HOUSTON, Texas – Day eight of the murder trial for the former Houston Police Department narcotics officer Gerald Goines has come to an end after jurors saw autopsy photos of Harding Street homeowners Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas.
On Thursday, Lt. Jeff Wolf will return to the witness stand.
On Tuesday, Judge Nelson dismissed the court a bit early, allowing the state time to fully address their concerns regarding the defenses’ questioning of Texas Ranger Wolf about the officer statements he collected during his investigation of the deadly Harding Street raid.
The prosecution noted that while the defense can question Wolf about the officers’ statements, they are not permitted to enter them into evidence.
The defense wants to have the statements admitted.
Judge Nelson made her ruling shortly before court began, deciding not to allow the officer’s statements to be admitted.
If you missed the first week and last two days of the trial, here’s a recap of 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.’
5:31 p.m. - Court is dismissed for the day
Court will resume Thursday at 10 a.m.
5:30 p.m. - Dr. Gumpeni is dismissed
5:22 p.m. - Prosecutors pass witness to defense
Defense Attorney William Reagan Wynn began his questioning of Dr. Gumpeni by asking about the medications found in Tuttle’s system at the time of his death.
Dr. Gumpeni confirmed that none of the substances present would have impaired Tuttle’s vision during the raid.
Wynn then asked Dr. Gumpeni to clarify the classification of Tuttle’s death as a homicide. Dr. Gumpeni explained that while a death may be classified as a homicide, this does not rule out the possibility that it was justified; it simply indicates that the death resulted from the actions of another person.
4:02 p.m. - Dr. Pramod Gumpeni, Assistant Deputy Chief Medical Examiner at Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, is called to the stand
Dr. Gumpeni has been with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences for 17 years. His colleague conducted the autopsies of Tuttle and Nicholas on January 29 and 30, but Dr. Gumpeni is testifying in her place because she is currently on vacation.
He stated that he reviewed the case files, scene photos, and autopsy reports for both Tuttle and Nicholas, beginning his review in mid-August. Based on his examination of the records, he was able to determine the cause of death for both individuals.
Dr. Gumpeni explained that during an autopsy, up to 100 photos are typically taken.
Before the images were shown, Attorney Manning prepared the jurors and the families of Tuttle and Nicholas.
The first autopsy shown was of Nicholas, who was 58 years old, stood 5′9″, and weighed 128 pounds. The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso, and Dr. Gumpeni classified the manner of death as homicide.
When asked if Nicholas was tested for heroin, Dr. Gumpeni said, that according to the initial toxicology report, she was not tested for heroin.
Autopsy photos of Tuttle, who was 59 years old, stood 5′7″ and weighed 112 pounds, were then shown in the courtroom, which displayed injuries to his arm and fingers. The images revealed significant damage, with parts of his arm and knuckles severely lacerated. Dr. Gumpeni classified Tuttle’s manner of death as homicide.
3:41 p.m. - Defense passes witness back to prosecutors
After hours of questioning Wolf about officers who were involved in the deadly raid statements, attorney Secrest passed the witness back to prosecutors who decided they would re-examine Wolf but at a later time.
Another witness needed to be called to testify due to a scheduling conflict.
2:03 p.m. - Court resumes
Defense attorney George Secrest continues questioning Texas Ranger Jeff Wolf.
Attorney Secrest is now showcasing the gear the narcotics officers wore during the deadly raid. Shortly after that, he pulls out the gun Tuttle used to shoot at officers during the deadly raid and asks Wolf to identify it.
Editors note: Although Wolf is a state’s witness, he has spent more time on the stand answering questions from defense attorney Secrest than he did by the state. Secrest has had Wolf answer several questions to validate the statements made by officers involved in the deadly raid by having him read and confirm what they wrote in their statement following the raid.
