HPD Chief Suggests Officer Lied On Affidavit In Deadly Drug Raid

HOUSTON — Confidential informants working with the Houston Police Department have denied buying narcotics from a Houston home where a deadly shooting occurred in late January that served as basis for a police raid, officials said on Friday.

The claims listed in a sealed affidavit indicating narcotics activity inside the home at 7815 Harding Street ultimately led to the shooting deaths of Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his wife, Rhogena Nicholas-Tuttle, 58, and to injuries sustained by five HPD officers on Jan. 28.

But now it appears the case that was made to raid the home is questionable, law enforcement officials said during a press briefing. As a result, the unidentified officer requesting the search warrant leading to the deadly raid could face criminal charges.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo — who has promised a thorough investigation into the actions of his officers involved —suggested the officer who prepared the affidavit leading up to the search warrant is potentially criminally negligent.

"Thus far, it appears there are some material, untruths or lies in that affidavit, and that is a problem," he said.

HPD Chief @artacevedo updates media on investigation into officer-involved shooting at 7815 Harding https://t.co/0BnZfaSfez
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) February 15, 2019

The affidavit, filed by officer Gerald Goines, who was injured in the raid and is still hospitalized, claimed that a confidential informant made a controlled buy of black tar heroin at the home the day before the raid. As a result, officers secured a no-knock search warrant on the home, which led to the shooting.

When the smoke cleared, investigators recovered weapons, a small amount of marijuana, and a trace amount of cocaine.

However, police didn’t find black tar heroin in the home, officials noted.

More questions arose when Goines said Officer Steve Bryant was there with him with the controlled buy was made by the informant.

However, Bryant who was relieved of duty of Feb. 8, told investigators he hadn't seen the narcotics Goines reference until he retrieved them from a console in Goines' vehicle.

Acevedo said the investigation into the search warrant is still ongoing but acknowledged that a crime had been committed, and that there was a high probability that criminal charges would be filed against Goines.

"When we prepare a document to go into somebody's home...it has to be truthful, it has to be honest. It has to be absolutely factual," he said.

As a result of the new information, Houston Mayoral Candidate Bill King called for an independent investigation.

"This entire situation is deeply unsettling and tragic because it has resulted in the death of two Houstonians and needlessly put our officers' lives in jeopardy. It's obvious this is a failure of leadership from the top," King said in a statement. "Houstonians deserve to know when Sylvester Turner and Art Acevedo learned about these troubling allegations, and how long this would have been kept a secret had the media not uncovered the affidavit..."

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner also issued a statement, saying that he fully supports Acevedo's investigation, which read: “I endorse a full and thorough investigation into this matter to determine what did and did not take place, and I stress that this be completed as soon as possible. I will refrain from commenting about it until I have all facts before me.”

No matter what the outcome, Acevedo said he will share the truth — no matter how painful — that comes as a result of the internal investigation.

"We will get to the truth," he said. "We owe it to the two suspects who were killed, we owe it to the officers who were shot...and we owe it to this community."

READ ALSO:

• 5 Houston Police Officers Injured, 2 Suspects Killed In Shootout
• Police Release Names Of Suspects Killed In Narcotics Shootout
• HPD Officer Involved In Deadly Shooting Relieved Of Duty

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