Addendum: By noting that judges cannot independently verify controlled buys described by narcotics officers, I did not mean to imply that there were no grounds for Houston Municipal Court Judge Gordon Marcum, who approved the warrant in this case, to be skeptical of
Goines' affidavit. Tuttle and Nicholas had lived at 7815 Harding Street for more than three decades; they were well-known in the neighborhood and
publicly listedas residents. Yet in his affidavit, Goines refers to Tuttle as "a white male, whose name is unknown." That should have been a red flag indicating that Goines' investigation, which supposedly "had been going on for approximately two (2) weeks," was less than thorough. Goines also said he "advised" the C.I. that "narcotics were being sold and stored" at the house, but he cited no evidence of that, notwithstanding his two-week investigation. Goines claimed another narcotics officer, Steven Bryant, recognized the brown powder as heroin, a detail that Bryant has since
contradicted. One wonders what Bryant would have said if Marcum had asked him to verify Goines' account.
Good article until he goes to the point of having to try to throw everyone under the bus. I see nothing outstanding that would give the Judge any reason to have a valid question about the search warrant. Remember that even though they read the warrant they often listen to testimony from the officer. So it's hard to tell what lies were verbally relayed to the judge.