A Bridgeport woman has been charged with arson of a habitation, a second degree felony, in connection with a fire that scorched an abandoned “but habitable” home Jan. 13.

Kassandra Davila, 27, admitted to pouring gasoline around the single-story, wood-frame home, owned by her grandmother, in the 700 block of Second Street in Bridgeport. Davila told investigators that she was “angry with her grandmother for kicking her out.”

Investigators with the Bridgeport Police Department filed the arson charges Thursday, but Davila had been in Wise County Jail since the day of the fire on unrelated charges. She was charged with theft of property $50 or more but less than $500 after walking out of CashSaver Cost Plus with a cartful of groceries, shortly after Bridgeport and Lake Bridgeport firefighters were dispatched to the blaze around 3:30 p.m.

Bridgeport police officers located Davila less than a mile from the store, in the shoulder of the southbound lanes of Chico Highway. Her description fit that of a suspect eyewitnesses said walked up to the house with a jug in her hand just before smoke began billowing out the windows, said Bridgeport Police Sgt. Todd Low.

After being interviewed, Davila confessed, showing “no remorse,” Low added.

He is to “close out the case Monday and send it to the district attorney’s office,” along with the lab results from the state fire marshal’s investigation. A representative of the state fire marshal’s office took samples of the burnt debris to determine if an accelerant was used.

What started off as a school lockdown in Decatur ended in an armed standoff west of Bridgeport Tuesday morning. A suspect was taken into custody by Wise County Sheriff’s deputies just after 10 a.m. at Airport Estates, just west of the Bridgeport Municipal Airport, after briefly barricading himself in a house where he was staying. The man, who has not been identified, is expected to be charged with making a threat against his wife, an employee of Carson Elementary School in Decatur.

Both the Carson Elementary and Decatur High School campuses were locked down Tuesday morning although the employee and her son, a student at Decatur High School, had been moved to a secure location.

Meanwhile, Bridgeport Police and Wise County Sheriff’s officers converged at the entry to Airport Estates, just west of the Bridgeport Municipal Airport on the west edge of the city, while a Texas Ranger negotiated with the suspect by phone for several hours. He finally walked into the road and surrendered to authorities. A Bridgeport Police spokesman confirmed that he did have several rifles.

Decatur Police and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers were posted at the entrances to Carson Elementary and Decatur High School Tuesday morning after both campuses were placed on lockdown due to a threat against a Carson employee. Police were alerted to the threat posted on Facebook and contacted DISD officials Tuesday morning. An automated call to parents with students at those campuses went out shortly after 8:30 a.m., and within a few minutes some parents were at the school to pick up their children. Superintendent Rod Townsend encouraged parents to “let us do our job,” noting that “security is the top priority here.” Townsend said both the employee and a child who is a student at the high school are in a safe location. The plan at this point is to keep the campuses under lockdown with heavy security until the suspect has been located. “We’re going to stay on lockdown until we know the safety and security of everyone’s children is not an issue.”

Texas 114 west of Boyd is shut down due to a wrecked 18-wheeler across all lanes of the highway. Just before 2:30 Thursday afternoon, medics and Boyd firefighters were dispatched to an accident involving an 18-wheeler and Camaro. No serious injuries were reported.

A quick response by Newark and Rhome volunteer firefighters might have saved a mobile home Wednesday afternoon.

The two departments were dispatched to reports of heavy smoke and flames coming out from underneath the structure in the 700 block of Rogers Road in Newark around 3 p.m. By the 3:35, the fire was extinguished and contained to the home’s undercarriage.

Although firefighters on scene couldn’t deem the home inhabitable or not, they believe the damages were minimal.

“We got it before it came up through the floor and into their belongings,” Newark firefighter Charles Braun said.

The cause is unknown and may not be determined for a while since the county is without a fire marshal.

Newark and Rhome Fire Departments responded to a structure fire Wednesday afternoon in the 700 block of Rogers Road in Newark. According to the police scanner, all occupants were out of the mobile home when the fire was reported. More information will be posted as it’s available.

The driver of a Jeep SUV was flown to a Metroplex hospital Tuesday afternoon from the scene of a one-vehicle wreck on U.S. 287 at the Tarrant County line.

According to scanner reports, the Jeep ran through a fence and into a ditch near the southbound access roads.

More information will be posted when it becomes available.

