HOUSTON, Texas – In less than two weeks, one of the most significant trials in Harris County is set to get underway.
Gerald Goines, the former Houston Police Department Narcotics Officer will be tried for the deadly Harding Street Raid that left Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas dead in Jan. 2019.
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There are several questions regarding how the trial will play out, and much of the spotlight will be on Goines’ defense team as well as the state prosecutors.
You can find out more about the team representing Goines here.
Now, let’s get to know the prosecutors:
Who is Tanisha Manning?
Tanisha Manning is a felony division chief and current director of professional development with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Aside from trying cases, Manning serves as a mentor, a supervisor, and she is a member of the training committee for the Texas District and County Attorney’s Association.
Manning has been a part of several notable cases, including the case of Mack Watson Jr. who was found guilty and sentenced to 40 years in prison for chasing and shooting a father to death in front of his 15-year-old son in 2016. Manning was also the prosecutor in the trial where MS-13 gang members were convicted for using a machete to kill a 14-year-old in 2015.
She attended the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University.
Who is Keaton Forcht?
Keaton Forcht has been an Assistant District Attorney for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office since 2014.
Forcht has prosecuted some of the biggest cases in Harris County, including the case where Frederick Jackson was sentenced to 60 years in prison for double murder in the 2021 shooting of a New Orleans police officer at a restaurant in the Galleria area. He also prosecuted the case where a member of the gang Black Disciples, was sentenced to 80 years in prison for shooting an innocent bystander who was caught in cross-fire in 2020.
“I personally would not want to go up against either one of them. I think they are going to do a great job. I think Keaton is going to be fighting for the state. I think Nicole is going to be fighting for and to protect Gerald Goines constitutional right and I think it is going to be a great trial,” said Erin Epley, Criminal Defense Attorney.
He received his law degree from Duke University School of Law.