Ex-Cop Who Lied To Get Search Warrant Sentenced To 60 Years For Deadly Drug Raid

HOUSTON (AP) — A former Houston police officer was sentenced to 60 years in prison on Tuesday for the murder of a married couple during a drug raid that revealed systemic corruption in the department’s narcotics unit.

Gerald Goines, 60, was convicted in the January 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle, 59, and Rhogena Nicholas, 58, who were shot along with their dog after officers burst into their home using a “no-knock” warrant that didn’t require them to announce themselves before entering.

The same jury convicted Goines of two counts of murder last month after state prosecutors presented testimony and evidence to show he lied to get a search warrant that falsely portrayed the couple as dangerous drug dealers.

The probe into the drug raid uncovered allegations of much wider corruption. Goines was among a dozen officers tied to the narcotics squad who were indicted on other charges.

A judge in June dismissed charges against some of them, but a review of thousands of cases involving the unit led prosecutors to dismiss many cases, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned at least 22 convictions linked to Goines.

The jury’s sentencing deliberation was delayed a few days after Goines suffered a medical emergency in the courtroom and was taken away in an ambulance. They ultimately deliberated for more than 10 hours over two days on Goines’ sentence.

Defense attorney Nicole DeBorde asked jurors for the minimum sentence of five years, saying Goines had dedicated his life to keeping drugs off the streets. “Our community is safer with someone like Gerald, with the heart to serve and the heart to care,” she said.

Prosecutors asked for life in prison, telling jurors that Goines preyed upon people he was supposed to protect