Medics and firefighters were dispatched to a couple of accidents early Tuesday morning due to slick road conditions along U.S. 287 and U.S. 380. Fortunately, there were no injuries, but drivers are advised to proceed with caution.

The fire that gutted an abandoned home in Bridgeport Sunday afternoon is believed to be arson.

Authorities say a neighbor saw a woman pour liquid around the home in the 200 block of Second Street. A suspect has been detained, and the State Fire Marshal’s Office has been called to investigate.

Lake Bridgeport Volunteer Fire Department assisted Bridgeport with the blaze, which was toned out about 3:30 p.m.

A 21-year-old man was flown to a Fort Worth hospital following a one-vehicle wreck on Farm Road 2123, about two miles south of Bridgeport, Saturday afternoon.

Jacob Patrick Gentry of Edgewood was southbound on the county road around 5:15 p.m. when it appears he lost control of the white Nissan Sentra he was driving. Investigators said it appears Gentry attempted to overcorrect but ended up sliding sideways across the road. The car hit and splintered a tree then landed upside down in a thicket of brush.

Gentry was extricated and transported to a nearby field, from which he was flown to John Peter Smith Hospital.Although the details of his injuries were not known, investigators said they were “severe.”

Fire damaged at least seven units at the Eighter from Decatur apartment complex on Business U.S. 81/287 North in Decatur. Decatur and Bridgeport fire departments as well as Decatur police responded to the fire shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday. The business route was still shut down as of 11 p.m. Fire investigators were still on the scene at that time. There were no reports of injuries. Decatur Fire Chief Mike Richardson said the fire “pretty well gutted” three units. Two more units sustained heavy fire damage and three more units sustained heavy smoke damage. The cause of the fire was not known Sunday.

Horror struck on a Wise County highway this morning when a van full of passengers wrecked on U.S. 287, killing an infant on-board. The one-vehicle rollover occurred at 9 a.m. a few miles south of Decatur. A gold minivan was southbound when it left the roadway, over-corrected, went into a side-skid and proceeded to roll two to three times before coming to a rest on its side in the middle of the median. Five of the six passengers on board were ejected, one being a five month old baby still in his car seat. The car seat was not properly secured inside the van.

A witness said the mother was attempting CPR on the baby but to no avail. Wise County Medics, East Wise Fire Department, Texas Department of Public Safety and Wise County Sheriff’s deputies all arrived on scene. The female driver of the van did not have a license. She told investigating officers that an 18-wheeler ran her off the road, but DPS trooper Woody Gosser said he hadn’t discovered any evidence of her claim. Two more adult patients suffered serious injuries and received helicopter transports to Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth. The family is from Colorado. They were on their way to attend a funeral tomorrow in Louisiana. It’s unknown if any charges will be filed. The names and ages of the victims have not yet been released by DPS.

Two helicopter ambulances have been called to the scene of a one-vehicle rollover on U.S. 81/287 near County Road 4421. Early reports indicated as many as six patients, including an infant. The wreck happened just after 9 a.m. Friday. More information will be posted as it is available.

It was a tragic start to the New Year for one family after a fire destroyed their brick home this morning. The home was located in the 500 block of County Road 1111, west of Decatur just south of Farm Road 1810. Decatur, Bridgeport and Alvord fire departments battled the fire for almost two hours on the cold, gray morning, but it was a total loss.The fire was called in about 9 a.m. Decatur Fire Department apparatus arrived a few minutes later, but Chief Mike Richardson said the fire had already been burning for about half hour before they arrived. Much of the roof was already gone.

“You could already see completely through the house by the time we arrived,” Richardson said.

The fire was first noticed by a neighbor who called 911. The neighbor, along with several others, attempted to pull out and save what items they could from the garage of the home, which is owned by Michael and Ashly DoByns. They have a one and four-year-old child. No one was home when the fire occurred, and no people or pets were injured. The couple owns Decatur Service Station after buying Hudson Fina from Dennis Hudson last fall. DoByns is a former Decatur Police Department detective and currently serves for the Grapevine Fire Department while remaining a reserve officer for Decatur Police. Mrs. DoByns also works for the Decatur Police Department and was at the office when the call came into dispatch. Richardson said they will investigate to try and determine the cause of the fire.

Ashly Dobyns can only watch in shock as fire consumes her family’s home Wednesday morning. Photo by Joe Duty.

