Tag: texas

Judge Quashes Felony Murder Charges Against Former Houston Cop Whose Lies Led to a Deadly 2019 Drug Raid

It has been more than five years since Houston police officers killed Dennis Tuttle and Rhogena Nicholas, a middle-aged couple falsely implicated in drug dealing, after breaking into their home on Harding Street. That raid was based on a fraudulent search warrant affidavit in which veteran narcotics officer Gerald Goines described a heroin purchase that he later admitted never happened. Efforts to hold Goines accountable for his lethal dishonesty hit another roadblock last week when a Harris County judge dismissed two felony murder charges against him.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office charged Goines with two counts of felony murder in August 2019, seven months after the Harding Street raid. According to its complaint, Goines committed “the felony offense of Tampering with a Government Record, and while in the course of and [in] furtherance of the commission of said offense did commit an act clearly dangerous to human life”—i.e., “making forcible entry into a residence by armed peace officers through the use of a ‘no knock’ search warrant based on false information provided knowingly by the defendant,” thereby causing the deaths of Tuttle and Nicholas.

A grand jury backed those charges in an indictment issued on January 15, 2020, and District Court Judge Frank Aguilar declined to dismiss them. But District Court Judge Veronica Nelson, who took over the case this year after Aguilar was suspended because of a domestic violence arrest, was persuaded by Goines’ claim that the charges did not adequately specify the underlying felony.

Prosecutors cited Section 37.10 of the Texas Penal Code, which makes it a third-degree felony to tamper with a government record in any of six ways. Because the indictment did not say exactly how Goines had violated that statute, his lawyers argued, it impaired his ability to mount a defense. “It doesn’t give us adequate notice of what it is specifically that we have to defend against,” said Mac Secrest, one of Goines’ attorneys.

“The Harris County District Attorney’s office is shocked and tremendously disappointed  that a judge would choose to revisit this issue, knowing that her predecessor had already ruled the defendant’s position meritless,” the office said in response to Nelson’s ruling. “The office is considering all its options, including amending the indictment, with an eye towards trying this case as soon as possible to ensure justice for the victims of these crimes.”

The state case against Goines had been scheduled for trial in June. Nelson’s decision could delay the trial by a year or more, depending on how long it takes to appeal the ruling and/or seek a new indictment. Goines also faces federal civil rights charges in connection with the Harding Street raid, but there has been no apparent movement in that case since the indictment was announced in November 2019.

Two other defendants in the federal case have pleaded guilty. Patricia Ann Garcia, a neighbor whose phony tip prompted Goines’ investigation of Tuttle and Nicholas, pleaded guilty to making false reports in March 2021 and was sentenced to 40 months in prison. In June 2021, former Houston narcotics officer Steven Bryant, who had backed up Goines’ fictional account of arranging for a confidential informant to buy heroin from Tuttle, pleaded guilty to falsifying records and obstructing the resulting federal investigation. He has not been sentenced yet.

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Squatters sell Texas woman’s belongings at yard sale — turn home into ‘drug den’

Squatters turned a Texas woman’s home into a “drug den” and sold her possessions at a yard sale — but police told her they couldn’t do anything about it.

Terri Boyette was in Florida caring for her sick mother when a friend called to tell her someone had squatted her Dallas-area home.

She had previously hired workers to renovate her house, but after she left a painter had broken in and wrecked the place, leaving crack pipes in her oven and needles in a drawer, Boyette told The Post.

It took six months for Boyette to get her home back and now she says her belongings have been either damaged beyond repair or sold, with her bed now situated in the backyard, a bike and scooter in her shower and trash and dirty dishes all over the home.

“All my stuff has been sold through the yard sale and online,” Boyett said, adding: “Apparently he was letting people rent from him.”

Boyette had told the workers to leave before she left for Florida, but the squatter broke in and wouldn’t leave.

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INSANITY: El Paso Judge Orders Release of Illegal Immigrants Who Stormed the Border and Rioted Against National Guard

On Easter Sunday, El Paso Magistrate Judge Humberto Acosta ordered the release of a large group of illegal immigrants accused of participating in a violent encounter with National Guard troops along the Rio Grande.

The incident, which took place on March 21, has been described by authorities as a “border riot,” during which illegal immigrants, predominantly men from Venezuela, overwhelmed security measures and clashed with National Guard forces.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that hundreds of illegal aliens from Africa, Central America, Colombia, and Venezuela made a rush for the border in El Paso, Texas after they were pushed south of the concertina wire in the middle of the night by the National Guard.

