During closing arguments in Gerald Goines’ murder trial on Tuesday, Harris County Assistant District Attorney Keaton Forcht urged jurors to hold the former Houston narcotics officer responsible for the deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas, who were killed in a 2019 drug raid that Goines instigated by describing a heroin purchase that never happened. “Just because you have a badge doesn’t mean you’re above the law,” Forcht said.
Goines targeted Tuttle and Nicholas based on 911 calls from a neighbor, Patricia Garcia, who described them as armed and dangerous drug dealers who had sold her daughter heroin. Garcia, who did not even have a daughter, later admitted she had made the whole thing up, pleading guilty to federal charges related to her false reports.
In the affidavit that Goines filed to support the no-knock warrant that authorized him and his colleagues to break into the middle-aged couple’s home on the evening of January 28, 2019, he claimed a confidential informant had bought heroin from a man at 7815 Harding Street, where Tuttle and Nicholas lived. Goines later confessed he had invented that transaction, although he claimed he personally had bought heroin at the house the evening before the raid. Prosecutors showed that was not true either, presenting evidence that Goines was 20 miles away from the house at the time of the alleged drug purchase and had not visited the location that day.
Goines planned to present two bags of heroin he had obtained elsewhere as evidence of the purported purchase. But that plan went awry after he and his colleagues broke down the door of the house and immediately shot the owners’ dog. Tuttle, who according to prosecutors was napping in a bedroom at the time, responded to the tumult and gunfire by grabbing a revolver and shooting at the intruders, striking four of them, including Goines. The cops responded with a hail of at least 40 bullets, killing Tuttle and Nicholas, who was unarmed but allegedly looked like she was about to grab a gun from an injured officer.
Because of that disaster, the two bags of heroin remained in Goines’ car. “Once you get past tragedy and you get past the disgust, I think you land on irony,” Forcht told the jury. “I think it’s ironic that the only person who possessed heroin in this case was Gerald Goines. He had it in his car for a week.”
— Jacob Sullum in Jurors Weigh Murder Charges Against Former Houston Drug Cop Who Lied to Justify a Deadly Home Invasion
Remember, if you distrust the state or agents of the state, even a little bit, you’re a crazy conspiracy theorist and a threat to democracy.
Shire-man,
What is the old saying? “A fish rots from the head, down.”
Government corruption has become the norm. It is modeled at every level of .gov and sworn to by the mainstream media. Although we absolutely must expect better of law enforcement, it is predictable that many LEOs will emulate the corrupt behavior of their bosses. Is that an excuse? Of course not, just a recognition of the perverse and pervasive evil that had gained control of .gov at every level.
Anything short of death penalty is improper sentencing.
For everyone associated with his squad. Any cop that looks the other way when a dirty cop does a dirty deed is as bad or worse.
Hopefully the woman who lied about the people selling drugs gets the same punishment. Definitely deserves a murder rap herself. Probably got a slap on the wrist and an all day sucker.
This began with a lie. Sin has consequences. Your own personal sin doesn’t just harm you. It can be far reaching. It can harm innocent people because we live in a society. Live and let live doesn’t work because your actions can affect me and my children.
How about this? Don’t lie about anything. Don’t deceive people. You’ll feel better, and our society will be better for it.
Totally agree. Too many people, corporations, media outlets, and government officials won’t tell the truth. Many obfuscate or willfully ignore truthful facts an statistics. This LE is beyond ‘dirty’ and should be sentenced to minimum life or DP.