Since he’s a former HPD officer, how will this trial be different?

HOUSTON, Texas – Gerald Goines, the former Houston Police Department narcotics officer who led the deadly Harding Street raid that left a couple and their dog dead, will finally face a jury next week.

Goines is currently charged with murder in the deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas. The couple and their dog were killed in January 2019 when Goines and other narcotics officers raided their Harding Street home with a “no-knock warrant” and in plainclothes.

Goines is accused of providing false information to obtain the “no-knock warrant” used in the raid.

Goines is also charged with depriving Tuttle and Nicholas of their constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and obstructing justice by falsifying records by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District.

“When a police officer is charged, it’s a little different. As citizens, we make assumptions and generalizations based on what people do and what they look like. When jurors come in and they know someone is a police officer, they sometimes give them the benefit of the doubt. But on the other hand, they also have expectations of that individual that are sometimes higher than the average citizen,” said Angela Weltin, a criminal defense attorney.

After more than five years, Goines will be tried by a jury at the state level. It is unclear when he will appear before a judge or jury for the serious crimes.

So how exactly will things play out in court for Goines? KPRC 2 Investigates reporter Mario Diaz spoke with four criminal attorneys with varying perspectives on what to expect next week.

“Most people don’t have mixed feelings about the police. They’re either very strict, they’re anti-police, or they’re over-policing. So there could be that divide in a jury room and that could cause problems because there are people who are going to give him the benefit of the doubt because he’s a police officer and people are not going to like him because he’s a police officer, which could cause a divide in the jury room.”

The Tuttle and Nicholas families have long waited for justice in the deaths of their loved ones, but seeing Goines in court to fight state charges almost never happened.

In March, Judge Veronica Nelson dismissed two murder indictments against Goines.

Goines’ attorneys filed a motion asking Judge Nelson to dismiss the indictments, arguing that they lacked specific details about the laws he violated that led to the murder charges. The motion noted that while the indictment listed a charge of falsifying a government document, it did not specify which of the six subsections of the falsification statute Goines violated.

“It creates a complete distrust of law enforcement. It’s tough because, if you’re a prosecutor, it’s tough because you work with law enforcement on a daily basis, and now all of a sudden you have to prosecute your partner,” said criminal attorney Casey Gonzalez.

At the time the judge ruled to dismiss Goines’ charges, Kim Ogg called it “another delaying tactic by the defense” and vowed to explore all options, including appealing the judge’s decision or going to a grand jury for a new indictment.

“I think when the defendant is a law enforcement officer, as soon as the indictment is read to the jury, one of two things happens: The potential juror either determines that they think it’s political and it’s unfair and they back off a little bit in favor of the defendant, or they back off and treat them even more harshly than they would a standard defendant under those conditions,” said criminal defense attorney Erin Epley.

A week later, Goines was reindicted on two counts of murder after a grand jury approved the reindictments.

Who else was accused?

In addition to Goines, 11 other HPD officers have been charged in connection with the deadly Harding Street raid.

Most of the officers charged were accused of stealing overtime pay.

Goines’ former partner, Steven Bryant, has been charged with falsifying a government document and theft by a public servant. He has also been charged by federal prosecutors with falsifying documents as part of a federal investigation. Bryant retired from the department in 2019 and pleaded guilty to his charges in 2021. He was scheduled to be sentenced in 2022, but he has since become a state’s witness, so it’s unclear when he will be sentenced.

In June, a judge dismissed the “organized criminal activity” charges against nine of the 12 police officers charged, saying the indictments were too vague. Some of them still face charges of falsifying government documents and theft.

The nine former officers include Hodgie Armstrong, Nadeem Ashraf, Felipe Gallegos, Cedell Lovings, Griff Maxwell, Frank Medina, Oscar Pardo, Clemente Reyna and Thomas Wood.