Houston Man Cleared of Drug Charges Sues City, Ex-Officer for Violating Civil Rights After Wrongful Arrest

A 63-year-old man has launched a lawsuit against a former Houston police officer and the city, alleging that his civil rights were violated due to a wrongful drug arrest back in 2014. The man, James Ybarra, claims that the ex-officer, Gerald Goines, fabricated evidence that led to his arrest and conviction for drug possession — a conviction that held him in its punitive grip, undermining his employment prospects, and staining his name with the indelible ink of criminality.

The legal challenge filed in federal court on Monday directly targets Goines and several other narcotics officers, accusing them of wrongfully arresting Ybarra during a no-knock raid at a Kashmere Gardens apartment, as reported by the Houston Chronicle. Ybarra, who was at the apartment merely to get a haircut from an acquaintance, was ensnared by the officers who, despite not finding any drugs on him, proceeded with the arrest based on Goines' alleged sighting of Ybarra "twisting around attempting to reach into his front pocket" while handcuffed — an action purportedly leading to the discovery of narcotics.

Goines, already infamous for his role in the fatally flawed Harding Street raid of January 2019, is currently facing a litany of charges, including murder and tampering with records. This previous raid, which tragically resulted in the deaths of two homeowners, has been a catalyst in unraveling the decade of misconduct by Goines, according to Houston Public Media.

Ybarra, speaking at a press conference, shared that the last decade has been marked by hardship and emotional toll, “It’s been a struggle. It’s been emotional. It’s been tiring,” Ybarra said. “It’s been almost 10 years that all this started…He has ruined a lot of people’s lives and his day will come in court.”