MRT: Fmr. HPD Officer Gerald Goines Found Guilty of Felony Murder // Dems Target Cruz with Millions in Ads // HISD to Lose 5% of Enrollment This Year

MustReadTexas.com – @MustReadTexas
BY: @MattMackowiak

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THURSDAY || 9/26/24

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• TOP NEWS

“Gerald Goines found guilty of felony murder in Harding Street deaths,” Houston Chronicle's Nicole Hensley — “A jury convicted Gerald Goines, the former Houston police officer behind the deadly Harding Street raid, of felony murder Wednesday in the 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle and his wife, Rhogena Nicholas, cementing the retiree as a rare example of a law enforcement official in Texas and nationwide facing criminal repercussions for an on-duty killing. 

Tuttle's family hurried into a witness room to embrace each other after the jury delivered its verdict.

Goines, 59, bowed his head after the verdict was read. He was taken into custody as one of his defense attorneys, Mac Secrest, exchanged heated words with a bailiff, uttering at least one profanity and expressing worry that the exiting jury could see the deputies surrounding his newly-convicted client.

Another deputy placed his hand on Secrest's arm as Goines was guided to a holdover room for inmates. Goines was then booked into the 1200 Baker jail facility, records show.

The judge ordered the jury, who deliberated for nearly eight hours, to return Thursday and hear testimony from those with allegations of additional misconduct to guide how to punish the former officer, as a felony murder charge carries anywhere from five years to life in prison. Records show prosecutors had requested that multiple people once imprisoned following their arrest by Goines appear at trial. Some of those cases have been overturned after authorities scrutinized Goines' arrests.

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Goines coincidentally arrested former Houston resident George Floyd for selling a small amount of drugs in 2004, years before his 2020 murder at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. Floyd pleaded guilty to a drug charge and was sentenced to 10 months in a state jail.

The defense may bring forward witnesses to urge the jury to show leniency toward Goines.

The jury's verdict comes more than two weeks after the start of testimony in the closely watched criminal case, slammed by Goines’ lawyers and other defense observers as politically charged and a step too far. The testimony ranged from police officers tasked with surrounding the Harding Street home as the raid unfolded to a former officer who is awaiting sentencing on charges related to the raid. Jurors reviewed evidence that showed Goines fabricated a confidential informant who bought heroin from the Pecan Park home, which he then used to secure a judge's approval to enter the home.

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Many officers said they would not have participated in the raid had they known about Goines' falsehoods.

The defense conceded that while Goines lied about the use of a confidential informant in the Harding Street raid, they asserted a murder charge was not merited." Houston Chronicle ($)

HOU CHRON: “Houston man faces federal charges after Hobby Airport laser incident” Houston Chronicle ($)

DMN: “Southwest makes cuts at key base amid tense activist investor fight” DMN ($)

THE HILL: “Lawsuits allege deadly 2021 Texas blackouts were an inside job” The Hill

SAEN: “USAA Federal Savings Bank now calls Phoenix -- not San Antonio -- home” SAEN ($)

DMN: “Dallas-based MoneyGram back online after cybersecurity-related outage” DMN ($)

HOUSTON LANDING: “Houston ISD enrollment on track to plummet 5 percent this year, largest drop since pandemic” Houston Landing

TX TRIB: “Senate Democrats boost Colin Allred's bid against Ted Cruz with multimillion dollar investment” Texas Tribune

• NEWS FROM AROUND THE STATE   

 > TX TRIB: "Texas sues Biden administration over requirement to provide LGBTQ+ youth foster placements" TX TRIB
 > TX TRIB: "Despite warnings, Texas rushed to remove millions from Medicaid. Eligible residents lost care." TX TRIB
 > AP: "One day along the Texas-Mexico border shows that realities shift more rapidly than rhetoric" AP
 > DMN: "Black student punished over dreadlocks hairstyle wants to return to his Texas high school" DMN
 > SAEN: "Greg Abbott endorses lockdown-defying salon owner Shelley Luther" SAEN
 > DMN: "AG Ken Paxton turns to Texas Supreme Court to block State Fair of Texas’ new gun ban" DMN
 > HOU CHRON: "Exclusive: $1 billion walkable mixed-use project coming to Westchase" HOU CHRON
 > THE TEXAN: "Texas Sues Federal Agencies for Listing Permian Basin Lizard as Endangered Species" THE TEXAN
 > THE TEXAN: "Fourth Reading: House Reformers Call Their Shot" THE TEXAN
> SAEN: "Texas AG's office sues federal government over tiny lizard" SAEN
 > DMN: "Dallas adopts ForwardDallas, city’s revamped land-use guide — with some changes" DMN
 > COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Fort Bend County OKs $10.2M raises for law enforcement" COMMUNITY IMPACT
 > SA REPORT: "Fewer than a third of San Antonio students are on grade level in math. Can you help?" SA REPORT
 > TPR: "Pakistani prisoner beaten and sexually assaulted in Fort Worth federal prison, lawsuit says" TPR
 > TPR: "Mexico and the U.S. trade blame over surge of violence in Sinaloa" TPR
 > Community Impact Newspaper: "MD Anderson Cancer Center to bring services to Missouri City in 2026" Community Impact Newspaper
 > COMMUNITY IMPACT: "Travis County officials approve increased tax rate, $888.7M budget for Central Health" COMMUNITY IMPACT
 > TX TRIB: "Many Americans say immigration is out of control, but 24 hours on the Texas-Mexico border showed a new reality. Will it last?" TX TRIB
 > TX TRIB: "O’Rourke and Emhoff raise another million for Harris campaign, tout voter registration momentum" TX TRIB

• EXTRA POINTS   

Last night's Texas sports scores:
  > MLB: Mariners 8, Astros 1
  > MLB: Rangers 5, Athletics 1

Tonight's Texas sports schedule:
  > 2:37pm: MLB: Rangers at Athletics
  > 7:15pm: NFL: Dallas at NY Giants (Amazon Prime)

DALLAS COWBOYS: "What Troy Aikman says Dallas Cowboys can do to fix 'bad culture'" DMN ($)

HOUSTON ASTROS: "Houston Astros: 5 things to sort out before playoffs begin" Houston Chronicle ($)

HOUSTON TEXAS: "Houston Texans: Tank Dell, Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce still hurting" Houston Chronicle ($)

TEXAS FOOTBALL: "Texas Longhorns rolling into long-awaited SEC debut against Mississippi State" AP

TEXAS A&M FOOTBALL: "No. 24 Texas A&M, Arkansas set for last scheduled neutral site meeting at home of Cowboys" AP

TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL: "Texas Tech takes 5-game home winning streak into 1st meeting against Cincinnati since '68 tie" AP

SMU FOOTBALL: "SMU poised to show it’s ACC ready when Florida State comes to town" DMN ($)

HOUSTON BASKETBALL: "UH basketball: Kelvin Sampson says program needs its own plane" Houston Chronicle ($)