HOUSTON, Texas — Jurors have returned three guilty verdicts in the murder trial of former Houston police officer Gerald Goines.
The ex-cop was charged with two counts of felony murder in the 2019 shooting deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas. The couple was gunned down during a botched drug raid at their Harding Street home.
Goines appeared to say "wow" as the judge read the guilty verdicts Wednesday afternoon.
When he was taken from the courtroom, his attorney, Mac Secrest, exchanged heated words, including an expletive, with the deputies because they did it in front of the jury.
During the trial, no one disputed that Goines lied to get the "no-knock" warrant that portrayed the couple as dangerous heroin dealers.
When officers burst into their southeast Houston home and shot their dog, Goines and three other cops were shot and wounded in a shootout.
Jurors heard closing arguments Tuesday morning and then deliberated for about 7.5 hours before reaching a verdict.
“The fact that the jury didn’t have enough time to go through all of that evidence in order to reach this verdict suggests that they had a pretty clear understanding of the state’s case, how they presented it, and that they’d shown beyond a reasonable doubt that Gerald Goines was guilty of felony murder," KHOU 11 legal analyst Carmen Roe said.
Testimony in the sentencing phase of the trial begins on Thursday. Goines could get up to life in prison for each felony murder conviction.
Because of a gag order, neither side can comment on the verdict until the sentencing phase ends.
Evidence includes bodycam video of Harding Street raid
Jurors heard two weeks of testimony during the closely watched trial.
Prosecutors said Goines falsely claimed that an informant had bought heroin at the couple’s home from a man with a gun.
Investigators testified that they only found small amounts of marijuana and cocaine in the house and no evidence of a major drug operation.
Jeff Wolf, a Texas Ranger who investigated the shooting, testified officers fired first when they entered the home and shot the couple’s dog. Nicholas, who had cancer, had been sitting on her couch watching television while her husband was asleep in a bedroom. Wolf said the gunfire and Nicholas screaming at officers likely resulted in Tuttle coming from his bedroom and opening fire at the officers.
Defense attorney Nicole DeBorde argued Nicholas and Tuttle were responsible for their own deaths and that officers had identified themselves before entering the home.
But Wolf testified the couple might never have heard this before gunfire erupted.
Last week, jurors saw dramatic bodycam video of the shootout. The graphic video included gunfire, shouts and groans.
Sarah Sanchez, a neighbor and friend, testified that the victims kept to themselves, had various health problems, lived on a fixed income and loved their dogs.
Other neighbors described the couple as "easygoing" and said they didn't bother anyone.
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Harding Street fallout
A massive investigation discovered that dozens of defendants were sent to prison on drug charges based on what prosecutors called "lies" by "dirty cops," including Goines. Investigators said they were motivated by greed because the phony cases led to overtime pay.
A dozen officers tied to the narcotics squad that carried out the raid, including Goines, were later indicted on other charges following a corruption probe. A judge in June dismissed charges against some of them.
Since the raid, prosecutors have reviewed thousands of cases handled by the narcotics unit.
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 of George Floyd, who lived in Houston at the time. Floyd's 2020 death at the hands of a Minnesota police officer, who was later convicted of murder, 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.