A former Houston police officer was sentenced to 60 years in prison on Tuesday for murdering a married couple during a cocaine raid that exposed systematic corruption in the department’s narcotics section.
In January 2019, officers shot Dennis Tuttle, 59, and Rhogena Nicholas, 58, along with their dog, using a “no-knock” warrant that did not require them to identify themselves, leading to Gerald Goines’ conviction.
Last month, the same jury found Goines guilty of two counts of murder, following the presentation of testimony and evidence by state prosecutors, which demonstrated that Goines had lied to obtain a search warrant, falsely characterizing the pair as dangerous drug dealers.
The investigation into the narcotics seizure turned up charges of much deeper malfeasance. Goines was one of a dozen policemen from the narcotics squad indicted on additional crimes.
In June, a judge dismissed charges against some of them, but after reviewing thousands of cases involving the unit, prosecutors vacated many of them, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed at least 22 convictions related to Goines.
The jury’s sentence discussion was postponed a few days after Goines experienced a medical issue in the courtroom and was whisked away in an ambulance. Over the course of two days, they deliberated on Goines’ sentencing for more than 10 hours.
Nicole DeBorde, Goines’ defense counsel, asked jurors for a five-year minimum sentence, claiming that he had dedicated his life to keeping drugs off the street. “With someone like Gerald, who has the heart to serve and care for others, our community is safer,” she told me.
Prosecutors requested a life sentence for Goines, arguing that his years-long pattern of corruption, which has severely damaged law enforcement’s relationship with the community, allowed him to prey on the people he was supposed to protect.
Prosecutor Tanisha Manning declared, “An officer who uses his badge as a tool of oppression rather than a shield of protection cleanses no community.”
Prosecutors claimed during the month-long trial that Goines made a false claim that an informant had purchased heroin from a man with a gun at the couple’s home, setting off a violent confrontation that resulted in the couple’s deaths and the shooting and wounding of four policemen, including Goines, with a fifth injured.
Goines’ attorneys contended that Tuttle, not police officers, was the first to shoot at another individual. However, a Texas Ranger who investigated the raid said that the cops opened fire first, killing the dog and possibly precipitating Tuttle’s firing. Both a participating cop and the judge who issued the warrant stated that the raid would not have taken place if they had known Goines had lied.
Goines’ defense recognized that he lied to get the search warrant but attempted to downplay the consequences of his fraudulent assertions. They depicted the couple as armed drug users who caused their own deaths by firing at officers.
While Houston’s police chief at the time, Art Acevedo, initially praised Goines as “tough as nails,” he later suspended him after the lies came to light. Goines later retired while the investigations continued.
During the penalty phase, jurors heard from Nicholas and Tuttle’s family members, who described them as caring and generous. Tuttle’s son claimed his father was “pro-police.”
Several Goines family members told jurors that he was a fine person who had committed his life to public service. Former Houston Mayor Bob Lanier’s wife, Elyse Lanier, described Goines as a “gentle giant” whom she had known for 20 years.
Otis Mallet, one of the people unfairly imprisoned as a result of Goines’ false evidence, told jurors that Goines’ actions had “traumatically disturbed” his life.
Goines also arrested George Floyd for drug possession in Houston in 2004. Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minnesota police officer in 2020 sparked a nationwide reevaluation of racism in policing. In 2022, a Texas board refused Floyd’s request for a posthumous pardon for his narcotics conviction.
The families of Tuttle and Nicholas have filed federal civil rights claims against Goines, 12 other officers, and the city of Houston, and they plan to prosecute these claims in November. Goines also faces federal criminal charges in connection with the raid.
Nicholas’ family expressed thanks in a statement following Goines’ conviction, saying that “the jury saw this case for what it was: vicious murders by corrupt police, an epic cover-up attempt, and a measure of justice, at least with Goines.”
