In February 2008, Houston police raided a house at 5603 Elmlawn Drive, seizing a gram of PCP and 132 grams of cocaine. Several men were arrested, including Byron Prophet, then 23, who was convicted on two drug charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

During Prophet's trial, Gerald Goines, a narcotics officer with 24 years at the Houston Police Department (HPD), testified that he saw Prophet enter the house twice through a garage door, unlocking barred entrances with a key found in Prophet's pocket. Prophet denied ever entering the house or possessing a key.

Despite the jury believing Goines, a 2019 drug raid instigated by Goines—based on fabricated evidence—revealed his dishonesty. This led to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vacating Prophet's convictions in 2024. Prophet, released on parole in 2014, had served nearly six years in prison based solely on Goines's testimony, a cop with a documented history of lying to obtain search warrants, justify arrests, and secure convictions.

A federal lawsuit claims that two years after Prophet's conviction, Goines falsely asserted that Reginald Christain informed officers of drugs in his vehicle prior to a search, fabricating both the statement and the drugs found.

Police Chief Art Acevedo, who led HPD from 2016 to 2021, stated after Goines was charged with felony murder in August 2019, "We have zero indication that this is a systemic problem with the Houston Police Department." However, in July 2020, it was acknowledged that "Houston Police narcotics officers falsified documentation about drug payments to confidential informants with the support of supervisors."

This case highlights ongoing concerns about accountability within the Houston Police Department's narcotics division.

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