Husband and wife remembered one year after being killed in controversial drug raid
HOUSTON - Today marks one year since the controversial no-knock drug raid on Harding Street that left a husband and wife and their dog dead.
The incident also uncovered a slew of corruption within the Houston Police Department's Narcotics Division.
One year ago, the Pecan Park neighborhood was swarmed with law enforcement following the shootout. Five officers were injured, and Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle were found dead inside, unarmed.
Their home on Harding Street stands as a grim reminder of everything that went wrong. It’s boarded up now, hiding the multiple bullet holes left from police gunfire. The families of Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas wanted their privacy on this day, but sent a message, part of it reads:
“We’re committing to finding for justice, and to prevent other families from going through terrible ordeals like this one.”
Neighbors came out to pay their respects, but not a day went by this past year that they didn’t think about that devastating day. Especially those close to the couple.
Esmeralda Becerra, a friend of Rhogena Nicholas tells Fox 26 “We used to call each other sister. Every day we used to have breakfast, and I miss her a lot. Her and Dennis.” Becerra shared her wedding photo with us. Rhogena was her bridesmaid and treated Esmeralda’s grandchildren as if they were her own.
I am also a little bit sad because she doesn’t come to pick me up from school," 9-year-old Katelyne Becerra tells us.
“We asked her like where is Reggie, where is Dennis and she told us in the room that she was gone, and it was really hard because I kept saying that we couldn’t see her before she died," recalls Dalilah Becerra.
Former HPD officers Gerald Goines and Steven Bryant have been indicted for felony murder and tampering with government documents by misrepresenting Rhogena and Dennis as drug dealers in order to obtain the no-knock warrant. Others could face charges in this case. Those close to the couple want all those involved charged among other things.
“Nothing ever like this happens again because this was all a mistake. She was a wonderful person, and Dennis," says Becerra.
On the first anniversary of the shooting, the family of Rhogena Nicholas filed a federal court motion to prevent the destruction or sealing of evidence in another case involving the shooting of an unarmed civilian by a narcotics officer.