Texas' highest criminal court overturns 5th conviction based on ex-HPD cop's testimony

The state’s highest criminal court today ruled that another defendant imprisoned on testimony by Gerald Goines should have his conviction overturned. Frederick Jeffery, 40, is the fifth person to have his conviction overturned in the fallout of the Harding Street raid scandal. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that former Houston police officer Goines “conducted fictional drug buys, provided false information in the affidavit for the search warrant” that led to Jeffery’s arrest, and lied in court about Jeffery owning a cellphone found at the scene of a drug raid.

Those factors caused a “reasonable likelihood” that the false testimony and evidence affected a jury’s judgment, the court ruled. The CCA’s ruling comes just weeks after prosecutors and Jeffery’s lawyer told a district judge they were in agreement the case should be overturned. In a brief interview, Jeffery described the ruling as "a dream come true." He'd been in jail ever since his arrest in Oct. 2016, and was only released in July, after prosecutors began the process of overturning his conviction. "It was a nightmare when it all happened," he said. "When you get arrested, taken away from family... I was stressed. Depressed. But if you have faith, God will carry you through." The speed of the ruling took some courthouse veterans by surprise. In the past, the CCA has taken months, or longer, to make similar rulings. “It is uncommon — but very welcome — that the CCA moved with this kind of speed,” said Patrick McCann, Jeffery’s lawyer.