Former Houston Police Department narcotics officer Gerald Goines was convicted and sentenced to prison after a jury found that the false search-warrant case he built led to the deadly Harding Street raid in Houston. The raid killed Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas inside their southeast Houston home and became one of the most consequential police-corruption cases in Houston history.
Reported Raid Facts
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the federal indictment stemmed from a January 28 narcotics raid conducted by Houston police on the 7800 block of Harding Street in Houston, and the enforcement action resulted in the deaths of two residents at that location. The Associated Press reported that Dennis Tuttle, 59, and Rhogena Nicholas, 58, were killed after officers entered their home using a no-knock warrant, and that four officers were shot and wounded while a fifth officer was injured.
ABC13 reported that the raid happened at 7815 Harding Street in southeast Houston and that the warrant was based on an informant who never actually went to the house. The Associated Press reported that prosecutors said Goines falsely claimed an informant had bought heroin at the home from a man with a gun, setting up the confrontation that ended with the couple dead.
Allegations And Federal Charges
Federal prosecutors alleged that Goines made numerous materially false statements in the state search warrant he obtained for the Harding Street residence. The DOJ said Goines was charged federally with two counts of depriving the victims of their constitutional right to be secure against unreasonable searches, along with obstruction-related counts tied to records and statements connected to the raid.
The DOJ also alleged that Goines falsely stated that narcotics had been purchased at the Harding Street location on multiple dates and said the indictment alleged those statements were not true. The DOJ emphasized that an indictment is a formal accusation, not evidence, and that a defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Southern District of Texas.
State Conviction And Sentence
On September 25, 2024, a jury found former Houston police officer Gerald Goines guilty of two counts of felony murder for his role in the deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas during the botched Harding Street raid. Courthouse News Service reported that the two homeowners were shot and killed in the January 2019 raid.
On October 8, 2024, Goines was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Courthouse News Service reported that he received 60 years for each murder count, with the sentences running concurrently, and that he was ordered to pay $20,000 in fines. The Associated Press reported that Goines had been convicted in the January 2019 deaths and that prosecutors said his lies to obtain the warrant were part of a broader pattern of wrongful arrests and convictions.
Sources: Courthouse News Service conviction report, Courthouse News Service sentencing report, and Associated Press sentencing report.
Defense Position And Post-Conviction Claims
Goines did not testify during the monthlong trial, according to the Associated Press. After sentencing, one of his attorneys said the defense did not believe he was legally guilty of felony murder and expected appellate courts to review the case.
FOX to review the case.
FOX 26 Houston later reported that Goines filed a motion for a new trial, claiming newly discovered and intentionally withheld evidence involving Dennis Tuttle’s cell phone. Those defense claims are reported here as claims by Goines or his legal team, not as court findings.
Source: FOX 26 Houston report on the motion for new trial.
Lawsuits And Civil Proceedings
ABC13 reported that the families of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas filed civil lawsuits two years after the raid. The lawsuits alleged that the couple were killed during a botched Houston police raid and that the warrant was based on an informant who never actually went to the house.
In a separate civil-law development, ABC13 reported on July 1, 2026, that an appeals court ruled the families could not pursue a civil lawsuit against former Houston police officer Felipe Gallegos, the officer identified in that report as having fired the fatal shots. That ruling concerned Gallegos and qualified immunity; it did not undo Goines’s state murder convictions or 60-year sentence.
Sources: ABC13 report on the family lawsuits and ABC13 report on the 2026 appeals ruling.
Official Statements
After Goines was sentenced, the Associated Press reported that Houston police issued a brief statement saying the department respected the jury’s decision and thanked jurors for their time and service.
The Associated Press also reported that Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg described Goines as a stain on the reputation of honest officers, while prosecutor Tanisha Manning said the case was about rejecting corruption, not condemning all police officers.
Uncorroborated Claims
No uncorroborated social-media claims or anonymous claims are included in this story. The facts above are based on reporting and records from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Associated Press, Courthouse News Service, FOX 26 Houston, and ABC13 Houston.
