A former Louisville detective admitted to misleading the judge who approved the no-knock warrant for the raid that ended 26-year-old EMT Breonna Taylor’s life in March 2020, The New York Times reported.
Kelly Goodlett (35), pleaded guilty Tuesday in Louisville, Kentucky to one count. She admitted she conspired to falsify a search order application and later lied to cover it up, according to the New York Times.
According to the New York Times, Goodlett pleaded guilty in the case against Taylor, making her the first officer to be convicted.
Goodlett will be sentenced to no more than five year imprisonment, along with a maximum $250,000 fine and three consecutive years of supervised freedom. According to the Louisville Courier Journal her sentencing has been tentatively scheduled for Nov. 22.
According to reports, Goodlett’s attorneys and federal prosecutors have not commented.
Ben Crump, one of the Taylor family’s attorneys, tweeted: “BREAKING: Former Louisville Metro Police Department Officer Kelly Goodlett has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy for helping to falsify the search warrant in the deadly no-knock raid that killed Breonna Taylor.”
Goodlett is expected to be a star witness at the trial of two of her former LMPD colleagues, Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, when they are tried on civil rights charges in connection with Taylor’s death, the Louisville Courier Journal reported.
It was announced earlier this month that Goodlett, along with Brett Hankison, as well as Jaynes, and Meany were brought up on federal charges for alleged civil rights violations in connection to raiding Taylor’s home.
Jaynes, Meany, Hankinson and others have all pleaded no guilty to the charges.
The charges coming from the U.S Department of Justice are connected to the shots fired into Taylor’s home by Hankinson and to the other three officers’ roles in the drafting of the warrant. These charges were given to the other three officers on the basis that the warrant ultimately led to Taylor’s death due to the dangerous situation it created, authorities said
The Louisville Courier-Journal had previously obtained documentation that allowed police to authorize them to execute a search. “no-knock” warrant on Taylor’s Louisville home on March 13, 2020, as part of a narcotics investigation of a person who lived in a home 10 miles away. The investigation did not target Taylor or Kenneth Walker, her boyfriend. Police had suspected, though, that Taylor’s home was used to receive drugs because cops said her ex-boyfriend was using her address to mail drugs through the post office.
Authorities claimed they had identified themselves despite being asked by the “no-knock” warrant. The officers were reportedly arrested by police “immediately”They were met with gunfire as they entered Taylor’s and Walker’s homes. At that point, they fired back. More than 25 bullets from three officers who entered Taylor’s home were fired, some entered the nearby apartments, one of which contained a 5-year-old child.
Walker, a licensed gun owner called 911 during the incident and was told he had shot an officer. Although initially charged with attempted murder in the first instance, his charges were dropped when he stated that he shot in self defense believing Taylor was the victim of an invasion at home.
Taylor was killed instantly by eight bullets. Walker and Taylor did not have any criminal records. The home also contained no drugs.
Hankison was acquitted by a jury on March 20, 2022 of a charge for wanton endangerment. The grand jury cleared Detective Miles Cosgrove, and Sergeant. Jonathan Mattingly was the one who shot Taylor. NBC News reported. NBC News reported that Hankison was indicted by the grand jury for endangering neighbor’s lives in the adjoining apartment.