Jury selection begins in murder trial of former Houston police officer Gerald Goines – Houston Public Media

Lucio Vasquez / Houston Public Media

Jury selection is underway in the murder trial of former Houston police officer Gerald Goines, who led a botched 2019 police raid that led to the deaths of a couple on Harding Street.

The jury selection process began last week, when attorneys began interviewing 120 potential jurors. By Tuesday, they had narrowed that number to 42. They will now move on to individual interviews with defense attorneys and prosecutors.

According to Joe Stinebaker, a spokesman for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, the process is expected to be completed by June 19. The trial is currently scheduled for early September.

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On January 28, 2019, HPD Narcotics Squad 15 executed a no-search warrant at the home of Dennis Tuttle, 59, and Rhogena Nicholas, 58. According to police, the couple shot at officers as they entered the home. The raid left the couple dead and several officers injured, including Goines, who led the raid.

Following the raid, an internal investigation revealed that Goines and Officer Steven Bryant had fabricated a story that a confidential informant had purchased heroin at the couple’s home in order to obtain the search warrant, prosecutors said. The investigation led to several charges against Goines, Bryant and the other officers involved in the raid.

In addition to the murder charges, Goines is also accused of engaging in organized criminal activity, falsifying government documents and stealing from a public official. In June 2021, Bryant became the first police officer to be convicted in the raid after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice by falsifying documents.

The move comes after murder charges against Goines himself were dropped earlier this year, with his attorneys arguing that the charges did not provide him with “a meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense.” About a week later, the district attorney’s office presented amended charges to another grand jury, which decided to indict him again in May.

Nine officers who were part of a drug squad were charged in 2021 with engaging in organized criminal activity in an alleged scheme to collect undeserved overtime pay from the city. However, those charges were dropped last week after the officers’ lawyers argued the indictments were too broad, limiting their ability to prepare for trial.

Three of the nine officers – Hodgie Armstrong, Clemente Reyna and Thomas Wood – are also charged with theft of materials by a public servant and falsification of official documents. The other officers whose charges were dropped are Nadeem Ashraf, Felipe Gallegos, Cedell Lovings, Griff Maxwell, Frank Medina and Oscar Pardo.

Stinebaker said prosecutors plan to return to a grand jury to try to reindict the officers on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity.