Joshua Jaynes: Second Louisville Police Officer Involved In Breonna Taylor Investigation Will Be Fired

0
995

A second officer in the Breonna Taylor case is expected to be fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department, WAVE 3 News reported.

Det. Joshua Jaynes learned of the department’s intention to terminate him the evening of Tuesday, December 29, 2020, when he was served with a notice, sources confirmed.

“Please be advised of my present intention to terminate your employment,” LMPD Interim Chief Yvette Gentry began her two-page letter to Jaynes on Tuesday.

Gentry also wrote that Jaynes will have a chance to defend himself at a pre-termination hearing with her Thursday, Dec. 31.

Jaynes has been under investigation related to the warrant that allowed the raid to occur at Taylor’s home in March. Taylor, 26, was shot multiple times and bled to death in the hallway of her apartment.

At issue is a statement in the warrant affidavit in which Jaynes said he verified with the U.S. Postal Inspector that Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, convicted drug trafficker Jamarcus Glover, was receiving packages at Taylor’s apartment. Nine months later, there are still conflicting reports over what the U.S. Postal Inspector told investigators about those packages.

Jaynes’ attorney, Thomas Clay, said surveillance pictures of Glover, obtained before the affidavit was written by Jaynes, shows Glover picking up what appears to be a USPS package at Taylor’s home. Clay said the pictures prove Jaynes did not lie to obtain the warrant, adding that there was enough probable cause to search Taylor’s apartment without that statement.

LMPD Det. Myles Cosgrove, Sgt. Jon Mattingly and former Det. Brett Hankison were the officers who fired shots during the Taylor raid. Jaynes had requested the search warrant that Judge Mary Shaw signed the day before.

“Detective Jaynes lied when he swore ‘verified through a US Postal Inspector,’” Gentry wrote. “Detective Jaynes did not have contact with a US Postal Inspector, he received the information from Sergeant Mattingly, who got it from a Shively Police Officer. Detective Jaynes also lied when he swore a US Postal Inspector advised ‘that Jamarcus Glover has been receiving packages at 3003 Springfield Drive #4.’”

Cosgrove, Mattingly and Jaynes remained employed by LMPD as the internal investigations continued by the department’s Professional Standards Unit. That unit only investigates potential policy violations, not criminal matters. None of those officers has been charged with any crime. Hankison was fired for “blindly” firing 10 shots into Taylor’s neighbors’ apartments, according to his termination letter. He was the only one charged in relation to the raid when Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced in September that Hankison faces three counts of wanton endangerment. He has pleaded not guilty.

Multiple sources told WAVE 3 News that Gentry has been intimately involved in the PSU investigation. Those sources also said a new, full-time chief is expected to be announced within the next couple of weeks.