LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two weeks after former Louisville Metro Police Detective Kelly Goodlett pleaded guilty for her involvement in the Breonna Taylor case, new information reveals what she admitted as part of the plea deal.
Court records showed LMPD detectives lied on the warrant that brought them to Taylor’s apartment in March 2020. The warrant, filled out by former Detective Joshua Jaynes, allowed police into Taylor’s apartment.
In a plea agreement addendum, Goodlett said officers submitted crucial details knowing they were false.
She told federal investigators that police didn't verify with the U.S. Postal inspector that Jamarcus Glover, Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, received packages to the Springfield Drive apartment.
Investigators revealed days after the shooting, in an interview with LMPD’s Public Integrity Unit, Jaynes had addressed the address issue.
Jaynes claimed he didn't intend to mislead the judge. "I could have worded a little bit differently in there," the documents quote him saying.
Proof tying Glover to Taylor's home was crucial, and officers claimed they verified he used it as his home address through multiple databases. Goodlett said she and Jaynes knew it was not true.
She further stated Jaynes chose to go to Judge Mary Shaw because he believed she would not closely scrutinize the warrants.
Then, after the shooting, and before Jaynes met with criminal investigators, Goodlett said he asked her to meet in his garage. Documents allege Jaynes badgered her into standing by their false statements, saying if he went down for the warrant, she would too.
Louisville leaders react to Goodlett's plea
Those additional documents share what courts call the "factual basis" to Goodlett's plea. In other words, it's the information she willingly gave up to make the agreement happen.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer told WHAS11 that "the truth has to come out."
"So regardless of what the truth is," he said. "The chips need to fall where they may."
Activist and poet Hannah Drake said Tuesday this is what protesters were saying all along.
“How come nobody has said, 'we got this wrong and we apologize?'” Drake said. “You harmed us for months based off a lie we said was a lie. And now the Department of Justice says it, and now it’s a fact?"
LMPD Chief Erika Shields said this investigation -- and disclosure of these new details -- is what the community is owed.
"I'm just very thankful a comprehensive investigation was done, and that the findings have been released," Shields said.
WHAS11 reached out to Jaynes' attorney Thomas Clay for comment, however he directed us to attorney and former federal prosecutor Mark Wohlander.
According to Clay, Wohlander will likely testify in the upcoming trials as an expert witness on search warrants in general.
"I think there are significant issues in this case," Wohlander said.
Wohlander, who's also a former FBI agent, believes the details made public have muddied the waters for a fair trial.
"Now if they want that information on the stand, or they want to give that information to the feds down the road, they could have filed that factual basis under seal," he said.
Goodlett herself is expected to testify when her former colleagues go to trial. However, University of Louisville Law Professor Sam Marcosson says since Goodlett has already pleaded guilty, there's no risk of prejudicing her defense.
Jaynes, along with the other three officers facing federal civil rights charges, have all pleaded not guilty.
The mayor and police chief are hosting a virtual forum at 2 p.m. on the mayor's Facebook page so people can talk about the ongoing public safety changes, including:
- making it an officer's duty to intervene if they see a fellow officer using excessive force
- banned no-knock warrants with Breonna's Law
- established the Civilian Review Board
- the clergy de-escalation team designed to respond to traumatic scenes