Gerald Goines murder trial shifts focus to allegation of rogue bodycam footage in Harding Street raid

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Was there mysterious body camera footage of the Harding Street raid that nobody’s ever seen? That’s the question lawyers fought over in court Friday as the first week of the Gerald Goines murder trial came to an end.

The possibility of this rogue body camera video was raised in open court on Thursday by former officer Steven Bryant, who was one of the narcotics team members, led by Goines, that raided the house on Harding Street with a no-knock warrant.

Homeowners Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle died in that raid, four officers were injured.

Summoned by the judge, attorney Lisa Andrews, and her client Clemente Reyna, who was the member of the team thought to have worn a personal camera, walked into court Friday afternoon. In a hearing away from the jury, Andrews let her anger show, clearly frustrated about an issue that she thought was long resolved.

“The only question is was there a camera the day of the Harding Street raid?” Andrews asked rhetorically. “I’m not answering that question.”

Andrews says Reyna is in a no-win situation. Either way he answers, the district attorney’s office could choose not to believe him, and charge him with perjury. Andrews says the only way Reyna was going to testify is if prosecutors gave him immunity on the issue. In court, prosecutors were unwilling to grant immunity.

“You saw they had multiple opportunities to get him to answer that one little question, did you have a bodycam? They could have said you have immunity to that one question, but they were unwilling to do that,” she said.

As the jury listened to ongoing testimony of crime scene pictures taken after the raid in court, lawyers on both sides worked out a compromise. They agreed to stipulate on the record that neither side is aware of any extra body camera video that exists.

The judge would read that stipulation to the jury at some point during the trial, though it’s unclear when.

Attorney Murray Newman, who watched Friday’s proceedings, says it’s the only sensible solution to an unusual issue.

“The stipulation is kind of a side step,” Newman said. “It’s saying we’re not going to have any more testimony regarding this but both sides are going to agree, and we want you, the jury, to know nobody believes there was ever a GoPro or video of this entire incident that you don’t know about it.”

The trial is expected to last several more weeks. The jury returns at 9 a.m. Monday.

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