By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-09-25 20:45:48 | Updated at 2024-09-30 23:47:05
5 days ago
A Texas cop has been convicted for killing a couple during a controversial 'no-knock' drug raid.
Gerald Goines was found guilty of two counts of murder in the January 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his wife Rhogena Nicholas, 58.
The couple, along with their dog, were fatally shot after officers burst into their home using a 'no-knock' warrant that didn't require them to announce themselves before entering.
Goines lied to obtain the raid warrant by claiming a confidential informant had bought heroin from the couple's Houston home before later changing his story.
The probe into the drug raid also uncovered allegations of systemic corruption, with a dozen officers tied to the narcotics squad that carried out the raid later indicted on other charges.
Texas cop Gerald Goines has been convicted for killing a couple during a controversial 'no-knock' drug raid
During the raid, US Navy veteran Tuttle exchanged gunfire with the raiding police, who fatally shot him and his wife, and also killed their pet pit bull.
Goines later said there was no informant and he had bought the drugs himself. Police found small amounts of marijuana and cocaine in the house, but no heroin.
Goines, once a respected Houston officer, has been accused of making bogus drugs arrests after investigators looked into the deadly 2019 incident.
His casework came under intense scrutiny and as a result, more than 160 of his convictions - mostly drug related - have been dismissed.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned at least 22 convictions linked to Goines, who also faces federal charges.
One of the other cases tied to Goines that remains under scrutiny is his 2004 drug arrest in Houston of George Floyd, whose 2020 death at the hands of a Minnesota police officer sparked a nationwide reckoning on racism in policing.
A Texas board in 2022 declined a request that Floyd be granted a posthumous pardon for his drug conviction stemming from his arrest by Goines.
Goines was found guilty of two counts of murder in the January 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his wife Rhogena Nicholas, 58
He faces life in prison with his sentence decided by the same jury which convicted him
During the trial - which began on September 9 - prosecutors presented testimony and evidence they said showed Goines lied to get a search warrant that falsely portrayed the couple as dangerous drug dealers
Goines faces up to life in prison. The same jury that convicted him will also decide his sentence after hearing additional testimony and evidence during the trial´s punishment phase, which is set to begin Thursday.
During the trial - which began on September 9 - prosecutors presented testimony and evidence they said showed Goines lied to get a search warrant that falsely portrayed the couple as dangerous drug dealers.
During closing arguments in the trial, prosecutor Keaton Forcht said Goines' actions wrongly led officers to the couple's home, resulting in a violent confrontation in which also saw four officers shot and wounded and a fifth injured.
Goines' lawyers acknowledged the ex-officer lied to get the search warrant but minimized the impact of his false statements.
They said his actions did not merit a murder conviction and he had been overcharged.
The couple, along with their dog, were fatally shot after officers burst into their home using a 'no-knock' warrant that didn't require them to announce themselves before entering
The couple's Houston home on Harding Street which was shot up during the road
Officers announced themselves as Houston Police before entering, but as they opened the front door but said they came under fire
Nicole DeBorde, one of Goines´ attorneys, portrayed the couple as armed drug users and said they were responsible for their own deaths because they fired at officers who entered their home.
Tuttle and Nicholas' families have filed federal civil lawsuits against Goines and 12 other officers involved in the raid and the city of Houston which are set to be tried in November.
This is a breaking news story, please check back for updates...
