Ex-Houston officer rushed away in an ambulance during sentencing

HOUSTON (AP) — The sentencing of a former Houston police officer convicted of murder in the deaths of a couple during a 2019 drug raid was put on hold Thursday after he suffered a medical emergency in the courtroom.

A prosecutor was addressing jurors during closing arguments in the punishment phase of Gerald Goines’ trial when the ex-officer could be heard breathing heavily as he sat at the defense table.

The jury was taken out of the courtroom, and Goines was helped by one of his attorneys and a bailiff as he walked to a holding area outside the courtroom. Goines was later seen on a stretcher that was loaded onto an ambulance parked in front of the courthouse.

His condition was not immediately known. Due to a gag order in the case, neither prosecutors nor Goines’ attorneys would comment on what happened.

One of the other cases tied to Goines is his 2004 drug arrest in Houston of George Floyd, whose 2020 death at the hands of a Minnesota police officer sparked a nationwide reckoning on racism in policing. A Texas board in 2022 declined a request that Floyd be granted a posthumous pardon for his drug conviction stemming from his arrest by Goines.

One of Goines’ attorneys, Nicole DeBorde, had told jurors during closing arguments that the 60-year-old’s “health is destroyed” after being shot in the face during the deadly raid.

State District Judge Veronica Nelson later told jurors closing arguments could resume either Friday or Monday.

Goines is facing up to life in prison after being convicted last week in the January 2019 deaths of Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his 58-year-old wife Rhogena Nicholas. The couple, along with their dog, were fatally shot after officers burst into their home using a “no-knock” warrant that didn’t require them to announce themselves before entering.

During the trial, prosecutors presented testimony and evidence they said showed Goines lied to get a search warrant that falsely portrayed the couple as dangerous drug dealers. The raid resulted in a violent confrontation in which the couple was killed and four officers, including Goines, were shot and wounded and a fifth injured.

Goines’ lawyers had acknowledged the ex-officer lied to get the search warrant but minimized the impact of his false statements. His lawyers had portrayed the couple as armed drug users and said they were responsible for their own deaths because they fired at officers.

After the raid, investigators said they only found small amounts of marijuana and cocaine in the house.

An investigation into the raid revealed systemic corruption problems within the police department’s narcotics unit.

A dozen officers tied to the narcotics squad that conducted the raid, including Goines, were later indicted on other charges following a corruption investigation. A judge in June dismissed charges against some of them.

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

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has overturned at least 22 convictions linked to Goines, who also faces federal charges.

Federal civil rights lawsuits filed by the families of Tuttle and Nicholas against Goines and 12 other officers involved in the raid and the city of Houston are set to be tried in November.