Former Houston officer rushed away in an ambulance during the verdict in the double murder trial

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

A prosecutor addressed jurors during closing arguments in the punishment phase of Gerald Goines' trial when the former officer could be heard breathing heavily as he sat at the defense table.

The jury was led out of the courtroom and Goines was assisted by one of his attorneys and a bailiff as he walked to a waiting area outside the courtroom. Goines was later seen on a stretcher being loaded onto an ambulance parked outside the courthouse.

His condition was initially unknown. Because of a gag order in the case, neither prosecutors nor Goines' lawyers commented on the incident.

One of the other cases linked to Goines is his 2004 drug arrest of George Floyd in Houston, whose death at the hands of a Minnesota police officer in 2020 sparked a national reckoning with racism in policing. A Texas board in 2022 rejected a request to grant Floyd a posthumous pardon for his drug conviction stemming from his arrest by Goines.

One of Goines' lawyers, Nicole DeBorde, told jurors in closing arguments that the 60-year-old's “health was destroyed” after he was shot in the face during the fatal raid.

Attorneys and jurors were expected to be back in court Monday to resume closing arguments.

Goines faces life in prison after being convicted last week in the deaths of Dennis Tuttle, 59, and his 58-year-old wife Rhogena Nicholas. The couple and their dog were fatally shot after officers entered their home with a “no-knock” warrant that did not require them to report before entering.

During the trial, prosecutors presented testimony and evidence showing that Goines lied to obtain 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 was injured.

Goines' lawyers had acknowledged that the ex-officer had lied to obtain 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 deaths because they shot at officers.

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

An investigation into the raid found systemic corruption problems in the police's drug division.

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

Since the raid, prosecutors have reviewed thousands of cases handled by the drug squad.

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

The federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the families of Tuttle and Nicholas against Goines and 12 other officers involved in the raid, as well as the city of Houston, is scheduled to go to trial in November.

___

Follow Juan A. Lozano: