Former Detective Joshua Jaynes, 40, Detective Kelly Goodlett and Sgt. Kyle Meany, 35, is accused of filing a false affidavit to search Taylor’s home before the Louisville Metropolitan Police raid and then cooperating to create a “false cover story in an effort to escape responsibility for their roles in preparing the warrant affidavit that contained false information,” according to court documents. Former detective Brett Hankison allegedly “deliberately used unconstitutional excessive force … when he fired his service weapon into Taylor’s apartment through a covered window and a covered glass door.” He is accused of depriving Taylor and a guest at her home “of their constitutional rights by shooting through a bedroom window that was covered by blinds and a blackout curtain,” the US Department of Justice said. The 46-year-old also faces charges of depriving three of Taylor’s neighbors of their constitutional rights because, according to the indictment, the bullets he fired went through a wall at Taylor’s home and into an adjacent apartment. Jaynes and Meany are accused of willfully depriving Taylor of her constitutional rights by drafting and approving a false affidavit to obtain a search warrant, knowing that “the affidavit contained false and misleading statements, omitted material facts, was based on stale information, and was not supported by probable cause,” the DOJ statement said. Both men “knew that the execution of the search warrant would be conducted by armed LMPD officers and could create a dangerous situation for both those officers and anyone who happened to be in Taylor’s home,” it said. Goodlett conspired with Jaynes and Meany to “falsify the search warrant for Taylor’s home and cover up their actions thereafter,” the statement said. Janes and another detective tried to cover their actions by writing a fake investigative letter and making false statements to investigators, according to the statement. Jaynes falsified a report in hopes of obstructing a criminal investigation into Taylor’s death. Minnie also made false statements, the statement said. Goodlett and Janes met in a garage weeks after the botched raid and conspired to pass false information to investigators, the attorney general alleged. “We argue that Ms. Taylor’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated when defendants Joshua Janes, Kyle Meaney and Kelly Goodlett sought a warrant to search Ms. Taylor’s home knowing that the officers did not have probable cause to search,” Garland said. The affidavit falsely claimed that officers had verified that the target of their drug-trafficking investigation had received packages at Taylor’s address, but Janes and Goodlett knew that was not true, Garland said. Janes, essentially emerging from a detention center wearing shorts and a polo shirt, pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors are not asking that he be held in custody pending trial, but they are asking that he be barred from contacting any witnesses or defendants in the case. Hankison, who fired 10 shots at Taylor’s home and was acquitted of state reckless endangerment charges earlier this year, was charged with two federal counts of deprivation of rights under the law. Hankison’s attorney declined to comment. Only Hankison was charged at the state level. The officers who executed the search warrant were not involved in drafting the warrant and did not know it contained false information, the attorney general said. “We share but cannot fully imagine the grief felt by Breonna Taylor’s loved ones and all those affected by the events of March 13, 2020,” Garland said. “Breonna Taylor should be alive today.”
Prosecutor: “A huge step towards justice”
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Taylor’s family, applauded the charges, as well as the “tough fight” by Taylor’s family, lawyers, advocates and community members. “Today was a huge step toward justice. We are grateful for the diligence and dedication of the FBI and DOJ as they investigated what led to Breonna’s murder and what happened next. The justice Breonna received today would not have been possible without the efforts by Attorney General Merrick Garland or Assistant AG for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke,” Crump said in a statement. “We hope this announcement of the guilty plea sends a message to all the other officers involved that it is time to stop hiding and accept responsibility for their roles in causing the death of an innocent, beautiful young black woman.” Clarke said in a statement: “Since our nation’s founding, the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution has guaranteed that all people have the right to be safe in their own homes, free from false warrants, warrantless searches, and the use of unreasonable and excessive police force. These indictments reflect the Department of Justice’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of the criminal justice system and protecting the constitutional rights of every American.” In January 2021, LMPD fired Jaynes and his colleague Myles Cosgrove. Cosgrove was fired for using deadly force when he fired 16 rounds into Taylor’s home and failed to activate his body camera, according to a copy of his termination letter. Jaynes was fired for “failing to complete the Search Warrant Operational Plan form” and being untruthful about verifying that Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover, was receiving packages at Taylor’s home, the termination letter said. After his dismissal, Janes’ attorney, Thomas Clay, said the move was not unexpected and vowed to fight for his client’s reinstatement. “Our position is that he did nothing wrong in any of the activities related to this search,” Clay told CNN in January 2021. Cosgrove fired the shot that killed Taylor, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said, adding that the shooting was justified because Taylor’s friend fired at the officers first. Kenneth Walker II, Taylor’s friend, has repeatedly said he thought the officers were intruders and fired one shot when they broke down the door. Crump adviser Lonita Baker took aim at Cameron after Garland’s announcement Thursday, saying the attorney general has “no right to hold political office” representing Kentucky. “The federal government had the guts to do what Daniel Cameron didn’t,” he said. A review board upheld Cosgrove’s termination last year, and Jaynes lost a similar appeal before the board in June, according to CNN affiliate WDRB. Louisville’s police union said at the time that the shooting was “unjustified.” “There is certainly no evidence in this case that LMPD policies and procedures were violated to the extent that warranted termination,” the River City Fraternal Order said in a statement. “Interim Chief (Yvette) Gentry not only made the wrong decision, but also sent an ominous message to every sworn officer in the Louisville Metro Police Department.” Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician, was shot and killed in her apartment during a botched forced-entry raid in the early morning hours of March 13, 2020. Her death, along with that of other black people at the hands of law enforcement of the law — including George Floyd in Minnesota and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia — sparked a summer of protests calling for police reform. No officers involved in the raid have previously been charged with Taylor’s actual murder. Prosecutors charged only Hankison in connection with the shooting. LMPD fired Hankison in June 2020, and in September 2020, a grand jury indicted Hankison on three felony counts of wanton endangerment for blindly firing 10 shots into Taylor’s home. A jury acquitted Hankison of all charges in March. CNN’s Amir Vera and Michelle Watson contributed to this report.
