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Twelve HPD officers in total have been indicted. Two are charged with first-degree murder. January 26, 2021, 7:56 AM On the anniversary of the botched drug raid that led to the deaths of Dennis and Rhogena Tuttle, a candle light vigil is held on the doorstep of their home. Taken on Jan. 28, 2020. Six more HPD officers were indicted Monday in connection with the 2019 Harding Street raid that led to the deaths of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas. Officer Felipe Gallegos was indicted for murder, a first-degree felony, and faces life in prison. Officers Oscar Pardo, Cedell Lovings, Nadeem Ashraf, Clemente Reyna, and Thomas Wood are being charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and other first-degree felonies that could result in life sentences, after prosecutors say their roles were part of an ongoing attempt to steal overtime from the city. ....
Tuttle, his wife Rhogena Nicholas and their dog were shot and killed by HPD officers on January 28, 2019 during the raid, which Ogg said was carried out after former HPD officer Gerald Goines lied to a judge to receive a no-knock search warrant. Goines allegedly produced fabricated evidence that painted the married couple as heroin dealers, but only small amounts of cocaine and marijuana were found in their Harding Street home. The DA’s investigation later uncovered a scheme within HPD’s narcotics division to falsify work hours on police timesheets to collect fraudulent overtime payments. “The consequences of corruption are that two innocent people and their dog were shot to death in their home by police; four officers were shot, one paralyzed, and now all of them will face jurors who will determine their fate,” Ogg said. ....
Two other officers - Frank Medina and Griff Maxwell - face second-degree felonies on these same charges and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo has said a lead investigator lied in an affidavit justifying the drug raid. On Monday Acevedo released a statement after the new charges were announced, saying the officer indicted for murder Monday had no involvement in obtaining the warrant and responded appropriately to the deadly threat posed during the raid. Ogg said grand jurors on Monday also indicted three retired officers who had been indicted last year on different charges in connection with the case. Two of these officers - Clemente Reyna and Thomas Wood - were indicted on first degree felony charges of engaging in organized criminal activity related to theft of a public servant and tampering with a governmental record. The third retired officer - Hodgie Armstrong - was indicted on second-degree felonies on t ....