At least three fire departments have been dispatched to a house fire in the 500 block of County Road 1111 west of Decatur. The first responding units reported that heavy smoke and fire were showing from the structure. No one is believed to be inside, although a family pet may be in the home. The fire was reported shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday. More information will be posted as it is available.

Messenger photo by Joe Duty

One man was flown to Texas Health Fort Worth Monday evening after a one-vehicle accident on County Road 4925 south of Rhome. Jaskavan Dhillon, 41, of Fort Worth was speeding northbound on 4925 about 4:20 p.m. when he lost control of his vehicle, according to DPS Trooper Zeb Siebenick.

Siebenick said Jaskavan’s pickup veered to the right, to the left and then rolled. It crashed through a barbed wire fence and hit a tree, landing upside down. Dhillon was trapped in the vehicle, and firefighters had to turn it upright and peel the roof back to get him out. Trooper Siebeneck said synthetic marijuana and several open containers of alcohol were found in the vehicle, and he believed this likely contributed to the accident.

Although Jaskavan’s injuries were serious, he was in stable condition at the scene.

Due to the icy road conditions today, trash and recycling will not be collected in Decatur. Tomorrow, areas of town north of Main Street will have trash collection. No trash collection will take place Friday. On Saturday, trash will be collected in the south part of town as well as recycling city-wide. On Sunday, trash will be collected on the north side of town again.

Wise County is under a wind advisory until midnight Tuesday and a winter weather advisory until 9 a.m. Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service, the low temperature tonight is expected to drop to 13 degrees with wind chills in the single digits. The high Wednesday is predicted to be only 29 degrees.

It began snowing about noon Tuesday making for a white Christmas in Wise County, but it didn’t take long for roads to become treacherous. Within just a few hours, local fire departments and Wise County EMS were responding to numerous accidents Tuesday afternoon and evening.

The condition of local roads is expected to further deteriorate in the night, and  all county offices will be closed Wednesday. They will  reopen 9 a.m. Thursday. Other closings include Learning Ladder, all locations; Bond Family Eye Care; and Pettit Private School. Also, there will be no Meals on Wheels delivery Wednesday. All local school districts are still on Christmas break.

For more information about the condition of any road in the state of Texas, call TxDOT at 1-800-452-9292.

One man was seriously injured in a two-vehicle accident about 7:20 a.m. Saturday  just north of Newark. James Glover, 69, of Newark was driving northbound on Farm Road 718 in a Crown Victoria when he hit the back of a pickup also traveling northbound.

Department of Public Safety Trooper Gary Reid said he had just turned around and was about to stop the Crown Vic for speeding when it hit the pickup that was slowing down to turn left.

The pickup driver, Tyler Huffman, 30, had minor injuries but was not transported.

Glover was pinned under the dash in his vehicle, causing injuries to his legs. He was extricated by the Newark Fire Department and flown by CareFlite to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.

Trooper Reid said Glover was conscious at the scene but didn’t remember details of the wreck. He told Reid he may have had a seizure.

A three-vehicle pileup involving a Decatur ISD school bus sent eight student to the hospital Thursday afternoon. The eastbound bus was coming to a stop on Farm Road 2264, just a couple miles east of U.S. 287, when a van, driven by McClellon Kitner, 38, of Decatur rammed into a pickup, driven by Peter Davis, 26, of Decatur stopped behind the bus. The force of the impact crushed the pickup into the back bumper of bus, jarring the students inside. A fourth vehicle was also involved in the wreck. A pickup driven by Randy Cooper, 54, of Decatur, swerved to avoid the pileup and had a minor wreck in the grass ditch running alongside the highway.

Fifty-six Decatur high school and middle school students were on the bus. A total of eight suffered minor injuries. Medics and firefighters tended to the students in the dry grass alongside the road before they were transported by ambulance to Wise Regional Health System in Decatur. The school bus driver, Elizabeth Ruiz, 42, was uninjured.

Department of Public Safety Trooper William Cooper said Kitner was at the fault for the wreck and will be issued a citation for failure to control speed.

Decatur superintendent Rod Townsend and high school principal Jason Cochran both arrived on scene shortly after the wreck. He said he didn’t think any of the injuries were serious.

“They’re getting sent to the hospital t0 get checked out for precautionary measures,” Townsend said.

The wreck happened just before 4 p.m. Traffic was shut down in both directions for more than an hour as officers investigated the scene and firefighters cleaned up a fuel spill.