Photo: Breonna Taylor, left. Former Louisville detective Kelly Goodlett, right, admitted to falsifying a warrant that led to Taylor's death.
Former Louisville Metro Police Detective Kelly Hanna Goodlett pleaded guilty on Aug. 24 to one count of conspiring to violate the civil rights of Breonna Taylor for helping falsify an affidavit for the search of her apartment resulted in her death in March 2020.
Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was shot to death by Louisville officers who knocked down her door while executing a drug search warrant. It was a no-knock warrant. Taylor’s boyfriend, who said he thought someone was breaking into the apartment, fired a shot that hit one of the officers as they came through the door, and they returned fire, striking Taylor multiple times.
Goodlett admitted the charge before U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, with Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, in the courtroom. She is the first officer to be convicted in connection with Taylor’s death. She admitted she falsely claimed a postal inspector had verified 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, The Courier Journal reported.
Goodlett, 35, resigned from LMPD Aug. 5, a day after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced new federal charges in the Taylor case. Garland announced indictments against Goodlett and her three former colleagues, according to ABC News.
She faces a sentence of no more than five years in prison, plus up to a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Her sentencing tentatively is set for Nov. 22.
Goodlett is expected to be a star witness at the trial of two of her ex-colleagues, Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, when they are tried on civil rights charges in connection with Taylor’s death. Ex-detective, Brett Hankison is also charged in a separate federal indictment.
Photo: Breonna Taylor, left. Former Louisville detective Kelly Goodlett, right, admitted to falsifying a warrant that led to Taylor’s death. Photos from https://twitter.com/ajplus/status/1562141477987180546?s=20&t=mLZOsJlTbFe0qQbjePBpjg
