Ex-officer in botched raid kept in custody
The former Houston police officer behind a bungled drug raid that left two homeowners dead will remain in federal custody after a Tuesday morning bond hearing in which prosecutors argued against his release.
The decision came days after ex-narcotics officer Gerald Goines, 55, pleaded not guilty to federal charges amid what prosecutors described as “vast and growing” evidence that he fabricated an informant and then lied on a search warrant affidavit, an offense report and the tactical plan made in preparation for the fatal January bust.
After the FBI arrested him Wednesday, prosecutors told the court that Goines — who is already facing two felony murder charges in state court because the deaths occurred during the course of another alleged felony, tampering with a government record — repeatedly lied about casework, had sex with an informant and kept loose drugs and a stolen gun in his car. Goines has denied the charges.
The federal judge last week didn’t immediately decide whether to release the 34-year police veteran, instead setting Tuesday’s court date to handle that determination.
During a Tuesday morning hearing at the federal courthouse, U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan read all the conditions of release and negotiated details with Goines’ attorney — only to deny the ex-cop’s release minutes later, after prosecutors asked to delay the decision so they could file a formal motion to fight it.
Nicole DeBorde, the attorney representing Goines, said the move was a disappointment but not a surprise.
“We continue to believe that he is appropriate for release on
bond,” she told reporters afterward.
She called the idea that her client could be a flight risk “absurd,” given his cooperation with bond conditions on the state court charges, and lamented the fact that today’s decision would likely mean he will spend the Thanksgiving holiday behind bars, away from his family. Both his wife and daughter showed up at the court hearing; they declined to speak to the press afterward.
Goines and his former partner, 45-year-old Steven Bryant, were arrested at their homes last week on federal charges after agreeing to turn themselves in. Bryant has been charged in state court with tampering with a government record, an accusation that he denies.
Authorities last week also arrested Patricia Ann Garcia, who is accused of making up bad tips in a 911 call leading to the raid and shootout that left homeowners Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle dead and five officers wounded or injured.
The nine-count federal indictment includes one charge each against Bryant and Garcia, and seven against Goines, including depriving the slain couple of their rights, witness tampering and falsifying records
Goines, Bryant and other armed narcotics officers burst into the couple’s house late on the afternoon of Jan. 28, looking for a stash of guns and a pair of heroin dealers. They had zeroed in on that address after repeated tips from a woman — now identified as Garcia — who said her daughter was in the home getting high with a pair of drug dealers.
“They were not drug dealers,” FBI Special Agent O’Neil Brown told the court last week.
But, to justify the raid, Goines allegedly made up an informant he claimed bought heroin there on Jan. 27. Then, Goines signed an affidavit laying out the supposed drug purchase and illegal activity, and went to a municipal court judge to get permission for the noknock raid.
The bust quickly turned to chaos after police shot a pitbull and sparked a gunfight.
“I told you there were no drugs here,” Tuttle shouted, according to Brown. A few moments later, the Navy veteran was shot to death near the doorway of the cluttered Pecan Park home. Four officers — including Goines — were also shot, and one remains paralyzed from the waist down.
In the days that followed, an internal investigation by the Houston Police Department raised questions about the officers’ justification for the search warrant. Police quickly realized they could not find the informant Goines said made the buy.
Early on, the FBI launched its civil rights investigation, and the Harris County district attorney dismissed dozens of the officers’ active cases and announced prosecutors were reviewing more than 14,000 cases previously handled by Goines, Bryant and the rest of their squad.
Meanwhile, attorneys for the families of the slain couple hired an independent forensics team to review the scene. They suggested that Tuttle may have been on the floor when he was shot and questioned whether he ever fired at police.