Prosecutors offered a plea bargain to suspected drug dealer Jamarcus Glover last month, a deal that could have affected his sentence. But the timing of this document, as well as the release of a version that included Breonna Taylor’s name among Glover’s co-defendants, is raising questions.
WDRB reported Monday that Glover turned down a July 13 offer that included Taylor’s name among the co-defendants listed as members of an “organized crime syndicate.” Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Wine responded Monday afternoon in a statement describing the July 13 document as a “draft” that was never presented to a grand jury.
“Our office has not and does not posthumously indict any person who is deceased,” Wine said in the statement.
Wine said a final plea sheet without Taylor’s name was sent to Glover’s defense attorney on July 21, but was withdrawn after Glover became a fugitive in late July. That deal would have had Glover plead guilty to nearly two dozen charges including criminal syndication and trafficking in a controlled substance for cocaine, methamphetamines, marijuana and opiates. It would have had him serve the sentences concurrently, for 10 years without probation.
Sam Aguiar, an attorney for Taylor’s family, initially called the inclusion of Taylor in the alleged plea deal “bullshit” in a Facebook post.
"Breonna Taylor is not a 'co-defendant' in a criminal case. She's dead," Aguiar wrote. "Way to try and attack a woman when she's not even here to defend herself."
After Wine’s statement, he called into question the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s timeline, in a text message to WFPL.
“Tom Wine’s press release creates even more questions. He attaches a new plea deal which he says was sent on July 21. But that same plea agreement he attached says it would be withdrawn if not accepted PRIOR to July 21. The reality is that they offered a deal on July 13 naming Breonna Taylor as a co-Defendant,” Aguiar wrote in the text. “Why would they put her name on there? Well that’s up to them to explain. It’s outrageous.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jeff Cooke said in an email in response to questions regarding the timeline, “They had court scheduled that day and expected the plea to be entered that day if accepted.”
He said the office makes offers to settle without trial in almost every case, sometimes verbally and sometimes in writing. Counter-offers from the defense and revised offers from the prosecution are typical.
Taylor And Glover's Relationship
Police killed Taylor in her home in the early hours of March 13 while they were serving a warrant related to a broader narcotics investigation focused on Glover, her ex-boyfriend. Glover told the Courier Journal last week that Taylor was not involved in illegal drug trafficking.
Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who was with her that night, fired at officers who broke down the door during the raid. His shot struck Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the leg. Mattingly later underwent surgery and recovered. Walker said after the incident he believed the plain-clothes police to be intruders. Winesubsequently dropped charges of first degree assault and attempt to murder a police officer against Walker.
Police found neither drugs nor money in Taylor's South End home, according to an inventory log. They apprehended Glover in a sweep of houses on Elliott Avenue in the Russell neighborhood, about 10 miles away.
In his statement, Wine said his office had been aware of phone calls between Glover and Taylor. The calls and a police report were detailed in a Courier Journal report last week.
“We were aware of the information in the warrants as well as the jail phone calls where Mr. Glover implicated Ms. Taylor in his criminal activity. When I was advised of the discussions, out of respect for Ms. Taylor, I directed that Ms. Breonna Taylor’s name be removed,” Wine said.
Scott Barton, Glover's defense attorney, also said there was talk of a plea bargain earlier this summer, but prosecutors took the deal off the table when his client became a fugitive after failing to post a $50,000 bond in July. Glover was arrested late last week related to that offense.
Barton could not recall the exact date of the latest plea offer, but said not much had happened on that front since Glover went on the run.
In the hours since news about the plea bargain including Taylor’s name broke, some speculated on social media that Glover did not take the deal because he did not want to incriminate Taylor.
Asked if that was the case, Barton said: "That I can't answer. You'd have to talk to [Glover]."
Glover has been booked in the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections since last week. The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s July offer came four months after Taylor was killed in her home during an after-midnight raid. It also came two months after the case gained national attention, sparking months of nightly protests in Louisville and drawing scrutiny to the law enforcement actions that led to Taylor's death.
