HOUSTON — Eight former Houston police officers are facing charges once again for the botched Harding Street raid in 2019.
They were re-indicted Tuesday on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity. According to court records, the ex-cops charged are Frank Medina, Hodgie Bernard Armstrong Jr., Thomas Alan Wood, Clemente Robles Reyna Jr., Nadeem Ashraf, Oscar Pardo, Felipe Gallegos and Griff Maxwell.
Earlier this month, former Houston police officer Gerald Goines was convicted of two counts of felony murder for the deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas. The couple and their dog were gunned down during that raid.
Goines was sentenced to 60 years in prison last week after two weeks of testimony.
The veteran narcotics cop led the no-knock drug raid that also left Goines and three other officers shot and wounded.
While Goines didn't fire the shots that killed Tuttle and Nicholas, he lied to get the warrant that falsely portrayed the couple as dangerous drug dealers. Only a small amount of cocaine and weed were found in their home.
“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.”
The case uncovered years of corruption in HPD that included lying to get more drug warrants for overtime pay. The DA's Office had to revisit thousands of drug cases and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned at least 22 convictions linked to Goines.
“Gerald Goines has been a stain on the reputation of every honest cop in our community, a community that he terrorized through corruption worthy of the movie ‘Training Day,” Ogg said. “He had throwdown weapons, he had throwdown drugs, he killed and was responsible for the deaths of these two people and the ruination of many more.”
Members of the victims' families were in the courtroom when the verdict was read. Tuttle's son said the long wait for justice has been difficult.
“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. “So, I think there’s vindication, of course, to get that dark cloud lifted off our family name.”
He said his father was "pro-police" and would still believe that most cops are good if he were still alive.
Another former HPD officer, Steven Bryant, pleaded guilty to a federal charge of falsifying records that interfered with a government investigation.
Bryant admitted he lied on a report to protect Goines, who led the no-knock raid.