HOUSTON, Texas – The murder trial of former Houston Police Department narcotics officer Gerald Goines revealed that his fabricated claims led to the fatal 2019 Harding Street raid, resulting in the deaths of Dennis Tuttle, Rhogena Nicholas, and their dog.
During the trial on Wednesday, phone records and testimonies contradicted Goines’ claims of purchasing drugs from the Tuttle and Nicholas residence. Detective Trenton Bickford presented Goines’ phone activities on January 27, 2019, showing that he was not near Harding Street.
Lt. Richard Bass testified that Goines admitted there was no confidential informant, contradicting his affidavit. Bass conducted over 100 interviews and found no evidence supporting Goines’ claims of using a confidential informant.
Judge Gordon G. Marcum, who issued the no-knock warrant, testified that the warrant was based on Goines’ false information.
Officer Rios’ body-worn camera footage was examined, revealing procedural issues during the raid, and the involvement of former HPD Chief Art Acevedo.
KPRC 2 Investigates team Reporter Mario Diaz, Senior Investigates Producer Jason Nguyen, Senior Special Projects Producer Andrea Slaydon, and Digital Content Specialist Ninfa Saavedra will be at the trial dishing out the latest updates for ‘The Bench: Gerald Goines.’
5:30 p.m. - Court done for the day
5:05 p.m. - HPD Detective Trenton Bickford called to the stand
Detective Bickford, from the HPD Criminal Intelligence Unit and the Houston FBI Task Force, took the stand to testify about Goines’ phone records. He was tasked with analyzing these records from the day before the fatal Harding Street raid.
The state concentrated on Jan. 27, 2019, because Goines had claimed in his interview with Lt. Bass that he personally visited the Harding Street residence to buy drugs. Also, Goines’ affidavit to the judge mentioned that he had communicated with a confidential informant about purchasing drugs from the Nicholas and Tuttle home.
Bickford then presented a detailed slideshow to the court, outlining Goines’ movements on Jan. 27, 2019, from midnight until 11:54 p.m.:
12:15 a.m. - 1:00 a.m. Goines’ phone indicated he was in River Oaks.
1:00 a.m. - 1:59 a.m.: Goines was traveling on 290 towards the Cypress area.
2:17 a.m. - 11:43 a.m.: Goines was at his residence.
11:59 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.: Goines traveled to a bar.
1:26 p.m. - 4:11 p.m.: Goines remained at the bar, where he made or received 36 phone calls or text messages.
5:00 p.m. - 6:41 p.m.: Goines was back at home.
6:59 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.: Goines was at Taste of Texas in Memorial City.
10:23 p.m. - 11:59 p.m.: Goines returned home.
Detective Bickford testified that throughout Jan. 27, 2019, Goines’ phone did not register any activity near Harding Street or the homes of Tuttle and Nicholas.
2:54 p.m. - Court back in session - Lt. Bass’s testimony continues
During the court session, audio from Goines’ hospital stay days after the deadly raid was played. Lt. Bass asked Goines to confirm his confidential informant, but Goines, who had just undergone surgery, could not speak and wrote on a sheet of paper, “There was no confidential informant.”
The court displayed this handwritten note.
When Bass asked Goines to specify when he made the purchase, Goines wrote, “1-27-2019. The date of the affidavit. Evening.” When asked about the contents of the purchase, Goines wrote, “Two baggies of heroin. I should have tagged it.”
Bass then inquired about the packaging, to which Goines responded, “Powdery. Two small baggies.” Bass asked if the drugs tagged by his partner Steve Bryant were the same as those purchased from the Tuttle and Nicholas home. Goines wrote, “Then yes, it would have been what I purchased from the residence.”
The video also captured a nurse asking Goines if he was okay due to a sudden increase in his blood pressure.
Finally, when asked if there was anything he needed to add, Goines wrote, “I screwed up because I made a buy without the correct manpower out there. I made the purchase by myself” and confirmed that he bought the heroin from Tuttle.
When Bass was questioned by the defense they drilled him on Goines’ condition, noting that on the day of the interview, Feb. 13, 2019, Goines had just undergone surgery and was weak and unable to talk.
Bass said despite just undergoing surgery, Goines’ attorney requested the interview.
While the video was playing, Goines held his head down and did not watch the video.
Bass was dismissed from the courtroom at 5:02 p.m.
2:45 p.m. - Court in recess while IT fixes audio issue
The state tried to play a video showing Goines in the hospital reviewing what appeared to be papers or files, but the audio was not working. The issue required the help of the court’s IT department.
