Street when the Ram left the roadway to the right and struck a concrete drainage culvert, flipping over onto its top, and crossing the 100 block of Cass-Caid Drive. The Ram landed in the parking lot of Roughrider Quick Lube.

Long Caption Members of the Sam Samford Lodge No. 149 in Center presented the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office with another pallet of bottled water Tuesday, Nov. 28. The local lodge delivers bottled water to local first responders throughout the year. Sam Samford Lodge Worshipful Master Paul Reagan and Lodge Member Sammy Arnold delivered the pallet of water. Accepting from for the Sheriff’s Office were Debbi Gragg and Kevin Sage. Helping unload were Laderrick McCollister and Jeremy Turner. The water was provided by H&S Discount Foods in Center. Pictured left to right are McCollister, Turner, Reagan, Gragg, Sage, and Arnold. Leon Aldridge photo/The Light and Champion.

The mother of three young children who were seriously injured in a November 21st accident in San Augustine County has posted an update on their condition on social media, and fortunately they are improving. The children, ages 5, 9, and 10, were riding with their mother, 27-year-old Dewey Hinote, of...