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Two former Houston police officers were indicted on Friday for their role in a raid that killed a local couple, prosecutors said, who allegedly fabricated information for a warrant that would have led to the raid.
Prosecutors are currently examining 14,000 cases handled by the narcotics squad involved in the raid, including 2,000 processed by one of the former officers, Gerald Goines, the prosecutor said Friday. Harris County, Kim Ogg, at a press conference.
"The break in public confidence leaves us with a big break in this affair because our democracy depends on public confidence in the forces of law and order and their courts," she said.
Ms. Ogg said that Mr. Goines had obtained a "arrest warrant" in the city's Pecan Park district under a false pretext and that another former officer, Steven Bryant, had then attempted to To help conceal it. Mr. Goines was charged with two counts of crime murder and Mr. Bryant with alteration of a government record.
Rhogena Nicholas, 58, and Dennis Tuttle, 59, died in the January 28 shootout with officers at their homes. At the time, the Houston Police Department had stated that four members of the narcotics squad had been shot and wounded, including Mr. Goines.
Ms. Ogg apologized to the couple's family members at the press conference.
"I want to tell them how sorry we are, as a city and county, for the loss of life of our loved ones and that our job is to make sure that their loved ones get justice and the rest. group acts do not happen again, "said Ms. Ogg.
In February, the F.B.I. announced that he was investigate civil rights in what happened.
"We are fighting relentlessly against that," Nicole DeBorde, lawyer Goines said on Friday. "We believe him innocent of any criminal charge. "She maintained that the raid was legitimate but refused to specify.
Andy Drumheller, a lawyer for Mr. Bryant, said in an email Friday that he was blinded by the indictment.
"I am troubled that a person who did not participate in drafting the affidavit of the search warrant, who never fired with his gun and did not enter the Harding Street House, was warned two hours in advance that she was charged with a crime-related state prison on Friday afternoon and must surrender, "said Mr. Drumheller.
Michael P. Doyle, a lawyer for Ms. Nicholas' family, said in a statement Friday that the indictments were important developments "but they should only be the beginning of the search for justice."
The Houston Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday. Mr. Goines, 54, and Mr. Bryant, 45, were removed from duty after the raid and have since retired from the police.
They surrendered to the authorities on Friday and appeared in court. The bond was set at $ 300,000 for Mr. Goines and $ 50,000 for Mr. Bryant.
Ms. Ogg testified that the residence was brought to the attention of the Narcotics Brigade by a neighbor.
Prosecutors said that Mr. Goines had provided false information to a city judge who had signed the warrant that a confidential informant had purchased tar black heroin from a stranger at the residence where the company had been held. 39; attack.
"The warrant was never presented to or reviewed by any member of the District Attorney's Office," said Ogg.
She added that Mr. Bryant had falsely written in a supplement to the police report that he had recovered a plastic bag containing a white towel and two small packages containing black heroin and that he were the same drugs purchased by the confidential informant. . Ms. Ogg said that Mr. Goines later admitted that there was no confidential informant.
She stated that her office was reviewing other complaints of misconduct and that the evidence would be presented to a grand jury, which would determine whether any further charges should be brought against MM. Goines and Bryant and if any other agents should be charged.
"We have not seen a case like this in Houston," Ms. Ogg said. "We recognize that the community has been raped. I want to assure my fellow Houstonians and other residents of Harris County that we are discovering the truth. "
If he is found guilty, Mr. Goines risks up to 99 years in prison for each of the murder charges, and Mr. Bryant up to two years.
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