1:44 p.m. - Court back in session
In 2019, HPD Sgt. Richard Bass, a member of the Homicide Special Investigations Unit, was assigned to investigate the search warrant related to the deadly Harding Street raid. Bass stated that he had never visited the Harding Street residence and did not see the search warrant, issued by Judge Marcum, until two days after the raid.
Initially, Bass believed his role in the case was to identify Goines’ confidential informant and close the investigation. However, as he continued his investigation, he realized the case was far more complex than he had initially thought.
Bass noted that in 2019, Goines had five confidential informants.
Sgt. Richard Bass said he conducted more than 100 interviews related to the Harding Street raid, including with narcotics officers involved, local neighbors, and Goines’ confidential informants.
Bass said that on Jan. 28, 2019, Goines submitted an offense report claiming that a brown substance was purchased from a Harding Street home by a confidential informant. Bass noted that Goines did not provide a field note, which typically helps officers write their warrants. In 2019, Goines had five confidential informants who were interviewed by Bass.
One informant was cleared of any involvement with Harding Street, and a second informant, known as “Reece,” was interviewed twice. Bass found a note with “Reece” written on it, apparently from Goines’ time at the hospital.
Bass reviewed CI-related evidence, such as video footage and phone information from CI 2, which helped him establish a timeline leading up to the raid. Bass said no CI payment forms or documentation related to Harding Street were found, leading him to conclude that no informant was used in this case.
Bass also searched Goines’ city-issued vehicle and work area, as well as his personal and work phones, but found no Harding Street-related documents. Bass said further investigation into the HPD narcotics team, revealed that Goines often worked alone or with outside officers, including his partner Steve Bryant. He also noted that Goines was loosely supervised.
On Jan. 30, Bryant was seen on video removing heroin from Goines’ work vehicle, which was connected to another case, not Harding Street. Bryant later visited Goines at the hospital to identify the CI involved in the case.
12:26 p.m.. - Court breaks for lunch
11:40 a.m. - Judge Gordon Marcum called to the witness stand
Judge Gordon Marcum is the no-retired Harris County Judge who signed the no-knock warrant affidavit for Officer Gerald Goines, which was based on lies.
Judge Marcum, a judge for 28 years before retiring, briefly went through his history and admitted that he was the judge who issued the no-knock affidavit warrant for Gerald Goines.
Attorney Manning read the full affidavit to the courtroom, pointing out specific information of the warrant that was fabricated by Goines, which included him having a confidential informant purchase heroin from the Harding Street home.
During the Judge’s testimony, Attorney Manning pointed out that in the reverse search warrant, Herion nor a 9MM gun was found, which the warrant indicated was inside the house.
11:37 a.m. - Officer Rios excused - next witness called to the stand
11:20 a.m. - Defense passes witness back to State
In a brief re-direct by the State, Officer Rios was asked to clarify some things during his testimony with attorney Secrest. The state asked Rios if he would have served a warrant to the Tuttles and Nicholas’ home on Harding Street on Jan. 28, 2019 or if he knew he would serve a warrant when he first woke up that day, to which he answered no.
He also said if he had known certain parts of the affidavit were fabricated, he would not have helped the narcotics team serve the warrant on Harding Street.
Rios agreed that he met with the state before the trial to prepare for his testimony.
The state then passed the witness back to the defense team, who briefly clarified that Officer Rios did not hear the narcotics officers announcing themselves before entering the Harding Street home because he had not made it on the scene yet.
10:02 a.m. - HPD Officer Rios continues testimony
Court begins Wednesday with the continuation of Officer Rios’ testimony. Defense attorney George Secrest questions Rios about his body-worn camera video, emphasizing that it was not immediately turned on at the start of the scene, but after shots were fired. Rios said he did not recall why he did not initially turn on his body camera video, but said he remembered to turn it on once he heard gunshots.
Officer Rios continues to explain what’s happening in his body camera video to the jurors.
Rios’s video, which is more than 40 minutes long, is constantly paused and discussed during the trial. In several moments of the video, Attorney Secrest paused the video and asked Rios questions about what was happening. In one part of the video, Rios could be heard saying, “Come on G.” When asked who he was referring to as G, Rios answered Goines, saying most officers referred to Goines as G.
Also in the body camera video, former HPD chief Art Acevedo could be seen arriving at the scene, helping the injured offers, and then being debriefed by officers who responded to the scene.
Nearly 45 minutes after the shooting, Rios testified that Acevedo ordered him to turn off his body-worn video camera for unknown reasons. The video showing the bombshell directive by Acevedo was also played in court for everyone inside the courtroom to hear.
After turning off his video, Rios said he stayed on the scene until SWAT arrived and then was instructed to go to the HPD headquarters on Travis Street to give a statement to the Special Investigates Unit about the deadly raid, which was standard protocol.