The illegals breached the concertina wire, overwhelmed National Guard members, and made a rush for the border.

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COP CORRUPTION: San Antonio police found to be protecting HUMAN SMUGGLING as side gigs for extra cash

Corrupt police officers in Texas are engaged in human smuggling operations for which they are being paid on the side and apparently off-duty – but while still wearing their official police uniforms, mind you – to run cover for the treasonous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) helping illegal migrants invade America.

TENET Media conducted an investigation into the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), whose officers were seen guarding a migrant camp and working inside the tents on behalf of NGOs. Note: The officers you will see in the following video footage are being paid on the side to support human smuggling.

“NGOs are facilitating human smuggling of migrants into America,” TENET Media reports. “You actually have a San Antonio Police Department car watching as a lookout, basically guarding this area.”

“They’re taking side contracts in relation to these NGOs and are actually being paid a significant amount to guard this area – and they’re in their official San Antonio PD uniforms, to top it off, with their San Antonio PD cars as well.”

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Appeals Court Extends Block on Texas Arrests of Illegal Immigrants

A divided appeals court has upheld a preliminary injunction against the State of Texas, continuing to stall the enforcement of Senate Bill 4 (S.B. 4), a state law targeting illegal immigration that allows the state to arrest and deport suspected illegal immigrants.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s decision, in which one member of the three-judge panel dissented, follows conflicting rulings over the law that the Supreme Court briefly allowed to take effect last week.

The high court sent the case back to the 5th Circuit, which then halted enforcement while it considered the latest appeal.

The majority’s opinion said, in part, that “The United States has broad powers and rights granted by the Constitution and Congress regarding immigration matters.”

They further argue that neither the state of Texas nor their dissenting colleague has offered enough explanation as to why the United States should be barred from suing the state over the law.

“What logical basis is there for courts to say private parties and government agencies or actors may bring an action sounding in equity but not the United States,” the majority questioned in their opinion. “Neither Texas nor the dissenting opinion offers a rationale that would support such a distinction.”

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Media Blocked From Border Area Where Ilegals Overran National Guard

The Customs and Border Protection Agency has blocked the media from accessing the area where hordes of illegal immigrants overran the National Guard in El Paso earlier this week, leaving reporters asking how they are supposed to do their jobs.

Footage emerged Thursday of illegal immigrants literally tearing down barriers near El Paso, Texas and storming the border, braying to be let into the US.

Now, two days later, this sign has been put up instructing the media to basically stay away.

Can’t have anybody documenting the border crisis any further right?

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Illegal Immigration Is Illegal: Mexico Disagrees

The second-largest source of income for Mexican drug cartels is human trafficking into the U.S. Laws discouraging illegal immigration challenge that income. The cartels have so much sway over the Mexican government that even the country’s president is speaking out against Texas laws countering illegal immigration.

Earlier this week, a confrontation broke out between Texas Army National Guard troops and a group of migrants who charged a border wall in El Paso. Texas Governor Abbott has called the immigration crisis an invasion.

Attempting to stem the flow of illegals, he came under fire, allegedly for passing a law making illegal entry from Mexico into the U.S. a crime. The irony of this statement is that it is already “illegal” to enter the U.S. illegally.

To be more accurate, Abbott has not made illegal entry into the United States a crime; he has instructed his police officers to enforce existing laws, arrest lawbreakers, and restore legality by deporting the illegals.

Under Title 8 federal authority, it is illegal to enter the US at non-ports of entry, and the punishment is deportation and a five-year ban on future immigration.

Social media accounts in Mexico provide instructions on how to enter the US illegally, including encouraging people to enter at illegal points of entry. Human traffickers, transitional criminal organizations, however, are selling illegal access to the US.

The criminals, generally linked to drug cartels, accept money from the migrants, promising safe passage, but they are being led to illegal entry ports. The money that cartels are earning from illegal human trafficking to the US is used to buy more guns, politicians, and judges, further destabilizing Mexico.

Title 8 states, “The Secretary of Homeland Security shall take such actions as may be necessary to install additional physical barriers and roads (including the removal of obstacles to detection of illegal entrants) in the vicinity of the United States border to deter illegal crossings in areas of high illegal entry into the United States.”

This is one of the many points of contention between Governor Abbott and the federal government. The governor, along with many American Conservatives, is questioning why the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not doing more to prevent illegal immigration and why the Federal government would challenge the Texas governor’s assertion that he has the authority to protect the border of his state to keep his citizens safe.

