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Harding Street Raid

On January 28th, 2019, 59-year-old Dennis Tuttle and 58-year-old Rhogena Nicholas were sitting in their Harding Street, Houston, home when, without warning, they were swarmed by armed police officers performing a no-knock raid. A shootout ensued, and when the smoke cleared, a deadly scene revealed itself. Dennis, Rhogena, and their dog had all been fatally shot.

Several officers were wounded in the process. But this story wouldn’t get brushed under the rug or put down as a casualty of being in the line of duty. Instead, a twisted case of officer misconduct was uncovered that sparked a hunt for justice against the man responsible.

Gerald Goines Background

Gerald Goines began working for the Houston Police Department in 1985 when he was in his early 20s. Early on, he settled into a role in the narcotics department. In 1992, Goines had just finished a drug buy. He began to urinate on a nearby tree and was approached by a homeowner who shot him in the jaw.

5-years later, Goines was driving down Southwest Freeway when a road rage incident with another driver led to both men firing shots. Goines was hit twice but survived. The driver of the other vehicle, Reginald Dorsey, died.

Not believing Goines’ story, Reginald’s family filed a federal lawsuit against him, but unfortunately, the case was dismissed, and Goines was free to return to the force.

Little did Reginald’s family know that nearly three decades later, Gerald Goines’ face would be splashed across the news.

Patricia Garcia Reports Her Neighbors To The Police

On January 8th, 2019, 20 days before the fatal raid, a neighbor of Dennis and Rhogena placed a call to the police. It wasn’t the first time Patricia Garcia had called them about the couple. It was a part of an ongoing issue between the neighbors, but Patricia took it too far.

She told police that Dennis and Rhogena were heroin dealers who were holding her 25-year-old daughter against her will, but it was a lie; she didn’t even have a daughter.

Using this false claim, Goines applied for a no-knock search warrant of the home. But he needed more than a neighbor’s phone call, so Goines made up a story about a confidential informant purchasing black tar heroin from Dennis and Rhogena.

Three weeks later, they raided the home and shot the couple’s dog. Dennis allegedly picked up the revolver in his possession and tried to defend himself and his wife. He was killed by the officers. Rhogena was shot twice when she reportedly reached for one of the wounded officer’s weapons. Conveniently for the officers, no video footage was captured during this exchange.

Investigators discovered 18g of marijuana and 1.5g of cocaine in the house, weights classed as user amounts. Dennis and Rhogena’s relatives wanted answers. More importantly, they wanted people to pay for what happened that day.

Three months after the incident, they hired former NCIS agent Mick Maloney and his team to examine the crime scene. They found that some shots were fired from outside the home, and some of the officers were likely shot by other officers.

Goines and others are charged

In August 2019, Gerald Goines was charged with two counts of felony murder. Three months later, the feds hit him with charges of making false statements and depriving the victims of their constitutional right to be secure against unreasonable searches. Officer Steven Bryant, one of the others involved in the raid, pleaded guilty to obstructing justice by falsifying records.

Patricia Garcia wasn’t spared. She was charged for the fake 911 calls she made regarding the couple. She was later sentenced to 40 months in federal prison.

Goines’ Trial

It wasn’t until 2024 that Goines’ trial finally took place. His lawyer, Nicole DeBorde, admitted to the jury that Goines had lied to obtain the search warrant, but wanted to convince them that he was overcharged. “He didn’t murder anybody. He is not legally responsible for murder,” she said. “This is the case of the wrong charges being filed. There are other consequences for him.”

Nicole then tried to convince the jury that Dennis and Rhogena were responsible for their own deaths.

The prosecution put forward its case, laying out the extensive failings of the police department and how Goines’s lies led to two deaths.

When the jury returned from deliberation, Gerald Goines was found guilty of two counts of murder.

Two weeks later, at his sentencing hearing, his lawyer asked for a 5-year sentence, but Goines received 60 years. He will be eligible for parole after 30 years, but by then, he will be in his early 90s.

Gerald Goines’ lies and misconduct not only directly led to the deaths of two innocent people but also exposed severe flaws in the Houston Police Department. The department was forced to launch a massive review of an estimated 14,000 cases in which Goines and the other officers had been involved over the years. Once the review was complete, more than 160 cases had to be dismissed.

Federal Charges

Even though he was already serving 60 years for murder, his legal troubles were not over, because he still had to deal with his federal charges. According to ABC13, he pleaded guilty to two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law. That is essentially when a person in a position of power violates someone’s constitutional rights.

He will return to court for sentencing on November 9th, 2026. He is facing up to 10 years in federal prison and up to $250,000 in fines.