Ex-Houston police officer charged with murder after deadly drug raid

A former Houston police officer was hit with murder charges after allegedly lying to justify warrants for a January drug raid that killed two people and wounded five officers, prosecutors announced on Friday.

Former narcotics officer Gerald Goines allegedly fabricated information in order to obtain search warrants on the belief suspects in a home were dealing black-tar heroin. The raid resulted in a shootout that killed the house’s two occupants, Dennis Tuttle, 59, and Rhogena Nicholas, 58.

Goines was charged with two counts of murder, while former partner Steven Bryant was charged with tampering with a government record, Harris County prosecutors said.

“Under Texas law, if, during the commission of one felony, in this case tampering of a government record a person commits an act clearly dangerous to human life … that causes the death of another, in his case two deaths, it’s first degree murder,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg told reporters.

“We call that felony murder. Today we charged Gerald Goines with two counts of felony murder.”

Both ex-officers were expected to surrender on Friday. Prosecutors will ask for $250,000 bail for Goines and $100,000 for Bryant, Ogg said.

Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis TuttleHouston Police Dept.

Police documents say the warrant for the Harding Street home was justified by claims that a confidential informant bought heroin there and saw a weapon. Investigators trying to find that informant were given two names by Goines, who was one of five officers wounded in the raid.

Both informants denied working on that case or buying drugs at that address.

Goines, wounded in the raid, later admitted there was no confidential informant and he was the one who purchased the drugs, Ogg said.

Goines also indicated in the search warrant that Bryant had identified heroin bought at the home. But Bryant later allegedly told investigators he had retrieved heroin from Goines’ police car.

Goines and Bryant later retired.

Family and friends of Tuttle and Nicholas have always maintained the two never sold drugs. Small amounts of marijuana and cocaine were found in the house no heroin.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo vowed to end the practice of “no-knock” search warrants during a community meeting in February. He said officers will need to request a special exemption from his office to conduct a no-knock raid.

Ogg announced in February that the office would review more than 1,400 criminal cases spanning Goines’ decades-long career. Prosecutors said in April that 27 of those cases, which were pending at the time, would be dropped.