Jury selection begins in murder trial of former Houston police officer

HOUSTON — Jury selection began Monday in the trial of a former Houston police officer charged with murder for his role in a 2019 police raid that led to the deaths of a couple and exposed systemic corruption within the police department’s narcotics unit.

Gerald Goines has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder in the January 2019 deaths of married couple Dennis Tuttle, 59, and Rhogena Nicholas, 58.

Prosecutors say Goines lied to obtain a search warrant by inventing a confidential informant and misrepresenting the couple as dangerous heroin dealers. That led to a deadly standoff in which officers shot Tuttle, Nicholas and their dog, and found only small amounts of marijuana and cocaine in the home. Five officers, including Goines, were injured in the raid.

Jury selection is expected to last several weeks, with prosecutors and defense attorneys planning to question potential jurors individually.

Hearings in the case are expected later this month, followed by opening statements on Sept. 9, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

On Monday, prosecutors and defense attorneys began asking jurors whether they could remain impartial, with some saying they knew about the case from news reports and weren’t sure they could be fair, the Houston Chronicle reported.

In March, a judge dismissed murder charges against Goines. But he was indicted again a week later.

A dozen officers linked to the narcotics squad that carried out the raid, including Goines, were later indicted on various other charges following a corruption investigation. Last month, a judge dismissed charges against some of the officers.

Since the raid, prosecutors have reviewed thousands of cases handled by the narcotics unit.

Goines also faces federal charges in connection with the case.