HOUSTON — On Wednesday, a judge denied a motion filed by lawyers for Gerald Goines to dismiss the case against the former Houston Police Department officer.
Goines is charged with murder and is accused of lying to secure a no-knock warrant in the deadly Harding Street raid in 2019. Two homeowners and their dog were killed. Five officers were injured.
Goines' lawyers are also trying to move the trial out of Harris County but the judge hasn't made a ruling on that issue.
Defense lawyers said they believe media coverage has caused "irreparable" damage to Goines' ability to get a fair trial in the county. Prosecutors said they believe Harris County is large and diverse enough to find 12 fair jurors.
Judge Frank Aguilar ruled that the evidence wasn't strong enough to dismiss the case based on prosecutorial misconduct.
Defense lawyers have accused District Attorney Kim Ogg of using "public sentiment" by pushing media coverage they believe was anti-Goines. They also pointed to anonymous posts and comments online made by Ogg's former communications director expressing negative opinions of Goines.
Prosecutors argued that the public interest in the case generated stories and the online comments made little to no impact.
Moving forward, both sides said they would be open to individual voir dire, which means that potential jurors would be questioned one by one -- away from the pool.
"I think it will be helpful with the complicated issues that this case presents to have that opportunity and I believe that all sides are in agreement that is an appropriate path forward," Goines' attorney Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube said.
Prosecutors didn't comment after Wednesday's hearing.
Goines' team said they'll be looking into documents that were just filed by prosecutors alleging that the amount of drugs and the number of guns found inside the home on Harding Street were more than was made public.
Both sides will be back in court in three weeks to update the judge.