Kentucky
Kentucky judge dismisses core charges against two former officers connected to Breonna Taylor's death
A judge in Kentucky has dismissed core charges against two former Louisville police officials involved in the raid that ended in Breonna Taylor’s death.
Judge Charles R. Simpson III of western Kentucky’s U.S. District Court on Thursday said Taylor’s death was triggered by the actions of her boyfriend, who opened fire when police arrived outside her Louisville apartment March 13, 2020.
Regardless of whether former Louisville Police Detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany wrote and approved a falsified request for a warrant, it was boyfriend Kenneth Walker’s gunfire at what he believed were intruders that caused a deadly police response, Simpson said.
Taylor, 26, was killed by officers who returned fire.
The case was already being upheld by civil rights activists as an example of police allegedly disregarding the life and rights of a Black woman when George Floyd, a Black man, was murdered by officers in Minneapolis two months later, which gave Taylor’s death renewed attention.
A federal grand jury in 2022 returned indictments against Jaynes, 40, and Meany, 35, charging them with depriving Taylor of her constitutional right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures resulting in death.
The mechanism cited in the case was Jaynes’ draft of an allegedly false search warrant application, which Meany approved, that stated there was sufficient evidence tying Taylor’s residence to illicit drugs.
Jaynes was also charged with conspiracy to cover up the search warrant’s lack of a foundation by allegedly creating a supporting document after the fact and then lying to investigators; and Meany was charged with lying to federal investigators.
At the time charges were announced, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said the charges reflected the main reason the Justice Department exists — to protect Americans’ civil rights.
“Those violations resulted in Ms. Taylor’s death,” he said in a statement at the time. “Breonna Taylor should be alive today.”
In his ruling Thursday, Simpson cited a timeline that relies on what happened at Taylor’s residence after the ink on the warrant dried. Jaynes and Meany weren’t at the raid, and her death was more directly tied to Walker’s decision to open fire, the judge wrote.
“The Court finds that the warrantless entry was not the actual cause of Taylor’s death,” he wrote in his decision. “The Court also concludes that the Death-Results charge requires proof of proximate cause and that allegations in this case show that the warrantless entry was not the proximate cause of Taylor’s death and even if it were, K.W.’s decision to open fire is the legal cause of her death, it being a superseding cause.”
Simpson’s ruling effectively reduced the felony civil rights violation charges against Jaynes and Meany, which had carried a maximum sentence of life in prison, to misdemeanors
The charges related to covering up the allegedly false search warrant and lying to investigators will remain, according to the decision.
Attorneys for the former police officials and spokespeople for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NBC News.
The U.S. Justice Department said in an email to the Associated Press that it “is reviewing the judge’s decision and assessing next steps.”
In a statement to the AP, Taylor’s family said they will “continue to fight until we get full justice” for Taylor.
“Obviously we are devastated at the moment by the judge’s ruling with which we disagree and are just trying to process everything,” the statement said. It said prosecutors told the family they plan to appeal Simpson’s ruling.
The federal case also included charges against two other former Louisville police officials, Kelly Goodlett, who pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiring to falsify the warrant application; and Brett Hankison, charged with endangering the lives of Taylor, Walker and nearby neighbors with unconstitutionally excessive force when he opened fire during the raid.
Hankinson’s 2023 prosecution ended in mistrial when a jury deadlocked on the counts against him. Federal prosecutors said they plan to retry him beginning in October.
The Associated Press contributed.
GRAYSON, Ky. (WSAZ) – New information has been released in the search for a missing woman at Grayson Lake.
According to game wardens with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Marly Kinney, 19, of Ashland, was last seen at Grayson Lake on Wednesday afternoon.
They say search efforts are focused on the water at this time and include Kentucky State Police aerial support, drones, boats, and K9 assistance.
Crews suspend search for missing teen for the night
The search is now into its third day, with officials saying on and off rain has hindered their search and that a group of 50 volunteers are walking the banks of the lake to help in the search.
Search and rescue boats have been seen at the lake as well.
Officials say there are still many questions, including if Kinney is still alive and where exactly she went missing.
They also say they’ve been using a variety of equipment, including sonar and thermal detectors, as well as helicopters and underwater drones.
WSAZ received a statement from Kinney’s family Friday afternoon:
“We are very appreciative of the absolute surplus of support from law enforcement, search and rescue, 1st responders, and all of the community and its volunteers that are here with us and for us searching for Marly. We do not even know how to express our absolute gratitude to you all. We continue to have faith she will be found and brought back to us. We know we have the very best people doing all they can to bring her home.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
We are still working to get more information.
Previous coverage can be found here.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
13 things more likely to happen than winning the Powerball jackpot
Hoping to win the Powerball jackpot? Here are 13 things more likely to happen than becoming an instant millionaire.
The Kentucky Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Thursday, June 25, 2026 winning numbers for each game.
Cash Ball
02-08-24-32, Cash Ball: 09
Check Cash Ball payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
Evening: 6-3-0
Midday: 9-6-0
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Evening: 5-7-6-0
Midday: 5-2-6-6
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
03-13-14-34-45, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Courier Journal digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.
On Thursday, Kentucky’s home and away SEC opponents for the 2026-27 season were revealed and on top of learning the three opponents who they will play twice, there are some very intriguing matchups. In conference play, Kentucky will face six teams who are among the top 25 in many preseason rankings.
In SEC play, Kentucky will play Tennessee, Vandy and Ole Miss all both home and away. The home matchups include Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vandy. As for the road tilts, the Wildcats will face Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Vandy. Let’s take a look at some interesting developments from the schedule release.
John Calipari returns to Rupp Arena (again)
In Calipari’s first year with Arkansas, he got the best of Kentucky when he came into Rupp Arena and left with a 10-point victory, a game where you could really feel the tension all game long in the building from Kentucky fans, which translated onto the court with the players. Last season, it was Kentucky who shocked everyone when they stole one on the road against a top 20 Arkansas team after a rough up-and-down season up to that point. Now, the two will face off again as Kentucky will look to get the win in Rupp and make sure Calipari doesn’t get two in a row in the building. It’ll be another highly-anticipated showdown.
Kentucky hits the road at Texas
This is shaping up to be a major challenge for Kentucky next season and may even end up being one of the biggest games of the season. Texas is seen by many as a clear top 10 team, with some even having them within the top five and when you combine that with the fact that the game is on the road, the Wildcats will have their hands full. The Wildcats fell to the longhorns in the 2024-25 season, and it’ll be a much stiffer challenge this time.
Which game could be a trap?
We don’t have the game-by-game dates yet, so it’s hard to say with a lot of confidence, but opponent-wise, Georgia could really give Kentucky fits. In Pope’s first year, his team struggled handling the physicality of the Bulldogs and now, they’ve retained one of their best guards for another year and have added physicality through the portal. Mike White’s teams love to make opponents uncomfortable and they could do that once again down in Athens. Another sneaky team to watch is Oklahoma, who will have very good guard play. Kentucky will face both teams on the road.
Overall, it’s a pretty fair SEC schedule for a Kentucky team who has the capability of a return to being atop the conference once again. Mark Pope has such a system-fit squad and he can do some damage in the SEC.
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