Additionally, Title 8 mandates the erection of physical barriers to prevent illegal entrance to the US. However, when Governor Abbott implemented barriers, he faced vilification from the media, and the federal government ordered him to remove them.

Governor Abbott’s efforts to enforce immigration law have been challenged at both the state and federal levels. Twenty-five GOP state governors have signed the “Stand with Texas” declaration, expressing support for Governor Abbott and defending the border.

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Supreme Court Extends Temporary Block on Texas From Enforcing Immigration Law

The U.S. Supreme Court has extended a temporary freeze barring Texas from enforcing a new law that allows state police to arrest immigrants suspected of crossing the U.S.–Mexico border illegally.

Justice Samuel Alito, who oversees the federal circuit handling the case, on March 18, extended an administrative stay on Texas Senate Bill 4 that was initially issued on March 4 and then extended on March 12 to allow the court time to review the case. The stay was extended “pending further order” of the court, according to the order.

The order is a setback to Texas and other red states in stemming the tide of illegal immigrants whom they have deemed an “invasion.”

SB4, signed into law by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in December 2023, was scheduled to go into effect on March 5. The Supreme Court is currently considering emergency appeals brought by the Biden administration challenging the law.

The law makes it a state crime to cross the Texas–Mexico border outside legal ports of entry. Punishment for the Class B misdemeanor is up to six months in jail. However, repeat offenders could face second-degree felony charges and up to 20 years in prison.

Judges are granted leeway under the law to drop the charges if the illegal immigrants agree to return to Mexico.

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Mitch McConnell’s billionaire sister-in-law Angela Chao drowned in sinking Tesla because its strengthened glass windows were ‘impossible to break or open’ after she reversed into pond

Chao, who was the CEO of shipping company Foremost Group, died last month after her car entered a body of water on a private ranch in Texas.

Disturbing details have since emerged detailing the frenzied rescue mission to save the 50-year-old. 

In a report by the Wall Street Journal, the outlet detail how Chao had drove her Tesla home from an evening with friends when she accidentally put the car in reverse.  

Due to the type of glass used in the vehicle, attempts to smash into the vehicle proved redundant. 

According to testing done by the American Automobile Association, the type of glass used on the vehicle is nearly impossible to break underwater.

Chao had been making a three-point turn before the deadly accident and put the car in reverse instead of drive, sending it down an embankment and into a pond.

As the car dipped below the water line, Chao called a friend in a panic to explain her situation and over the next several hours rescuers tried in vain to rescue her. 

Shortly after making her call, one friend jumped into the pond to attempt to rescue her before responders arrived on the scene.

As the car dipped below the water line, Chao called a friend in a panic to explain her situation and over the next several hours rescuers tried in vain to rescue her. 

In an incident report obtained by the WSJ, one fire department crew arrived on the scene 24 minutes after getting a call. 

One responder described the vehicle as being completely submerged, with some deputies from a sheriff’s department even able to stand on it as they attempted to rescue Chao. 

Lighting had to be set up, and dive teams had to be brought in to aid the rescue mission as well as a tow truck. 

Despite arriving on the scene, the truck didn’t have a cable long enough to reach the car and the driver was also said to have been afraid of being electrocuted.

After the vehicle was eventually pulled from the water, hundreds of gallons rushed out as the doors were opened, with Chao being found unresponsive. 

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International Intrigue on a Ranch in Texas – The Angela Chao Story

Angela Chao, the sister of Elaine Chao (wife of retiring Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican Senate Minority Leader), died in her car on February 11, 2024.  Angela was found in a submerged car, unresponsive, first responders attempted to revive her, but were unsuccessful.  The pond was on a ranch close to Johnson City in Blanco County, Texas, about 40 miles west of Austin.  The ranch was reportedly owned by a business entity of Chao’s husband, Jim Breyer, a Venture Capitalist who has offices in Austin.

The Sheriff of Blanco County is Don Jackson, and the matter has now been deemed a criminal investigation, which blocks the release of many details to the public.  In a letter to Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, Sheriff Jackson said, “This incident was not a typical accident.”.

Angela Chao was also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Foremost Group, a privately held business entity that was the largest American owner of bulk shipping merchant vessels (all the vessels were flagged in other countries).  The ships alone were valued at $1.2B five years ago, but there were other activities of the Foremost Group that because it is privately held, are not fully known.  Power, wealth, international connections, privately held business group, China, Taiwan, America; there are many branches and sequels to this story and now a criminal investigation is ongoing.

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