Murder trial begins for disgraced HPD officer Gerald Goines in 2019 Harding Street raid
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Five years and eight months after Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle were shot to death by Houston police during a botched "no-knock" drug raid on their home, the lead case agent, Gerald Goines, is finally going to trial for murder.
The disgraced former officer is accused of lying about the case to a municipal judge, getting a no-knock warrant based on those lies, and executing the warrant at 7815 Harding St. that was, by all accounts, tragic.
The former narcotics officer arrived at court at about 8 a.m. with his attorneys. Shortly after, Nicholas and Tuttle's relatives also filed into the courtroom. Tuttle's family held on to framed photos of the dead couple.
WATCH: Goines' charges read at start of trial
In their opening statements, prosecutors painted Goines as a dirty cop who lied on the search warrant and did no actual police work before barging into the couple's house. They also accused him of making up a "Confidential Informant" who allegedly bought drugs at the Harding Street house when none ever existed.
"He swore to that judge that this must be a no-knock warrant. That if it's not a no-knock, it would endanger police officers," prosecutor Keaton Forcht said.
Instead, Forcht painted a scene where officers barged into a home with no drug dealing history. He said it was the home of a couple who suffered from multiple medical ailments, did recreational drugs, and had almost no money. On the evening of the raid, Forscht said Tuttle was in the bedroom, Nicholas on the couch, and their dog Star was nearby. Soon, all three would be dead.
"Evidence will show Gerald Goines was legally responsible for every shot in that house, whether it was from officers or Dennis Tuttle," Forcht told jurors.
Forcht stated that the only reason Tuttle came out of the back bedroom with his gun was because he thought people were breaking into his home.
"Mr. Tuttle reacted as anybody would, any normal person, hearing guns ring out in their house, their doors blown in, his wife on the couch, the dog is dead in the living room. He grabs his pistol and comes storming out," Forcht said.
WATCH: Prosecutors lay out their case against Goines
In its opening statements, the defense admitted that Goines lied to obtain the search warrant but said the only reason that the couple is dead is because neither followed police instructions.
"While it's true you're not going to be happy with Gerald Goines for some of the things that he said that were not true, in that affidavit, and later in that hospital, he didn't murder anybody," defense attorney Nicole DeBorde said. "He is not legally responsible for murder. This is a case of the wrong charges being filed. There are other consequences for him."
DeBorde claims it was Tuttle and Nicholas who did not follow police commands, which, in turn, resulted in their deaths. Specifically, she detailed to the jury how Tuttle was able to shoot and injure four officers at close range. "Tuttle's choices to commit attempted capital murder of four police officers is the cause of him being killed," DeBorde said.
Prosecutors claim Goines, who was the lead case agent, lied about drug activity to obtain the warrant that resulted in the deadly raid. They also point out that this all started when a neighbor made several false 911 calls on Jan 8, 2019. That neighbor, also scheduled to testify in this trial, has since served federal prison time for making those calls.
WATCH: Defense attorneys deliver their opening statements
Opening statements ended at about 11 a.m., and the trial moved quickly onto its first witnesses.
The first person to take the stand was Sarah Sanchez, a long-time neighbor who called 911 the day of the botched raid. Sanchez also recorded many police actions that day on her phone. She shared the video with ABC13 back in 2019. You can hear several gunshots in the video, as well as Sanchez telling her family to get somewhere safe while she wondered if her neighbors were alright.
Sanchez, wearing a red shirt, was in tears as she testified in court Monday. Prosecutors then played the recordings for the jury.
Testimony by a Houston police officer who responded to the shooting followed Sanchez's time on the stand. Jurors were shown videos from his bodyworn camera where gunfire could be heard.
SEE ALSO: Murder charges for couple killed in botched 2019 no-knock raid reinstated against HPD officer
The department has since banned unannounced, no-knock raids.
Last March, the indictments against Goines were dropped after his attorneys argued they were poorly written. However, he was re-indicted a week later.
Prosecutors and Goines' attorneys have not spoken to the media leading up to the trial. Due to the prolific attention, a gag order is in place. New Houston police chief, J. Noe Diaz, emailed his department saying they can't speak to the media about the trial or post about it online.
Houston criminal defense attorney Murray Newman, who's not working with either side in the case, told ABC13 the city's entire legal community in Houston has been keeping an eye on this.
One reason? He pointed out what the Goines' side has argued - that a fair trial would be impossible due to the consistent coverage over the last five years.
"The thing that's so interesting about this amount of publicity is so much of it seems to have been pushed by the (district attorney's) office," Newman said. "The DA's office really seems to have been using its machinery within its PR department to push out a narrative intentionally about the case."
On the other side, Newman said prosecutors are working with a widespread belief within the community that nobody needed to die that day.
The search for a jury began in June with a pool of 120 potential jurors. There are 12 jurors and four alternates for the trial. The trial is expected to last several weeks.
