“Felony murder” laws are still problematic, even if that law has led to a corrupt drug warrior finally being punished for the evil he has committed under the color of law.
Gerald Goines headed up a Houston PD drug squad for years and was never one to let facts or a lack of evidence stand between him and a drug bust. Unfortunately for Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas — neither of them drug dealers — the raid generated and perpetrated by Gerald Goines ended their lives. They were shot by officers — four of whom were wounded during the raid — who forced entry into the innocent couple’s home, only to be greeted by (according to officers’ allegations) a seemingly reasonable response to armed intruders.
Goines was a monster. Unable to move forward with a controlled heroin purchase from the Tuttle residence (because Tuttle and Nicholas had no heroin to sell), he decided to fabricate a case against the couple, using drugs stashed in his car and series of lies that included sworn statements made in the warrant affidavit. The impetus for all of this was an unsubstantiated claim from a neighbor of Tuttle — one well-known by the Houston PD for filing bogus criminal complaints against people in her neighborhood.
Knowing full well the couple wasn’t actually dealing heroin from their home, Goines assembled his fellow drug warriors and raided their house. Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas were killed. Four officers were wounded. The official narrative is that they were shot by Tuttle. But that narrative is undercut by an independent forensic examination of the home following the raid — one that shows Houston PD investigators failed to conduct a full ballistic recovery and left lots of forensic evidence untouched, something that suggests cover-up far more than it suggests diligent police work.
Goines was the only participant in the raid to be criminally charged. Six other members of this drug squad have been indicated for their involvement in this raid or other crimes they engaged in while in uniform. But it’s Goines who being hit with the most years, thanks to the felony murder law that allows the government to imprison people for murder, even if they themselves didn’t personally murder anyone.
On Tuesday, the jury handed down their sentence after 10 hours of deliberation, bringing the five-year saga to a close. Goines received 60 years for each of the two murders, but his sentences will run concurrently. He will be eligible for parole after serving 30 years, and must also pay $20,000 in fines.
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Prosecutors successfully argued that Goines lied to get the no-knock search warrant for the raid, falsely stating that he had used a confidential informant to purchase drugs from the Harding Street home. From this, they argued that because he was responsible for the raid happening in the first place, and because he was the lead agent on the raid, he was responsible for the deaths of the two homeowners, Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas.
This is not a great way to secure a conviction, especially one with decades of prison time included. Goines is definitely responsible for everything leading up to the raid and, consequently, at least partially responsible for its outcome. But suggesting he’s a two-time murderer because other officers killed Tuttle and Nicholas isn’t even acceptable as an over-correction for years of ignored abusive, illegal actions by Goines and his underlings.
While it’s heartening to see an officer’s actions handled with the severity they deserve, everyone would be far better served if prosecutors had dug into his long history of misconduct (something that’s led to the dismissal of dozens of drug cases) and pursued criminal charges for those acts. While Goines’ hands are definitely dirty, he didn’t pull the trigger.
As for the other cops indicted as a result of this, let’s hope the ones who did actually kill the couple receive sentences roughly aligned to the kingpin of the Houston PD-enabled criminal organization. But let’s not celebrate injustice just because it happened to someone we don’t like. Goines should go to jail and, if he ever comes out, should never be allowed to be a cop again. Felony murder is a cheap shot and short cut. It never feels like actual justice because it simply isn’t.