HOUSTON, Texas – After five years of ups and downs, the families of the Houston couple who were killed in a botched raid by the Houston Police Department may finally see justice from the Harris County District Attorney’s Office the murder trial of Gerald Goines gets underway September 9th.
Goines, is the former HPD Narcotics Officer who led the charge in the deadly Harding Street raid in 2019. Since August of 2019 he has been charged with felony tampering with a government document and murder.
“I think it’s really disappointing that it’s taken five years for the trial to get here. It’s disappointing for the family members who want justice for their family members who were killed. It’s difficult for the defendant who is on trial for felony murder,” criminal defense attorney Casey Gonzalez said.
Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas were both killed when a group of narcotics officers burst into the Harding Street home, through a no-knock warrant. The officers were undercover in plain clothing and shot them to death, along with their dog.
Since then, there have been questions surrounding the time it has taken for Goines to go to trial.
“Five years is a very long time to wait for justice to occur in whatever form it’s going to occur. That being said, because of hurricanes, because of COVID-19, there are many cases that are behind like this, and this is not the only one,” said criminal defense attorney Angela Weltin.
Before the trial date was set, several hearings and resets pushed Goines’ trial back.
Aside from the state’s case, Goines also was charged by U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office admitted that there have not been “many formal announcements” from their office, but claimed the case is “proceeding and prosecutors are still hard at work.” Goines will most likely face his federal charges after his state trial.
“As disappointing as it is for a normal citizen that these things take five years when you look at it in light of the damage in Harris County in the last five to six years, frankly it’s not that unexpected,” said criminal defense attorney Erin Epley.
In addition to Goines, 12 other Houston police narcotics officers were charged in connection to the deadly raid, including Goines’ partner, Steve Bryant. The vast majority of officers implicated by the DA’s office as being a part of an overtime scheme.
Bryant, who was charged with tampering with a government document and lying about overtime, pleaded guilty in 2021 and turned into a state witness against his former partner, Goines. Bryant has yet to be sentenced.
Patricia Garcia, the woman who made the false 911 call about drugs inside Tuttle and Nicholas’ home, was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison in 2021.
As for the others, in June, a judge quashed charges for the officers accused of lying about overtime related to the raid. The judge ruled that the indictments were too broad.
The judge also quashed Goines’ murder charges, but a week later when the Harris County District Attorney’s Office presented the case in front of a Grand Jury, Goines was indicted again.
“You would think the state would want to push this case to trial as quickly as possible and it’s hung around for five years so yeah it’s taking a long time,” Joe Vinas, criminal defense attorney, said.
The city of Houston, former HPD chief Art Acevedo and several HPD officers are also being sued by the Tuttle and Nicholas families. It’s not clear when the civil trial will take place, but taxpayers will have to cover at least $2.9 million in court expenses.