HOUSTON, Texas – After being found guilty of murder in connection to the deadly Harding Street raid and sentenced to 60 years in prison, disgraced former Houston Police Department officer Gerald Goines is requesting a new trial.
The request comes as no surprise as his attorneys told KPRC 2 Investigates immediately after the trial that they were appealing his murder conviction.
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In September, 61-year-old Goines was found guilty of murdering Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas during a no-knock raid on Harding Street on Jan. 28, 2019, which left the couple and their dog fatally shot.
During the nearly five-week trial, we learned Goines, a former HPD narcotics officer, lied don’t the affidavit that was used to obtain the deadly no-knock warrant on Harding Street. In the affidavit, Goines claimed the couple were drug dealers and one of his CIs had purchased heroin from them.
The deadly raid left five officers, including Goines injured.
Now, Goines’ attorneys are arguing for a new trial, claiming that a cellphone belonging to Tuttle was withheld from evidence, and they believe could have been a vital piece of evidence during the trial.
Goines’ attorney, Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube, filed the subpoena on Oct. 30, seeking Tuttle’s cellphone and other related devices.
The Tuttle family’s attorney Boyd Smith in return filed a motion to quash the subpoena, claiming that it should be dismissed for multiple reasons.
First, he contends the subpoena is based on “newly discovered evidence,” a claim he calls “false,” noting that Goines and his attorney have been aware of Tuttle’s phone since October 2021 but made no attempts to retrieve it in the last two and a half years.
Smith also claims that Goines had ample time to seek the “new” evidence but did not. Smith making it clear in court documents, that he has no legal obligation to turn over evidence to the state, saying he represents the Tuttle family only in a civil rights case against the City of Houston.
Smith also claims that the data on the phone is protected by a federal confidentiality order issued by Judge Al Bennett in 2021. This order, Smith says, explicitly limits the use of confidential information to the federal case alone. He argues that, if Goines wants access, he should petition the federal court for a modification of the confidentiality restrictions rather than seek the phone’s contents in the criminal trial.
Additionally, Smith claims the data on Tuttle’s phone has no relevance to Goines’ defense. The motion claims that Goines’ case centers on alleged false statements he made in a search warrant affidavit, which ultimately led to Tuttle’s death. According to Smith, the contents of Tuttle’s phone bear no relevance to the issue of whether Goines falsified statements to obtain the warrant.
Smith is urging the court to dismiss the subpoena, stating that compelling production of the phone and other devices would violate the established confidentiality order, and intrude on attorney-client privileges.
The hearing on whether Goines will receive a new trial is set for Dec. 4. It’s not clear if Judge Veronica Nelson will make a ruling on the phone request before the hearing.