HOUSTON – The veteran Houston police officer at the center of an investigation into a southeast side drug raid has a controversial history, Channel 2 Investigates has learned.
Officer Gerald Goines has had previous issues involving confidential informants and so-called no-knock warrants.
An ongoing lawsuit involving a drug raid in 2011 brings to light some of the same issues first uncovered by Channel 2 Investigates on Friday, regarding the incident at Harding Street, in which four officers suffered gunshot wounds and the homeowners were shot and killed.
No drugs were found in a case from Oct. 20, 2011, after Goines and a fellow officer served a warrant at a residence in the 9700 block of Rosehaven Drive.
The man inside the home, a convicted felon, was found to be in unlawful possession of a firearm, but the warrant to enter the home was obtained by use of an unidentified informant, who supposedly identified handguns and drugs inside the home the day before, which were not present, according to an appeal brought by the man arrested.
That man also filed a federal lawsuit in which he claimed his rights had been violated by Goines and the city of Houston.
In the handwritten lawsuit, the man claimed that Goines and his team of officers unlawfully entered the residence.
(see lawsuit)