HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A judge has tossed out two murder indictments against the former Houston police officer who led the botched Harding Street raid in 2019.
Judge Veronica Nelson made the ruling Tuesday after Gerald Goines’ lawyer argued that the indictments were poorly written.
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“Both state and federal law require that certain things be in those indictments, and they just weren’t there,” Goines’ attorney, Nicole DeBorde, said.
Prosecutors said Goines lied about drug activity in order to obtain a no-knock warrant. Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas were killed during the raid.
The indictments accuse Goines of tampering with a government record, but in her years-old motion to have the indictments quashed, DeBorde said the indictments fail to specify which of the tampering laws Goines allegedly violated.
“We have been complaining about this in motions for a great deal of time now,” DeBorde said.
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Goines continues to face six other charges in Harris County related to the raid, as well as federal civil rights charges.
Mike Doyle, an attorney representing the Nicholas family, sent Eyewitness News the following statement:
“Justice in the HPD Harding Street killings remains a far-off prospect, at least in the hands of the US Attorney and District Attorney offices. The family of Rhogena Nicholas remains disappointed that local, state, and federal authorities have either ignored this injustice or helped delay the Goines murder prosecution. The legal explanations aside, we’re now in the sixth year of a taxpayer-funded coverup of these murders. The Nicholas family still will not give up its ongoing fight to reveal the truth of what happened before, during, and after the killing of Rhogena.”
The Harris County District Attorney’s Office sent the following statement:
“Today’s actions were no more than another delay tactic by the defense. The Harris County District Attorney’s office is shocked and tremendously disappointed that a judge would choose to revisit this issue, knowing that her predecessor had already ruled the defendant’s position meritless. The office is considering all its options, including amending the indictment, with an eye towards trying this case as soon as possible to ensure justice for the victims of these crimes.”
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