Former Houston officer rushed into ambulance during sentencing in double murder trial

HOUSTON– The sentencing of a former Houston police officer convicted of murder in the deaths of a couple during a 2019 drug raid was stayed Thursday after he suffered a medical emergency in the courtroom.

A prosecutor was addressing jurors during closing arguments in the punishment phase of Gerald Goines’ trial when the former officer could be heard breathing heavily as he sat at the defense table.

The jury was led out of the courtroom and Goines was helped by one of his attorneys and a bailiff as he walked to a waiting area outside the courtroom. Goines was later seen on a gurney loaded into an ambulance parked outside the courthouse.

His condition was not immediately known. Due to the silence in the case, neither prosecutors nor Goines’ lawyers would comment on what happened.

One of the other cases linked to Goines is his 2004 Houston drug arrest of George Floyd, whose 2020 death at the hands of a Minnesota police officer sparked nationwide awareness of racism in the police. In 2022, a Texas board rejected a request that Floyd receive a posthumous pardon for his drug conviction stemming from his arrest by Goines.

One of Goines’ lawyers, Nicole DeBorde, told jurors during closing arguments that the 60-year-old’s “health was destroyed” after he was shot in the face during the deadly raid.

State District Judge Veronica Nelson later told jurors that closing arguments could resume Friday or Monday.

Goines faces life in prison after being convicted last week in the January 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his wife Rhogena Nicholas, 58. The couple and their dog were shot and killed after officers burst into their home using an arrest warrant that did not require them to announce themselves before entering.

During the trial, prosecutors presented testimony and evidence that they said showed Goines lied to obtain a search warrant that falsely portrayed the couple as dangerous drug dealers. The raid gave rise to a violent clash during which the couple was killed and four police officers, including Goines, were shot and injured and a fifth injured.

Goines’ lawyers acknowledged that the ex-officer lied to obtain the search warrant, but downplayed the impact of his false statements. His lawyers portrayed the couple as armed drug addicts and said they were responsible for their own deaths because they shot at the officers.

After the search, investigators said they found only small amounts of marijuana and cocaine in the home.

An investigation into that raid revealed systemic problems with corruption within the police narcotics unit.

A dozen officers linked to the narcotics squad that carried out the raid, including Goines, were later indicted on other charges following a corruption investigation. In June, a judge dismissed the charges against some of them.

Since that search, prosecutors have reviewed thousands of cases handled by the narcotics unit.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned at least 22 convictions related to Goines, who also faces federal charges.

Federal civil rights lawsuits filed by the families of Tuttle and Nicholas against Goines and 12 other officers involved in the raid and against the city of Houston are scheduled to go to trial in November.

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