Attorney Secrest demonstrated how one of the officers explained in his statement he saw Tuttle standing with his firearm aimed at officers entering the home. Secrest asks Wolf if his demonstration to the courtroom was how Tuttle may have been standing and pointing his weapon at officers, Wolf says “Yes, the stance was possibly the same stand Tuttle was in.”
Secrest questions Wolf about Nicholas being shot and where she ended up, which was on the opposite end of the couch as Medina, the officer she is accused of standing over and possibly trying to reach for his weapon. Secrest asks if there’s anything weird or unusual about Nicholas being a step or two away from where she was standing over Medina, Wolf says no because when you’re shot, most times you’re still able to move for some time until you collapse.
In previous testimony, the state said Nicholas was on the west end of the couch and seated when she was shot, nowhere near Medina, Secrest asked Wolf if Nicholas might have been on the west end of the couch and sitting, according to the evidence, he answered that it was not possible. Wolf said Nicholas moved when she was shot and the bullet was moving through her body.
Wolf said the only way for Nicholas to have received the gunshots she received, she had to be leaning forward.
Secrest then asked about friendly fire and if it was possible in this case, Wolf said he did not believe it occurred during this incident.
1:00 p.m. - Court breaks for lunch
10:19 a.m. - Texas Ranger Jeff Wolf takes the stand
Defense attorney George Secrest continues questioning Texas Ranger Jeff Wolf.
Wold reiterates that he received all of the information, including police reports from the night of the deadly raid from the District Attorney’s Office.
Wolf said after he reviewed the information, he went to the Harding Street home and used the 3D scanner to observe the gun flight panels from the night of the deadly raid. Wolf visited the home nearly six months after the shooting.
Attorney Secrest handed Wolf a copy of the sworn statements from the officers at the scene, which Wolf testified that he had reviewed before conducting a 3D scan at the Harding Street home. The statements were provided by the District Attorney’s office. While the defense offered these statements into evidence, they were not admitted. However, the defense was permitted to question Wolf about the statements.
Regarding the 3D scan at 7815 Harding Street, Wolf testified that he evaluated the findings with three other rangers. When he operated the 3D scanner, he said another ranger assisted him at the scene, which is standard protocol. Wolf then explained that the scanning process took most of the day. He said the tool is a survey device that can only capture what is visible. He further clarified that it required significant time to collect the data and that he needed to take the scan back to his office for analysis.
Using the 3D scanner, Wolf said he was able to determine the positions of the narcotics officers and the firearms used and was able to reconstruct the sequence of events. Wolf said he was asked by the DA’s Office to establish who fired at who and what occurred during the deadly raid.
When Secrest inquired if the Harding Street scene was a complicated scene to analyze, Wolf said it was a detailed scene but added he had worked on far more complicated cases.
During his testimony, Wolf agreed that officers said they announced themselves before entering the Harding Street home. Officer Frank Medina, according to his statement, said “Police, search warrant,” before entering the home. Medina then proceeded to the left, followed by other officers, Wolf testified.
Secrest asked if Medina’s statement mentioned that Officer Goines had provided information that Tuttle was previously seen with a gun at the home. Wolf confirmed that Medina’s statement included this information, as well as the fact that Goines did not have a layout of the home before the officers entered.
According to Medina’s written statement, after shouting “police,” he entered the house and moved to the left to address a possible threat, which could have been either the dog or Tuttle’s firearm.
Secrest continues to grill Wolf on the officers’ statements, and asks did Medina’s written statement included information that Nicholas was yelling at officers and ignoring commands, Wolf agreed.
According to a written statement by Officer Pardo, he said Nicholas was standing over Medina and yelling at him aggressively while moving toward his gun. Wolf was asked if he read that in the statement, to which he agreed that he did.
Wolf also testified that, according to the 3D analysis, Nicholas was found in a position where she could have been possibly standing over Medina when she was shot and killed.
The attorney then asked about two shots that were heard on bodycam video minutes after the initial shooting, Wolf testified those shots came from Officer Eric Sepolio who shot the dog.