Former Houston officer pleads guilty to federal charge in Harding Street Raid
HOUSTON - Former Houston police officer Steven Bryant pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a federal charge stemming from the deadly Harding Street Raid.
Bryant was charged with obstructing justice by falsifying records.
Two residents, Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas, were shot and killed in their southeast Houston home during the botched drug raid on January 28, 2019. Four police officers were also injured in a shooting at the raid.
In a statement, Michael Patrick Doyle, the attorney for Nicholas’s family said, "The guilty plea by Mr. Bryant opens the door for him to tell what truly happened before, during, and after the murderous raid. He does not have to continue participating in the City's million dollar continuing cover up of how and why Rhogena Nicolas and Dennis Tuttle were murdered in their own home by HPD's officers. The Nicholas family will continue to fight to uncover the rest of the concealed facts."
Another former HPD officer Gerald Goines is also charged with obstructing justice by falsifying records, among other charges. Goines is charged with two counts of depriving the victims’ constitutional right to be secure against unreasonable searches. The indictment alleges Goines made numerous materially false statements in the state search warrant he obtained for their residence.
MORE: Former Houston police officers charged with murder in Harding Street raid
Goines allegedly made several false statements in his tactical plan and offense report prepared in connection with that search warrant. The indictment alleges Bryant falsely claimed in a supplemental case report he had previously assisted Goines in the Harding Street investigation. Bryant allegedly identified a brown powdery substance, likely heroin, he retrieved from Goines’ vehicle as narcotics purchased from the Harding Street residence on Jan. 27.
Goines is further charged with three separate counts of obstructing an official proceeding. The federal grand jury alleged Goines falsely stated Jan. 30 that a confidential informant had purchased narcotics at the Harding Street location three days prior. He also falsely stated Jan. 31 that a second informant purchased narcotics at that residence that day, according to the charges. On Feb. 13, he also allegedly falsely claimed he had purchased narcotics at that residence on that day. The indictment alleges none of these statements were true.
In March, a woman accused of making several 911 calls that included phony allegations of drugs and machine guns that led to the botched raid on Harding Street pleaded guilty.