HOUSTON, Texas – The State of Texas vs. Gerald Goines entered its seventh day on Tuesday morning.
The former narcotics officer is on trial for felony tampering of a government document and murder tied to the deadly raid on Harding Street.
Houston Police Department detective Robert Lujan opened the day on the stand, where he has been testifying since Friday.
KPRC 2 Investigates team Reporter Mario Diaz, Senior Investigates Producer Jason Nguyen, Senior Special Projects Producer Andrea Slaydon, and Digital Content Specialist Ninfa Saavedra have been at the trial dishing out the latest updates for ‘The Bench: Gerald Goines.’
On Monday, Lujan testified that, in his opinion, there was no evidence of “friendly fire” the night of the deadly raid.
There have been numerous questions over the years regarding who shot the four HPD narcotics officers that night, specifically homeowner Dennis Tuttle or fellow officers through what is known as “friendly fire.”
Lujan also testified that the bullets in the chamber of Tuttle’s revolver showed three shots fired in order, but then there was one bullet that was not fired, followed by one marked as fired.
The state questioned the markings and had Lujan testify as to whether or not that was a discrepancy. Lujan pointed out that the markings indicated that one shot could have been fired at a different time or day, meaning it is fully unclear in his opinion as to whether or not four shots were fired by Tuttle.
The prosecution in its opening statements indicated Tuttle May have fired up to four shots, but that it was not definite.
Lujan bolstered their position.
Yet, he did testify minutes later there was no evidence of friendly fire.
It’s also important to note that Lujan testified he was a homicide investigator. KPRC 2 Investigates confirmed he is not a forensic investigator for HPD.
On Tuesday, Lt. Jeff Wolf a Texas Ranger took the stand to testify about his investigation into the shooting.
KPRC 2 Investigates was the only station to capture Wolf and a colleague at 7815 Harding Street in July 2019.
The Rangers’ visit came nearly six months after the night of the deadly raid, and over two months after the Nicholas and Tuttle families hired their own forensic investigator.
In November 2019, KPRC 2 Investigates spoke with Michael Maloney who called the entire HPD raid a “debacle”.
Maloney is not slated to testify in the criminal trial, but is expected to give testimony in the civil trial.
On Tuesday, Lujan confirmed that HPD Investigators had been to the house at least four times in the aftermath of the deadly raid, including as far as late November 2019.
Lujan under questioning by the state near the end of his testimony, admitted that HPD narcotics did not recover some of the drugs presented in the photographs as such submitted as evidence to the jury.
