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Satanica

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A federal grand jury on Wednesday charged two former Houston police officers at the center of a failed January drug raid with civil rights violations, falsifying records and lying about use of confidential informants, marking the latest turn in one of the worst HPD scandals in decades.

Prosecutors also unsealed charges against a neighbor of Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle, who were killed in the drug raid, for conveying false information after she called police and alleged drug use in the couple’s home on Harding Street in south Houston.

The unsealed indictment against former Houston officers Gerald Goines, 55, and Steven Bryant, 45, follows state charges against both officers. Goines was charged with two counts of felony murder, and Bryant was charged with tampering with a government document.
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Bryant, Goines’ former partner, was released on $50,000 bail. Like Goines, Patricia Garcia, the 53-year-old woman accused of making false 911 calls that led police to the Harding Street home in late January, remained in custody pending a hearing. Federal prosecutors consider Goines a danger and a flight risk, according to a probation officer at the hearing.

The indictment includes seven charges against Goines. Authorities allege he fabricated an informant and lied on a search warrant affidavit, an offense report and the tactical plan made in preparation for the bust that turned into a gun battle that ended with the deaths of Nicholas and Tuttle and with five HPD officers injured.

Nicole DeBorde, who is representing Goines, called the latest charges surprising, particularly the indictment against Garcia.

“It appears at least on its face at this juncture, just looking at the indictment, inconsistent with the other charges that Bryant and Goines are facing,” she said, adding she looked forward to “vigorously defending” Goines in state and federal court.

“It’s a very stressful and lengthy investigation that’s been going on … he’s been cooperative,” she said. “He’s done everything that every judge or every police officer has asked him to do. We have a lot of decisions about how we will move forward in light of the federal charges”

Bryant is facing one count of falsifying records when he allegedly lied on an offense report. He claimed he’d helped Goines with a heroin buy at the Harding Street home — a purchase authorities say never really happened. The fabricated drug deal was part of the justification for the raid, which only turned up user-level amounts of marijuana and cocaine.

Garcia is charged with providing false information because she allegedly lied when she called 911 and said that she could see her daughter inside the home. She also said the residents were drug dealers, that they were smoking crack and doing heroin and that they had machine guns inside.

Attorney Derek Collingsworth, who is representing Bryant on the federal charge, said after the court hearing Wednesday that his client has cooperated and is willing to cooperate with any rules of his bond.

Hours after federal authorities unsealed the multi-count indictment, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office issued a statement noting that it’s “not uncommon” for federal and local authorities to simultaneously pursue charges against defendants in complicated cases and that the local investigation is still ongoing.

“We all want to flesh out all the facts, all the evidence,” said spokesman Dane Schiller, “and ensure that the truth is known.”

Later on Wednesday, after the charges against his former officers were announced, Chief Art Acevedo portrayed the indictments as another step in holding Goines and Bryant accountable for their alleged misconduct.

“We have never been afraid of finding the truth as a police department,” the chief said, flanked by senior commanders and the lead investigator on the probe into Goines. “Our commitment is to the truth and our commitment is to the rule of law.”

In the weeks after the raid, Acevedo launched investigations into the shooting and a review of HPD’s undercover operations. On Wednesday, he declined to say when the department would release the findings of that probe.

Goines, Bryant and other Houston narcotics officers burst into the house at 7815 Harding St. looking for heroin on Jan. 28. They’d zeroed in on that address after a tip from a worried mother — now identified as Garcia — alerted them to alleged drug activity there. To justify raiding the place, Goines allegedly fabricated an informant who he claimed bought heroin there on Jan. 27. After Goines signed an affidavit laying out the supposed drug purchase and illegal activity, police got permission for a no-knock raid.

As soon as the narcotics squad burst in the front door a day later, the bust erupted into gunfire. Four officers were shot, including Goines. One officer remains paralyzed from the waist down.

