HOUSTON — Former Houston Police officer Gerald Goines is facing a new civil lawsuit.
Goines is currently charged with felony murder, accused of falsifying evidence to secure a "no knock warrant" on a home on Harding Street in 2019.
The raid ended in a shootout that killed the couple inside and wounded five officers.
Since then, several cases have come to light, alleging the former officer planted drugs and falsified evidence during arrests, something James Ybarra claims happened to him nearly a decade ago.
Ybarra is the latest person to come forward, claiming Goines played a big part in wrongly convicting an innocent person.
"It's been almost ten years that all of this started, he has ruined a lot of people’s lives, and his day will come in court,” Ybarra said.
On Tuesday, Ybarra, and civil rights attorney Randall Kallinen blasted the former officer and the City of Houston during a news conference held outside HPD headquarters.
"This is one of the worst travesties of justice probably ever in the history of HPD,” said Kallinen.
They’ve filed a civil lawsuit in federal court, suing both Goines and the city for wrongful conviction.
According to the 19-page lawsuit, back in August of 2014, Ybarra was waiting to get a haircut at an apartment when Goines and several HPD narcotics officers raided the place and arrested Ybarra.
He claims Goines then filed a false police report, claiming drugs were found on the ground near Ybarra.
He was arrested and charged with felony possession of a controlled substance.
Ybarra said he then spent nearly two years fighting the accusations in court, but stuck in jail, and in desperate need to take care of his sick mother, and with Goines ready to testify, he said he had no choice but to take a plea deal.
"So based on the advice of his lawyer, having no money, and his mother and others depending on him to take care for her, he took the plea bargain and he got out (jail) that day, but he was convicted,” said Kallinen.
That conviction, according to Kallinen, was overturned earlier this month, by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
“The highest criminal court in Texas, a very conservative court, believed that Goines lied,” he said.
Kallinen said it’s one of 16 cases that have since been reversed involving Goines.
His client, however, is the first to file in the group to sue the city and Goines seeking monetary damages.
Ybarra hasn’t been able to work in the medical field since and remains unemployed.
"It's been a struggle, it's been emotional, it's been tiring," said Ybarra.
The Army veteran, however, said he remains hopeful for the future.
"Next step is to look for better employment and to get my life back on track again," he said.