Breonna Taylor’s mother Tamika Palmer made a brief statement at a press conference saying, “I’ve waited 874 days for this.” Jeff Faughender, Louisville Courier Journal Former Louisville Metro Police detective Kelly Hannah Goodlett pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to violate the civil rights of Breona Taylor for helping to falsify an affidavit in the search of her apartment that resulted in her March 2020 death. Goodlett is expected to star in the trial of two of her former colleagues, Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, when they stand trial on civil rights charges in connection with Taylor’s death. A third former detective, Brett Hankison, is also charged in a separate federal indictment. Goodlett, 35, pleaded guilty to the charge before U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, with Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, among those present in the courtroom. She is the first officer to be convicted in connection with Taylor’s death. Goodlett appeared Tuesday afternoon at the hearing inside federal court on West Broadway with attorney Brandon Marshall, with the former detective answering “yes, your honor” and “yes, ma’am” as the judge asked her mostly if she understood. . rights and the charges against her. Goodlett was previously released but ordered to surrender her passport and have no contact with her co-defendants, including Hankison. He faces up to five years in prison, plus a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release. Her sentencing is set for 1 p.m. Nov. 22, though Jennings noted that date could be delayed. After District Attorney Michael Songer, with the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, read the main facts in the plea agreement, Goodlett answered “yes, your honor” when asked by the judge if the facts were all true. “Guilty,” he said near the end of the roughly 45-minute hearing, answering how he would plead. Prosecutors, Goodlett, her attorney, Palmer and others were not immediately available for comment outside the federal courthouse after the hearing. Palmer later posted a photo of Goodlett on Instagram, with the image depicting a logo for the law firm of Ben Crump and the words, “Kelly Goodlett pleads guilty to federal charge in murder of Breona Taylor.” Goodlett admitted to falsely claiming that a postal inspector had verified that Taylor was receiving packages for her ex-boyfriend, convicted drug dealer Jamarcus Glover, at her apartment before the raid. In fact, postal inspectors said there was no evidence Taylor was receiving packages at her apartment. Janes’ indictment alleges that Goodlett met with Janes in his garage so they could “get on the same page” after a postal inspector said the claim that Taylor was receiving Glover’s packages was false. Breonna Taylor case: Experts predict who has the upper hand, feds or accused officers Jaynes, 40, and Meany, 35, also face civil rights charges in the investigation that led to Taylor’s death, while Hankison, 46, is accused of violating Taylor’s civil rights. her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker; and three of Taylor’s neighbors; shooting blindly into her apartment. Taylor was killed during a police raid on March 13, 2020, at her apartment near Iroquois Park. The police raided her home where she was sleeping with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. Thinking an intruder had broken in, he fired a shot that hit Sgt. John Mattingly on the leg. Mattingly and another detective, Myles Cosgrove, returned fire, killing Taylor. FACT CHECK 2.0: Separating the truth from the lies in the police shooting of Breonna Taylor Hankison ran around the side and back of the apartment building, shooting through a window and glass door protected by blinds and a blackout shade and sending several bullets into an adjacent apartment. He was charged and acquitted of wanton endangerment in Jefferson Circuit Court, but is now charged in federal court with violating the civil rights of Taylor, Walker and two adults and a child in the other apartment. Taylor was 26, and her death sparked months of protests in Louisville and other cities. Mattingly has since retired and Cosgrove has been fired. Neither was charged because U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said “the officers who ultimately searched Taylor’s apartment were not involved in the writing of the warrant and were unaware of the false and misleading statements it contained.” Jaynes and Meany are scheduled for trial on Oct. 11 before Senior Judge Charles R. Simpson III, while Hankison’s trial is set for Oct. 13 before Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings. But both trials are almost certain to be postponed. Andrew Wolfson: 502-582-7189; [email protected]; Twitter: @adwolfson.
