'Nothing he won't do': More allegations emerge against embattled HPD narcotics officer

Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo holds up a letter from the FBI announcing the bureau's civil rights investigation related to the deaths of two people during the no-knock raid by narcotics officers that killed two people and injured five police officers last month, during a press conference from Houston City Hall, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. less Houston Police Department Chief Art Acevedo holds up a letter from the FBI announcing the bureau's civil rights investigation related to the deaths of two people during the no-knock raid by narcotics officers ... more Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff Photographer Photo: Mark Mulligan, Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 54 Caption Close 'Nothing he won't do': More allegations emerge against embattled HPD narcotics officer 1 / 54 Back to Gallery

When he heard the name Gerald Goines, Kelley Johnson knew it sounded familiar.

Six years earlier, the case agent at the center of the deadly Pecan Park drug bust had the Houston construction worker arrested for something he says he didn't do.

"There's really nothing he won't do to put somebody in jail," Johnson told the Houston Chronicle Wednesday as he recounted the details of his 2013 arrest for a felony gun charge that was tossed out when police couldn't find a weapon.

The collar stemmed from a road rage outburst on Interstate 45, a case that mirrored an earlier incident involving the same embattled case agent. In that case - from 1997 - Goines fatally shot a driver on Southwest Freeway after a dispute broke out when the officer tried to merge, records show.

Complaints against the 54-year-old undercover Houston narcotics officer are coming to the fore again in light of the botched Jan. 28 drug raid that ended with two civilians dead, five officers injured, and a slew of unanswered questions. Last week, documents emerged raising concerns about whether Goines fabricated the confidential informant used to justify the bust, which ultimately never netted the heroin officers were searching for.

SCRUTINY RENEWED: Undercover HPD cop's past cases now under investigation

As accusations swirl around him and activists call for criminal charges, Goines is still in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound to the neck sustained in the raid that left 58-year-old Rhogena Nicholas and her husband, 59-year-old Navy veteran Dennis Tuttle, dead.

Defense attorney Nicole DeBorde, who earlier this week raised questions about a possible "set-up," said she didn't know any details of the 2013 incident, but reiterated that she would welcome any impartial probes into her client's character.

"We want a good, neutral third-party entity to investigate this case and this officer," she said. "He was with the department for decades. No question there are going to be people unhappy with him and we invite them to learn about this individual as a person, as a police officer. People who know him, know him to be a man of integrity and compassion."

HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Houston police to end use of no-knock warrants, chief says

Just after lunch one day in May 2013, Johnson was in his Monster truck headed back to a job site when he let a driver in a minivan merge in front of him. According to Johnson, the driver slammed on his brakes and Johnson rolled down the window to start shouting.

The two exchanged unpleasantries, and Johnson sped up to pass. But a few miles later, he noticed the minivan following behind him, he said.

He didn't realize it was a police officer following him until he got back to work - and three marked patrol units showed up.

The man in the minivan - who turned out to be Goines - alleged that Johnson had flashed a gun at him on the roadway. The officer alleged that he'd seen Johnson pull a blue handgun out of the glove box and point it at him, according to official records.

But when officers searched the truck and the area nearby, they came up empty-handed, records show.

"There was no gun found, nobody hurt, nothing happened other than two pissed-off drivers," said Chevo Pastrano, Johnson's defense attorney in the case. "No wrecked cars - just flashing fingers at each others."

Even though they didn't find a gun, police arrested Johnson and charged him with aggravated assault against a public servant - a felony.

IN-DEPTH: Houston police officer in drug raid had previous allegations against him. Find the details at HoustonChronicle.com.

Goines wasn't at the scene at the time, but kept calling back and forth with the officers who were, Johnson said. Even when searching police came up empty-handed, Johnson said, Goines insisted on pressing charges.

"'It's pretty much his word against yours,'' officers told Johnson, who says he only owned a 12-gauge shotgun and did not have the weapon with him at the time.

"That's when I started getting nervous," he recalled.

The father of two was jailed and later released on bond, court records show.

When Pastrano took the case and started investigating, he found that the officer's story didn't seem to hold up; it didn't seem possible that he could have seen inside the higher, tinted vehicle to catch sight of the gun he said he saw.

He interviewed the coworkers who witnessed the search, and they said that Johnson never got out of his truck, so there's no way a gun could have fallen out.

As the case moved toward a grand jury, Pastrano filed a motion asking for any complaints against Goines, as well as any evidence of mental health problems or drug use. Before getting details about those allegations, though, a grand jury declined to accept the charge and the state dropped the case.

"The facts parallel the civil suit that was filed against Goines for the death in the road rage incident," Pastrano said, adding that he'd tried to tell authorities about Goines "years ago."

DeBorde insists her client is a good guy, and earlier in the week voiced concerns about what she described as the politicization of allegations against him.

"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 Monday. "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."

IS THIS AN ISSUE?: Lack of body cameras limits answers from botched Houston drug raid. Story available for HoustonChronicle.com subscribers.

Back in 1997, Goines was involved in another road rage incident -- one that ended in a fatal shooting and with the veteran officer shot, too.

In that case, Goines was driving in south Houston when he tried to merge onto Loop 610 from the Southwest Freeway.

A driver in a Chevrolet Blazer allegedly cut Goines off, and the two men "exchanged looks and possibly hand signs over the incident," according to a Chronicle story from the time.

A spokesman at the time said the episode did not become a police matter until Goines saw the Blazer's passenger hand a gun to its driver. Then, the driver of the blazer, Reginald Dorsey, allegedly leaned out of his car somewhere along the service road and shot Goines. Goines and Dorsey exchanged gunfire at Newcastle and Braeburn, where Dorsey was wounded.

Then, Goines called for back-up to stop the Blazer in the 8900 block of South Main. Moments later, the undercover officer radioed a dispatcher and said he had been shot and was following the Blazer on Willow near Loop 610.

By the time officers in marked cars caught up to Goines and the Blazer on Newcastle in Bellaire, Goines was unconscious and crashed into one of the patrol cars.

Dorsey died several hours later, at Ben Taub General Hospital. Police detained a 22-year-old man who was with him. A three-year-old girl who was in the car with them was also hit by flying glass.

Dorsey's relatives sued Goines and the city of Houston, arguing that the officer had used excessive force and violated his civil rights. The case was ultimately dismissed.

St. John Barned-Smith covers public safety and major breaking news for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Send tips to st.john.smith@chron.com.

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