In the days that followed, an internal investigation sparked questions about the officers’ justification for the search warrant, and 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 raised questions about whether he ever fired at police.

Mike Doyle, the attorney representing the Nicholas family, released a statement after Wednesday’s arrests, framing the FBI involvement as a move that would “expedite” the “quest” for justice.

“The investigation of the rogue Harding Street raid and the Houston Police Department must continue as far and wide as necessary,” he said. “If city officials continue to refuse to disclose what happened in these HPD killings, we hope federal authorities will do so.”

 
The rot runs deep -
2nd Houston officer charged with murder, others indicted in wake of drug raid that left couple dead
A second Houston police officer has been charged with murder and is among additional officers who have been indicted as part of an ongoing investigation into a Houston Police Department narcotics unit following a deadly 2019 drug raid, prosecutors announced Monday. In all, a dozen officers tied to the narcotics unit have been indicted after their work came under scrutiny following the January 2019 drug raid in which Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his wife, Rhogena Nicholas, 58, were killed.

"The consequences of corruption are two innocent ordinary people were killed in their homes, four police officers were shot, one of them paralyzed and now all of them will face Harris County jurors who will decide their fate," said Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.

Officer Felipe Gallegos was indicted for murder in Tuttle's death. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison, Ogg said.

Continues HERE

 
HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) – A woman was sentenced on Tuesday, June 8 to three years and four months in federal prison for making false 911 calls that ultimately resulted in a 2019 drug raid by Houston police that killed both homeowners.
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Patricia Garcia was the first person to be sentenced in connection with the deadly raid in which Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his wife, Rhogena Nicholas, 58, were fatally shot on Jan. 28, 2019.
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Two current and former officers, Gerald Goines and Felipe Gallegos, are facing murder charges in state court.

Prosecutors have alleged Goines, who led the raid, lied to obtain the warrant to search the couple’s home by claiming a confidential informant had bought heroin there. Goines later said there was no informant and he had bought the drugs himself, they allege. Police found small amounts of marijuana and cocaine in the house, but no heroin.

During a federal court hearing done over video Tuesday, prosecutor Alamdar Hamdani said Garcia made three 911 phone calls on the evening of Jan. 8, 2019, in which she told police her daughter was being held against her will inside the couple’s home, the couple were drug dealers and had guns inside their house.

Hamdani said Garcia had no daughter and that her other claims were also false, made while she was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Garcia had a long running dispute with the couple and the 911 calls were made to get back at them, according to authorities.

Prosecutors don’t suggest Garcia was the cause of the couple’s death 20 days later, but “that night, things were set in motion,” Hamdani said.

“Ms. Garcia dialed 911 and intended to use those three digits as a weapon,” he said.

Hamdani said that after Tuttle and Nicholas were killed, Garcia continued to not be remorseful, telling police she “was tired” of all the people who came to their neighborhood to mourn the couple’s deaths.

In a brief statement, Garcia said when she made the false 911 calls, she “wasn’t in my right mind.” In March, Garcia pleaded guilty to one count of providing false information.
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(Her attorney asked for a sentence of 10 to 16 months based on Garcia's long history of mental illness and drug abuse.)

But U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr. said he didn’t believe Garcia was truly remorseful and she had been callous in trying to provoke police to forcefully enter her neighbors’ home.

“There’s no question that you knew what that was going to lead to. You wanted something bad to happen,” Hanks said.

Hanks agreed with prosecutors that Garcia’s prison term should be higher than what had been recommended by the sentencing guidelines.

Last week, Steven Bryant, Goines’ former partner, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count related to obstructing justice by falsifying records. He is set to be sentenced Aug. 24.

More than 160 drug convictions tied to Goines have since been dismissed by prosecutors.

The families of Tuttle and Nicholas filed federal civil rights lawsuits against the city and 13 officers in January.

“I never meant for anyone … to die the way they did. I am so sorry for my 911 telephone calls,” Garcia said.

 

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