‘I feel like it’s a set-up’: Attorney for Houston cop at center of deadly raid speaks out

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo talks to the media during a press conference at the police station on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018 in Houston. Acevedo was updating the media on the investigation on the officer-involved shooting incident at 7815 Harding on Jan. 28, 2019 that left the homeowners dead and five police officers injured. less Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo talks to the media during a press conference at the police station on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018 in Houston. Acevedo was updating the media on the investigation on the ... more Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close ‘I feel like it’s a set-up’: Attorney for Houston cop at center of deadly raid speaks out 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

Days after Houston police announced an internal investigation into the narcotics squad's handling of the deadly Pecan Park drug raid amid claims of fabricated evidence, a lawyer for the case agent at the center of the case raised concerns about a possible "set-up."

Attorney Nicole DeBorde pushed back against what she said was the politicization of allegations against Officer Gerald Goines, citing selectively leaked documents, the police chief's heated comments last week and the underplaying of her client's willingness to help with the probe.

"Is this case going to get drastically overcharged or charged inappropriately because the district attorney's office thinks that's going to be popular?" she asked. "I feel like it's a set-up geared toward that and it makes me really uncomfortable. And I'd hate to see this man used for whoever's political gain."

DeBorde said officials neglected to mention that her client has gone out of his way to aid in the probe into his actions, even managing to get access to a phone in the hospital -- where he remains under treatment for a gunshot wound to the neck -- and offer help to a lieutenant.

READ MORE: Houston police officer in drug raid had previous allegations against him

"No one has said Goines has reached out to law enforcement to provide information, that he hasn't been available for comment because he's incapacitated," she said. "It's not like someone's hiding information – he's been medically unavailable, and that hasn't stopped the chief of the department from making outrageous comments and I wonder if maybe a different agency should be brought in to investigate this."

Hours before DeBorde's comments to the Houston Chronicle, protesters gathered downtown for a demonstration demanding charges against the veteran undercover officer. A small coalition of activists - including the People's New Black Panthers, Black Lives Matter Houston and the Houston Socialist Movement - toted signs in front of Houston police headquarters, where they also asked for the resignation of firebrand union president Joe Gamaldi.

"We have a dead couple here," said activist Shere Dore. "And that happened because one officer lied and I think citizens have a right to know. Are we truly protected with officers like this patrolling the streets?"

The ongoing controversy comes three weeks after undercover narcotics officers burst into 7815 Harding with a no-knock warrant in search of heroin dealers. Instead, a gun battle ensued and 58-year-old Rhogena Nicholas, 59-year-old Dennis Tuttle, and a pit bull dog ended up shot to death. Five officers - including Goines - were injured, though the bust only netted 18 grams of marijuana and 1.5 grams of cocaine.

The operation sparked controversy from the start, but on Friday a search warrant revealed that police had begun questioning the existence of the confidential informant Goines used in an alleged heroin buy. That supposed drug deal became the centerpiece of an affidavit used to get the no-knock warrant. But afterward, as Goines lay in the hospital with his jaw wired shut, questions arose as other investigators realized they couldn't track down the informant.

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The veteran undercover offered up two different informant names, according to the document. But both of those people said they hadn't done any deals at the Tuttle home, and when police tracked down all of Goines' other informants they offered similar accounts.

Hours after news of the leaked warrant - which sought access to another narcotics officer's cell phone and other electronic data- Chief Art Acevedo held a press conference where he condemned the case agent's actions.

"We know that there's already a crime that's been committed," he said. "It's a serious crime when we prepare a document to go into somebody's home, into the sanctity that is somebody's home. It has to be truthful, it has to be honest, it has to be factual. We know already there's a crime that's been committed. There's high probability there will be a criminal charge."

DeBorde called the chief's remarks "irresponsible" given the pending investigation.

"There have been very specific and partial pieces of information leaked to the media which makes me wonder what agenda there is here they're so very much just a part of what's happening," she said. "I have to think there's a reason and I don't know entirely what it is."

Given that the electronics to be searched were all likely department-issued, DeBorde questioned why a warrant - and all the information laid out in it - was even necessary. Authorities have not come forward with any warrants for Goines' devices, she said.

Goines has been in intensive care since the shooting, DeBorde said. He's undergone six surgeries and, until recently, was on a feeding tube with his jaw wired shut. He's still been too heavily medicated to offer a thorough account of what happened.

keri.blakinger@chron.com

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