Breonna Taylor.Photo: Instagram
A former detective accused of falsifying the affidavit used to obtain a search warrant ofBreonna Taylor’sLouisville apartment will plead guilty later this month, according to multiple reports.
The former detective, Kelly Goodlett, was arrested along with three other officers in connection with the botched raid that resulted in the 26-year-old’s killing in 2020.
In two separate federal indictments, Goodlett, Joshua Jaynes, Brett Hankison, and Sgt. Kyle Meany, were charged with civil rights and obstruction offenses, as well as unlawful conspiracies and unconstitutional use of force.
During a virtual court appearance on Friday, Goodlett, her attorney and a Justice Department attorney confirmed she will enter a guilty plea for one count of conspiring to violate the civil rights of Taylor, according toNBC News,Courier Journal,andThe Washington Post. The guilty plea of Goodlet — who resigned after being charged — would mark the first conviction in connection with Taylor’s death.
Kelly Goodlett.Louisville Metro Police Department
On Friday, Magistrate Judge Regina Edwards told the former detective to surrender her passport and to have no contact with the other defendants. She will get up to five years in prison, according toCourier Journal.
A lawyer for Goodlett did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. A spokesperson from the Justice Department tells PEOPLE the department has nothing further to add.
JoshuaJaynes; Brett Hankison; Kyle Meany.
Reacting to the news, Ben Crump, the attorney for Taylor’s familytweetedin part, “The truth prevails!”
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the charges against Goodlett and her co-defendants earlier this month, alleging Taylor’s rights were violated when Jaynes, who was fired from the department in 2021, along with Meany and Goodlett, sought the warrant to search Taylor’s home “knowing that the officers lacked probable cause for the search.”
“We allege that the defendants knew the affidavit in support of that warrant contained false and misleading information and that it omitted material information,” Garland said.
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Garland alleged the officers also “took steps to cover up their unlawful conduct” after her death.
Jaynes and Goodlett allegedly met in a garage weeks after the shooting in May “where they agreed to tell investigators a false story,” the attorney general said.
Taylor, an aspiring nurse who had been working as an EMT, was in her apartment with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, shortly after midnight on the night of March 13 when Louisville Metro Police officers executing ano-knock warrantcharged through the door and fired more than 20 shots, killing Taylor.
She became a face for theBlack Lives Mattermovement following her death. Her killing, along with the murder ofGeorge Floydtwo months later, sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice.
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source: people.com
