Lucio Vasquez / Houston Public Media

Former Houston Police Officer Gerald Goines, sentenced to 60 years in prison last month for his role in the failed 2019 drug raid on Harding Street that left a couple dead, is now seeking a new trial.

Goines was convicted of aggravated murder for the deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas, who were killed during a no-knock raid on their Harding Street home on January 28, 2019. The raid was later determined to be based on falsified information.

After he was sentenced last month, Goine’s lawyers immediately announced plans to appeal the verdict. This week, defense attorneys requested a new trial, arguing they were denied access to critical evidence: Tuttle’s cell phone.

The phone is currently held by civil lawyers representing the victims’ families in the a civil process against the city of Houston and several officers involved in the raid, including Goines.

“There was a calculation that led them to choose to share photos and forensic evidence of the facts of the shooting — evidence that in their minds pointed to wrongdoing by the Houston Police Department and Gerald Goines — and to withhold some other evidence, including Dennis Tuttle’s phone.” , attorney Nicole DeBorde Hochglaube wrote in a motion filed Monday.

A court hearing on Goine’s request for a new trial is scheduled for Dec. 4.

TIMELINE: A failed police raid in Houston and its consequences

The Harding Street raid, initially presented as a justified drug bust, was later revealed as an administrative failure full of fabricated evidence. In the wake of the raid, an investigation revealed that Goines falsified information in an affidavit about a confidential informant buying heroin from the couple’s home to secure a no-knock search, leading to a confrontation that ultimately claimed the lives of Tuttle and Nicholas, while injured several officers.

Since the raid, several charges have been filed against Goines and the other officers involved. Goines also faces criminal charges in federal court. In addition, he was sued in a separate case earlier this year by a man who claims he is falsely convicted of drug possession due to dishonest statements made by the former officer.