HOUSTON — The families of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas had to wait more than five years for justice after they were gunned down by police officers in their Houston home.
On Tuesday, a jury sentenced ex-Houston cop Gerald Goines to 60 years in prison after convicting him of two counts of murder. Goines lied to get the drug warrant in 2019 that painted the couple as dangerous drug dealers.
“A heavy burden of my father’s and my stepmother’s names being tarnished as drug dealers which they absolutely were not and never were,” Ryan Tuttle said in a news conference with prosecutors. “So, I think there’s vindication, of course, to get that dark cloud lifted off our family name.”
Tuttle described the couple as great people who lived a simple life.
“They were ill, they had injuries, but they did the best with what they had and lived their lives peacefully before this happened," he said.
Nicholas's sister-in-law fought back tears as she talked about her late husband's fight to get justice for his sister before his death two years ago.
“And he did till his last breath, and I truly believe that his last breath was taken away from him due to all the stress that he went through …” Patricia Nicholas said.
She said her 90-year-old mother couldn’t attend the trial because of health problems but the family called to let her know about the sentence.
“All she could say was, ‘Thank you, God, that justice has been served, my daughter and her husband were not corrupt like they said they were,’” Patricia Nicholas said.
The family is grateful jurors weren't influenced by Goines' medical emergency last week that brought the trial to a halt or by testimony from the ex-cop's relatives and friends.
“I think the man lived a double life. I think his family and friends knew a very different version image of him,” Tuttle said. “He negatively impacted thousands of people’s lives, including his own family, including mine.”
The family may never know why Goines went after Tuttle and Nicholas but prosecutors said they were an easy target.
“Goines preyed on predominately poor communities who may or may not have the resources to fight back,” prosecutor Tanisha Manning said. “… And the people who are in those neighborhoods deserve the same protection that everyone else deserves.”
Tuttle hopes something good comes out of this case. He wants to see changes in the Houston Police Department to protect citizens' rights.
“This is a complete disregard and it’s ultimately a lack of leadership and there was clearly an environment where that was allowed to happen and that has to be corrected,” Tuttle said. “This is happening in Houston, it’s happening everywhere.”
He also wants apologies from all the city leaders who labeled the victims as drug dealers.
As for Goines?
“I saw a broken man and I’d like to see some more remorse, I’m not sure I really saw that," Tuttle said.