9 Houston officers charged, including 1 with murder, in 2019 murderous raid investigation

A Texas grand jury indicted a Houston police officer on Monday for murder and indicted eight other current and former officers in what authorities described as a long-term ploy to steal overtime money that was discovered after an investigation into a deadly raid in 2019.

Officer Felipe Gallegos was charged with murder on January 28, 2019, murdering Dennis Tuttle, 59, after members of a Houston Police Department narcotics squad carried out a drug raid on his home, a Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. journalists.

Tuttle’s wife, Rhogena Nicholas, 58, and their dog were also killed in a shootout with authorities.

The remaining police officers indicted on Monday face first and second degree charges of participating in organized criminal activity, theft by an official and falsifying government records. They are Oscar Pardo, Cedell Lovings, Nadeem Ashraf, Clemente Reyna, Thomas Wood, Frank Medina, Griff Maxwell and Hodgie Armstrong, Ogg said.

Several of the officers had already been charged in the botched raid. Another officer, Gerald Goines, was charged with two counts of murder in the case last year. He pleaded not guilty and was released on $ 150,000 bail. Goines’ partner was also arrested at the time.

Three of the officers charged on Monday are retired, Ogg’s office said. The status of one police officer is unclear and the others are still employed by the police department, Ogg’s office said.

The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The president of the Houston Police Union declined to comment.

“The consequences of the corruption are that two innocent people and their dog were shot dead at their homes by the police,” Ogg said, adding that four policemen were shot and one was paralyzed.

The raid took place after Goines allegedly lied to a judge to obtain a “not guilty” warrant to search Tuttle and Nichols’ home, Ogg said. An investigation triggered by the shooting found that officers were involved in the scheme to steal overtime funds, she said.

Ogg did not provide additional details about the program, saying more information would be released as part of the legal process. All but one of the current and former officers were in Narcotics Squad 15, she said.

Gallegos attorney Rusty Hardin declined to comment. Reyna’s lawyer Lisa Andrews called the charge of organizing the crime a “ridiculous perversion of the law” and accused Ogg of trying to score political points by indicting police officers.

“Sgt. Reyna, after dedicating 30 years of impeccable service to the Houston Police Department, looks forward to her day in court, where Ogg’s corrupt political prosecutions will be exposed, ”she said.

Wood’s attorney, Edward McClees, called the charges “totally unfounded” and said a jury would acquit him. A lawyer for Armstrong did not immediately respond to requests for comment and efforts to reach the other officers failed.