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The Houston Police Department has wrapped up its investigation into a deadly January drug bust and turned a final report over to the Harris County District Attorney’s office, authorities said Wednesday.
The development moves the case one step closer to possible criminal charges against one or more of the officers involved in the bungled raid, which left a Pecan Park couple dead and blossomed into a broader scandal amid questions about the narcotics team’s handling of the bust.
“The Houston Police Department has completed the criminal investigation and the officer-involved shooting investigation regarding the incident at 7815 Harding Street on January 28, 2019,” Chief Art Acevedo said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “Today, each of these separate investigations have been turned in to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.”
An ongoing administrative investigation continues in the police department. The FBI has launched a civil rights investigation and the district attorney’s office has been reviewing more than 2,000 cases previously handled by two narcotics officers at the center of the raid.
Acevedo said police have “cooperated fully” with prosecutors.
“As stated at the onset, we will leave no stone unturned in our effort to determine the facts,” he said. “Today is a major step in that direction and we continue to be committed to a relentless pursuit of truth, transparency, and accountability.”
READ MORE: Grieving family members tour Pecan Park home as questions swirl about botched drug raid
In the weeks after police stormed through the front door of the small Harding Street home, case agent Gerald Goines retired under investigation following questions about whether he may have lied on the affidavit used to justify the no-knock raid that killed Rhogena Nicholas and her husband Dennis Tuttle. Goines’ partner, Officer Steven Bryant, also retired under investigation.
Now, the findings from the police probe could offer clues to some of the as-yet unanswered questions from the bust, including who fired shots and whether there were additional signs of past illegal activity in the house.
“It’s good,” said Nicole DeBorde, the attorney representing Goines. “I’m glad that they took their time to complete a thorough investigation and now it’s going to be in the hands of the lawyers at the district attorney’s office.”
Though she expressed concerns about whether police would make charging recommendations in the case, DeBorde also voiced “hope” that prosecutors would “accept the information they’re provided and make their own decision after review.”
More: Houston police narcotics officer under investigation after deadly raid set to retire
It’s not clear when that review might be finished, but in a statement Wednesday, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg promised it would be comprehensive.
“Our independent investigation continues; all of the evidence will be reviewed by prosecutors and ultimately presented to a grand jury to determine what criminal charges are warranted,” she said. “We will be thorough and methodical, because the people of Harris County deserve the truth.”
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The completion of the report comes days after a private forensics team hired by the slain couple’s families conducted a separate review.
Following a four-day visit to the home, the outside experts found troves of evidence that crime scene teams failed to collect, including human teeth, bullets and tagged evidence. News of the find prompted the district attorney’s office to inquire about taking custody of the evidence for testing, according to attorney Mike Doyle, who is representing the Nicholas family.
The outside experts said they didn’t see any evidence anyone inside the home fired shots during the gunbattle, though law enforcement sources later told the Houston Chronicle that police recovered spent casings and a .357 revolver from the scene believed to belong to Tuttle.
Attorneys for the slain families confirmed that Tuttle kept a loaded .357 by his bed, but still maintained it wasn’t clear when, where or by whom the gun was fired. Now, the conclusion of the police investigation could open the door to some answers.
It’s not clear what other fallout could follow from the raid, but already police officials have dramatically curtailed the use of no-knock raids, promised to equip raid teams with body cameras, and vowed to stop relying on municipal court judges to sign search warrants.