HOUSTON – More than five years after two people were killed inside their southeast Houston home in what is being considered by many as a botched drug raid, the family of the victims may finally get some answers during a murder trial in September.
Gerald Goines, the retired Houston Police Department Narcotics Officer at the center of the deadly raid is set to go to trial on September 9. Goines faces two felony murder charges over the deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas. He is alleged to have created a bogus no-knock warrant that led to the deaths of the two homeowners and their dog.
Nearly a dozen former and current police officers are also awaiting trial on charges related to the raid following the subsequent investigations into the department’s narcotics squad.
Here is a timeline of how the case unfolded.
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What has happened since?
Aug. 17, 2021
The murder charge against former Houston Police Officer Felipe Gallegos was dismissed due to concerns about a former prosecutor’s conduct, according to Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg. Gallegos is still charged with engaging in organized criminal activity.
Coby Leslie, the Harris County Prosecutor, was fired by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg over his “conduct” and “judgment” in a Harding Street murder case. Leslie told KPRC 2 Investigates at the time, “I was fired because I was openly critical of how Jules Johnson, the civil rights division head, and Kim Ogg were mishandling the Gallegos case.”
The federal sentencing for former HPD officer Steven Bryant was pushed back until Feb. 2022. In June 2021, Bryant pleaded guilty to felony theft and turned states’ witness against his former partner. Bryant is still awaiting his federal sentencing.
The charges against former HPD Lt. Robert Gonzalez were dismissed. He originally faced one count of misapplication of fiduciary property, for reckless handling of department money. He was accused of approving payments to informants after they had already been made.
Goines makes a court appearance in front of Judge Frank Aguilar’s courtroom in Harris County’s 228th District Court. His attorneys wanted to quash his indictments for his alleged actions in the deadly raid.
Former HPD Chief Art Acevedo was subpoenaed to testify in the federal civil lawsuit filed by the families of the victims killed in what investigators and prosecutors described as an unlawful raid.
KPRC 2 Investigates obtained an exclusive video of Acevedo being served by a process server before a recent city council meeting at in City of Aurora, Colorado. Days later Acevedo stepped down as Aurora’s Interim Police Chief to take a position in Austin, Texas.
Defense attorneys file a motion asking a Harris County judge to drop the indictments against Gerald Goines, arguing they lacked specific details regarding the laws he violated that resulted in the felony murder charges. The motion pointed out that although the indictment mentioned a charge of tampering with a government record, it did not specify which of the six tampering statute subsections Goines was accused of violating.
Goines was re-indicted by a Harris County grand jury on two felony murder charges.
Jury selections in the murder trial of the State of Texas vs. Gerald Goines began.
Attorneys representing Gerald Goines, called for the dismissal of charges against him in connection to the deadly Harding Street Raid after allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
September 9, 2024
State of Texas vs Gerald Goines begins.