HOUSTON – Former HPD officer Gerald Goines was indicted on felony murder and tampering with a government record charges following the botched Harding Street Raid.
The botched raid caused an investigation to be opened into Goines’ past, and two men convicted because of Goines have been declared innocent.
According to District Attorney Kim Ogg, the ongoing investigation has now revealed that 69 people may have been convicted because of false evidence presented by the former narcotics officer.
“I got 23 lawyers and investigators part time and full time assigned to this," Ogg said.
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On Wednesday, prosecutors filed motions asking for judges to appoint lawyers for those people, who can work on getting their convictions overturned, according to a news release.
Ogg said 69 cases identified may just be the beginning. She said there’s a total of 14,000 cases that need to be reviewed.
"I don’t think there could be a more important or serious problem to fix in our justice system right now,” said Ogg.
Ogg said she concluded that the defendants those ranging in date from 2008 to 2019 are “entitled to a presumption that he provided false evidence to secure their convictions.”
“We need to clear people convicted solely on the word of a police officer whom we can no longer trust,” Ogg said.
READ MORE: One year later: Story of deadly Harding Street raid not yet ‘fully’ told, attorney says
According to a release, most of the cases involve the delivery of a controlled substance, and nearly all defendants were given jail time ranging from a few months to four years.
Goines was the only witness to the offenses in all the cases, according to the release.