Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced the new slate of criminal charges Monday after a Harris County grand jury indicted Felipe Gallegos for murder in the death of Dennis Tuttle.
Officers Oscar Pardo, Sedell Lovings, Nadeem Ashraf, Frank Medina and Griff Maxwell were also indicted Monday for engaging in organized criminal activity and tampering with government records.
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.
Gallegos is the second officer charged with murder for his role in the raid; Goines was indicted in August 2019 on two counts of felony murder.
Two former HPD officers — Clemente Reyna and Thomas Wood — who had already been indicted last summer on corruption charges tied to the raid were charged on Monday with additional first-degree felonies for tampering with government records, and a third — Hodgie Armstrong — received an additional second-degree record tampering charge as well.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo responded to Monday’s new charges with a written statement he posted to Twitter that night, and specifically criticized the murder indictment for Gallegos.
Statement from Chief @ArtAcevedo regarding today's indictments. pic.twitter.com/d3AKTziXCp
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) January 25, 2021
“Today, I learned that another officer who was involved in the Harding Street officer-involved shooting has been indicted for murder,” Acevedo wrote. “I have said many times that the other officers involved in the incident, including the officer indicted today, had no involvement in obtaining the warrant and responded appropriately to the deadly threat posed to them during its service.”
Acevedo also confirmed that “all current active officers” charged Monday “have been relieved of duty and there will be no further comment regarding these pending cases.”
After the new indictments were revealed, Mike Doyle, one of the attorneys representing the Nicholas family, issued a statement urging the city of Houston and HPD to finally reveal evidence from the crime scene that’s so far been kept under wraps. The Nicholas family has been attempting to uncover the full story of what went down the night of the fatal raid for over a year now, but the city has successfully delayed Doyle’s efforts to compel HPD to produce additional evidence in county probate court.
“How high does the corruption of HPD Narcotics Squad 15 go,” Doyle said, “and why has the city and HPD fought so hard, still, to conceal the basic facts about what happened before, during and after the murderous raid?”
“The Nicholas family is grateful for news of the district attorney’s continuing work on the case,” he continued,” and urges the mayor and police chief to finally end the coverup of the full facts they have been sitting on for so long.”
Below is the full list of new charges filed Monday as well as all previously issued charges from Harris County against HPD officers, provided by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office:
The officers indicted Monday include:
Felipe Gallegos - (HPD) was indicted for murder in the death of Dennis Tuttle. The charge is a first-degree felony and carries a penalty of up to life in prison.
Other officers indicted on first-degree felonies Monday who face a maximum of life in prison if convicted are:
Oscar Pardo – (HPD) Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity, to wit: Aggregate Theft by a Public Servant ($30,000 or more but less than $150,000) and Tampering with a Governmental Record (1st degree)
Cedell Lovings – (Status Unclear) Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity, to wit: Aggregate Theft by a Public Servant ($30,000 or more but less than $150,000) and Tampering with a Governmental Record (1st degree)
Nadeem Ashraf – (HPD) Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity, to wit: Aggregate Theft by a Public Servant ($30,000 or more but less than $150,000) and Tampering with a Governmental Record (1st degree)
Two officers who were already facing charges were also indicted on first-degree felonies:
Clemente Reyna – (No longer HPD, retired) Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity, to wit: Aggregate Theft by a Public Servant ($30,000 or more but less than $150,000) and Tampering with a Governmental Record (1st degree)
Thomas Wood – (No longer HPD, retired) Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity, to wit: Aggregate Theft by a Public Servant ($30,000 or more but less than $150,000) and Tampering with a Governmental Record (1st degree)
The following officers are charged with second-degree felonies. If convicted, they face 2 to 20 years in prison:
Frank Medina – (HPD) Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity, to wit: Aggregate Theft by a Public Servant ($2,500 or more, but less than $30,000) and Tampering with a Governmental Record (2nd degree)
Griff Maxwell – (HPD) Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity, to wit: Aggregate Theft by a Public Servant ($2,500 or more, but less than $30,000) and Tampering with a Governmental Record (2nd degree)
One officer who was charged last year was also indicted Monday on a second-degree felony:
Hodgie Armstrong – (No longer HPD, retired) Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity, to wit: Aggregate Theft by a Public Servant ($2,500 or more, but less than $30,000) and Tampering with a Governmental Record (2nd degree)
Goines – (No longer with HPD, retired) was previously indicted for two counts of felony murder.
Bryant – (No longer with HPD, retired) previously charged with tampering.
