Gerald Goines, center, lied in order to justify a no-knock, which ended with officers killing an innocent couple: Rhogena Nicholas, left, and Dennis Tuttle, right. (Mug shot of Goines: Houston Police Department via AP, File; images of Nicholas and Tuttle: Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)
A judge quashed the murder charges against the disgraced former Houston police officer accused of lying to justify a no-knock raid that resulted in officers killing a couple in Texas.
As previously reported by Law&Crime, the officer in question, Gerald Goines, allegedly claimed in search warrant documents that he used two confidential informants to buy heroin from Dennis Tuttle, 59, and Rhogena Nicholas, 58, two people falsely accused of dealing drugs.
Goines’ defense argued that the indictments were not specific about which tampering laws he violated, according to Houston ABC affiliate KTRK.
“The judge considered the constitutional law and legal arguments from both sides in this case and decided that the charges or the indictments, both indictments for felony murder were constitutionally defective and so she quashed them which is a legal word for throwing them out,” Goines’ attorney Nicole DeBorde told Houston NBC affiliate KPRC. “Now we wait for the state to determine how they want to proceed, they have choices. They can either appeal the judge’s ruling or decide whether or not they want to press forward by trying to present the cases to a new grand jury.”
“Today’s actions were no more than another delay tactic by the defense,” prosecutors wrote in a statement to Law&Crime. “The Harris County District Attorney’s office is shocked and tremendously disappointed that a judge would choose to revisit this issue, knowing that her predecessor had already ruled the defendant’s position meritless. The office is considering all its options, including re-indictment, with an eye towards trying this case as soon as possible to ensure justice for the victims of these crimes.”
Tuttle and Nicholas’ neighbor, Patricia Ann Garcia, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years and four months in federal prison for the original, mendacious 911 calls that sparked the entire debacle. The caller, who had a long-running feud with the couple, falsely accused them of being armed drug dealers who had her 25-year-old daughter in their home against her will.
Another officer, Steven O. Bryant, pleaded guilty to lying to help cover up for Goines, but he has yet to be sentenced.
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