Court
Goines was sentenced to 60 years for felony murder. He’ll be eligible for parole in 30 years, just after the former cop’s 90th birthday.
| Posted on (Last Updated: )
Lucio Vasquez / Houston Public Media
Former Houston police officer Gerald Goines has been sentenced to 60 years in prison after being convicted on two counts of felony murder for his role in the Harding Street drug raid in 2019.
Goines, 60, was sentenced to 60 years for each count of felony murder for the deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas — he’ll serve 60 years for each count concurrently. He was also fined $10,000. He’ll be eligible for parole in 30 years, just after the former cop’s 90th birthday.
After the sentencing came in, Goines’ defense team said they were planning to appeal the verdict.
“We still don’t believe, legally, that he is guilty,” said defense attorney Nicole DeBorde. “We look forward to having the appellate courts review this.”
In the hallway right outside the courtroom, Ryan Tuttle said his family found solace in the verdict. However, one question continues to remain unresolved: why did this happen?
“What is the motive? Why their house? We know that it was baseless,” he said. “We’ll continue to press and maybe someday get an answer.”
A murder trial more than five years in the making
On Jan. 28, 2019, an HPD narcotics squad executed a no-knock search warrant on 7815 Harding Street, the home of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas. Shots were fired shortly after officers entered the house. The drug raid left the couple dead while wounding multiple officers.
In the wake of the incident, an internal investigation found that Goines, who led the raid, fabricated a story about a confidential informant purchasing heroin from the couple’s home in order to obtain the no-knock warrant. Investigators found no heroin in the home during the raid. That investigation led to several charges being filed against Goines, his then-partner Steven Bryant and the other officers involved in the raid.
Lucio Vasquez / Houston Public Media
Goines specifically was charged with two counts of felony murder, among other charges. Last month, more than five years after the botched raid, his murder trial began.
TIMELINE: A Botched Houston Police Raid And Its Consequences
Throughout the nearly two-week murder trial, prosecutors attempted to pin the murders of Tuttle and Nicholas on Goines, arguing that his lies directly led to the couple’s deaths. Goines' defense attorneys didn't refute that the former officer lied, but instead argued that the felony murder charges against Goines were excessive.
In the end, after about seven hours of deliberation, the jury ultimately sided with the prosecution and found Goines guilty of felony murder for the deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas.
After the double convictions, the sentencing phase of the trial began about two weeks ago. Jurors heard additional witness testimony to influence the severity of Goines' punishment. Among those who took the stand were Goines' wife and daughter, along with several family members of Tuttle and Nicholas.
Defense attorneys urged the jury to consider a lesser sentence of five years in prison, claiming that being imprisoned for more than 10 years would be a “death sentence” for the former cop. The prosecution swung to the other end of the pendulum, asking jurors to “think about all of the life sentences that Gerald Goines has handed down.”
“Return to that man all of the life sentences that he has handed out,” said Keaton Forcht, assistant district attorney.
Last Thursday, shortly after the prosecution began their closing remarks, Goines was rushed to a nearby hospital after having a medical emergency in court, causing a brief delay.
By Monday, Goines was back in court and closing remarks were wrapped up just before 10 a.m. The jury spent the next seven hours deliberating over the fate of Goines before Judge Veronica Nelson dismissed them at 5:30 p.m. By 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, the jury returned and continued to deliberate.
Notably, the jury spent more time deciding what to sentence Goines compared to the amount of time they took to find him guilty of felony murder.
Nearly 11 hours after they began deliberating, the jury sentenced Goines around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
In addition to the sentencing, Goines is also facing a slew of civil lawsuits filed by relatives of Tuttle and Nicholas, who sued the City of Houston, then-police chief Art Acevedo and 13 current or former HPD officers. Goines also was sued earlier this year by a man who claims he was falsely convicted of drug possession because of dishonest statements made by Goines.
The former officer is also facing criminal charges in federal court.
This is a developing story.
