1 of 12 jurors replaced on 2nd day of Goines murder trial for botched 2019 Harding Street raid

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- On the second day of the long-awaited murder trial of disgraced former Houston Police Department Officer Gerald Goines, one of the 12 jurors was dismissed and replaced with an alternate.

Juror 9 brought up the issue herself. She told the judge that after Monday's 911 calls were played to the jury, she remembered hearing about the case when the botched drug raid first happened more than five years ago.

The juror said she had very strong feelings about the no-knock raid that killed Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle, telling the judge she could not be impartial.

Judge Veronica Nelson dismissed that juror and then questioned each juror individually, trying to ensure they were not influenced in any way. All remaining jurors said they could still be impartial.

RELATED: Murder trial begins for disgraced HPD officer Gerald Goines in 2019 Harding Street raid

"It was definitely an odd set of events to come forward this late in the game," local defense attorney Murray Newman, who watched the dismissal unfold in open court, said. "I think Judge Nelson did the right thing by bringing out every single juror and saying, 'Hey, did this jury influence you? Is there anything else that influenced you that's been discussed that should not have been discussed?'"

Once testimony resumed, Officer Nicole Blankenship-Reeve was back on the stand. She continued to testify about her initial response to the fake 911 call that set everything in motion. Blankenship-Reeves testified that she and another street officer did not find anything substantial on Jan. 8, 2019, when the initial 911 calls were made.

However, the two officers wrote up the information and then informed Narcotics Lt. Marsha Todd, who also happens to be Blankenship-Reeves' partner in their personal lives.

Todd, who has since retired from HPD, also took the stand. She spent quite a bit of time detailing the process by which narcotics investigations are typically carried out at HPD. However, her most compelling testimony came as she recounted her questioning of Goines days after the botched raid.

Todd said she went to speak to Goines while he was recovering at the hospital and immediately saw "red flags" in what he communicated to her.

In court, Todd said it was unusual for any officer, including Goines, to tell his wife to leave the room as the two communicated. Goines, who had his jaws wired shut at the time, wrote his responses to Todd on paper.

Todd testified that when asked who the confidential informant (CI) was in the case, Goines wrote down "Reece" on a piece of paper.

RELATED: Murder charges for couple killed in botched 2019 no-knock raid reinstated against HPD officer

He also wrote, "But she should be scared."

Todd says Goines then tried to tear up that piece of paper but was so weak. So, she tore that piece of paper in front of Goines but stuffed it in her pocket to preserve it.

Todd testified that she later returned to her office and taped the paper back together because she knew it would be important evidence. That paper was presented to the jury on Tuesday as evidence.

Soon after that testimony, defense attorney Nicole DeBorde said in court that Goines' side would stipulate that there was never a confidential informant. Basically, they agreed that the CI part of the story that led a judge to sign a no-knock warrant was made up.

Newman says we're beginning to see how both sides plan on attacking the case.

"From what we learned so far, there's not going to be a big dispute about the facts. The dispute is going to be about how the law applies to the facts and whether or not the actions are reasonable," Newman said.

Todd and Reeves both rapped up their testimonies Tuesday afternoon. Another officer who worked the perimeter of the scene then took the stand. His testimony continues on Wednesday.

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