HOUSTON, Texas – The first week of the murder trial for former Houston Police Department narcotics officer Gerald Goines is complete.
Goines faces charges related to the fatal 2019 Harding Street raid, which resulted in the deaths of Dennis Tuttle, Rhogena Nicholas, and their dog. On Monday, he entered a plea of not guilty.
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The trial’s opening week has already revealed significant revelations, including an emotional testimony from Goines’ former partner, Steven Bryant.
For a recap of the key moments and developments from the first four days of the trial, check out our coverage:
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.’
5:22 p.m. - Court adjourned for the weekend. Will resume Monday at 8:45 a.m.
4:03 p.m. - Court resumes
Detective Lujan testified that after his initial visit to the Harding home on Jan. 28, he returned in February to search for additional evidence.
On Feb. 12, 2019, Lujan said he entered the house specifically to look for ballistic evidence and also conducted a search around the exterior of the property.
Seacrest reviewed several photos with Detective Lujan, asking about the specific locations where Nicholas and Tuttle were found in the home.
The house, described as a hoarder’s house with very dim lighting, was heavily damaged by bullets, as evidenced by the photos.
One photo in particular showed the couch where Nicholas was reportedly sitting when officers entered the home. The image also displayed a white bag on the couch. Seacrest asked Lujan if drugs were found inside the white bag, to which Lujan confirmed, “Yes.”
Seacrest also highlighted a glass pipe visible in the photo next to Nicholas’ phone. He noted that this pipe was not mentioned in Lujan’s report. Seacrest described the pipe as a “small dope pipe.”
Seacrest inquired whether every room in the Harding Street house was thoroughly searched.
Detective Lujan confirmed, “Yes, for evidence.” However, Seacrest presented images of the home, which was cluttered with items scattered throughout.
Describing the house as a “hoarder’s house,” Seacrest showed several photos of overflowing cabinets and items covering the floors. He then asked Lujan if detectives had searched beneath the cabinets for weapons and drugs. Lujan responded, “No.”
In another photo, a hallway is shown leading to a back room with the doorway nearly blocked completely by bags piled almost to the top. Seacrest asked if detectives had entered the room to search for drugs. Detective Lujan replied, “No.”
3:45 p.m. - Court takes an afternoon break
2:46 p.m. - The state passes the witness. Defense begins cross
Defense attorney Secreast begins to cross-examine Lujan.
Seacrest also went through several images from the crime scene, asking Detective Lujan to describe what he saw in each.
1:40 p.m. - Court resumes and Houston Police Department Detective Robert Lujan continues testimony
State Attorney Tanisha Manning continues to present images of the numerous bullet holes discovered throughout the Tuttle and Nicholas home.
The photos reveal damage in almost every room, including the kitchen, den, living room, and bedrooms.
Detective Lujan reported that his team found an unidentified white powdery substance and marijuana at the scene, as noted in his investigation records.
Manning also displayed photos of a safe containing several guns. When Manning asked whether detectives had to force open the gun cabinet, Lujan admitted he did not recall.
12:45 p.m. - Judge Nelson holds hearing with attorneys on bodycam video Bryant said a Sgt. had on during the deadly raid
On Friday, during the court’s lunch break, Judge Nelson conducted a hearing with prosecutors, the defense, and Sgt. Reyna’s attorney regarding a non-departmental body-worn camera that Bryant claimed Sgt. Reyna was wearing during the fatal Harding Street raid.
Judge Nelson asked Reyna’s attorney if she was aware of or had seen any body camera footage from her client from that night. The attorney responded with “no.”
Reyna’s attorney then mentioned reviewing footage of Bryant’s extensive interview with the District Attorney’s Office from 2020. She questioned the state’s “good faith” in asking Bryant whether anyone from squad 15 had a body-worn camera during the raid.
The judge inquired if Bryant, in any of his interviews with the prosecutors, had stated that he personally saw the body-worn camera on Sgt. Reyna or viewed the alleged footage. Manning responded negatively, but one of Goine’s attorneys interjected, suggesting that the videos did not clearly indicate whether Bryant had actually seen the footage.
Judge Nelson concluded that there was insufficient evidence to confirm the existence of the body-worn camera.
The defense requested that the prosecutors prepare a statement to be read to the jury clarifying that while Bryant testified about the body-worn camera video, he did not personally see the camera or any related footage.
Sgt. Reyna’s attorney refused to answer if the video actually exists, but she is requesting the state give her client, who has been subpoenaed to testify, immunity to not answer the question of the body-worn camera video if asked.
12:40 p.m. - Court goes on lunch break
11:58 a.m. - State calls next witness to stand, Houston Police Department Detective Robert Lujan
Robert Lujan has been with the Houston Police Department for 25 years and with the department’s homicide division for 14 years.
On Jan. 28, 2019, Lugan said he received information about an officer-involved shooting on Harding Street. He said he was a part of the squad who was responsible for responding to the deadly raid.
Lujan said he arrived around 6:20 p.m. and the scene on Harding Street was still very active. He said SWAT was there working to make sure the scene was safe for detectives and CIU investigators.
Lujan was then asked to give a visual representation of the outside of Harding Street after the deadly raid, in which he described it as being very busy, with ambulances, and police vehicles covering the street.
After SWAT cleared the home, Lujan said he started looking for evidence from inside the Harding Street home. He said he was conducting a walk-through with SIU and CIU.
State attorney Manning shows an image to the court of the inside layout of Nicholas and Tuttle’s home, pointing out the entryway, living area, dining room, den, bedrooms, and restroom.
Manning then shows Lujan several photos taken from inside of the home and asks Lujan to explain each photo and why it was taken.
Photos of Tuttle lying on the floor of the home are shown to the courtroom, before Manning showed the photos, she gave a warning to jurors and the Tuttle and Nicholas family who were present inside the courtroom.
In one of the images Manning showed, the courtroom saw images of what Lujan said was Tuttle’s gun. He also circled the amount of rounds Tuttle fired, which was four. Lujan said Tuttle’s gun was fired between one to four times.
11:40 a.m. - Molli D excused - court goes on recess
10:49 a.m. - State passes witness, Defense begins questioning Molli D
Defense attorney Reagan Wynn began his cross with Molli D, asking her how long she has been investigating crime scenes, to which she answered seven years.
Wynn asked Molli why it to CIU 48 minutes to respond to the scene, she said her team was in a meeting and couldn’t react until the scene was safe. Molli said she and her team responded at 6:25 p.m. on Jan. 28. Wynn asked was dark then, and Molli answered, “Yes.”
On Jan. 30, Wynn said more firearm evidence was documented from the Harding Street home by investigators so they could see the crime scene during the daytime.
Molli says during her career span, she has responded to more than 25 officer-involved shootings.
Wynn then shows the court a document Molli prepared, which showed an image of evidence she found at the Harding Street home.
9:55 a.m. - Crime Scene Investigator Molli D called to the stand
Houston Forensic Science Crime Scene Investigator Molli D is the next witness on the stand. She responded to the Harding Street home crime scene on Jan. 28, 2019. Molli said she was a part of a team of five, she was not the only crime scene investigator available.
Molli said she was an assistant to the lead, which meant she documented, labeled and measured evidence found after the deadly raid at 7815 Harding Street.
During Molli’s testimony, state attorney Manning began showing the court several images that CSI took of the crime scene.
Molli said the images were taken so investigators could understand how the crime scene looked after the raid. The photos included the side of the home, the front yard and the backyard.
The lineup of photos included broken windows in the back of the home and blinds and blankets on the ground.
After about an hour of going through crime scene photos which included photos of the officer’s riffles and bullets on the exterior of the home, the state passed the witness.
9:19 a.m. - Court in session - Jury brought in
When court resumed Friday, the defense continued questioning a Houston police officer about the protocols surrounding how a raid is conducted. The witness was also questioned about the department’s body-worn camera policy during the time of the deadly raid.