The murder trial for a former Ohio deputy accused of murdering Casey Goodson Jr. in 2020 just got underway last week.
Jason Meade is on trial for murder and reckless homicide after fatally shooting 23-year-old Goodson in the back at Goodson’s grandmother’s home.
The shooting occurred after a manhunt for a wanted fugitive on Dec. 4, 2020, in the Columbus area. Meade, a former deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, was working alongside U.S. Marshals in the search.
After authorities wrapped up their search efforts for the day with no arrests, Meade claims he saw Goodson waving a gun erratically from inside his car, according to a 2021 statement from Meade’s lawyers. So, he started tracking him.
Meade followed Goodson to his grandmother’s home and claimed to see him holding a gun in his right hand and a plastic bag in his left as he got out of his car and approached the house. He yelled at Goodson several times to show his hands, but Goodson ignored the commands, the statement said. When Goodson did finally turn to face the officer, Meade’s lawyers say he lifted the gun in his hand, so Meade opened fire.
Goodson died after being shot six times. Five of those shots were to his back.
Police did report they discovered a gun at the scene of the shooting, but prosecutors just revealed that that gun was found on the kitchen floor with the safety on not far from where Goodson was shot. Goodson’s relatives said Goodson was opening the door to his grandmother’s home before he was gunned down.
Prosecutors also disputed Meade’s account of what Goodson was holding in his hands. They say he was holding his keys in one hand and a bag of sandwiches in the other. He also had AirPods in his ears, something his family had previously reported.
Goodson did have a license to carry a firearm and was wearing a holster with no strap around his waist when he was shot. Neither his family nor prosecutors ever contested that Goodson could have been carrying a weapon on his person.
However, whether Goodson brandished that weapon and pointed it at Meade is just one main point of argument between prosecutors and Meade’s attorneys, and since Franklin County task force officers are not issued body camera equipment, there is no video evidence to corroborate Meade’s claims.
The Murder Case Against Jason Meade
So jury members will ultimately have to decide which account they believe — the prosecution’s or the defense’s.
Goodson was also not the fugitive U.S. Marshals were looking for. His family said he drove to his grandmother’s house after a dentist appointment that day and picked up sandwiches on the way home.
Prosecutors also claim there are sound indications that Meade shot Goodson with the intent to cause his death since Meade aimed at Goodson’s “vital organs” before shooting him with an assault-style rifle.
“Casey did not pose a reasonable threat to him or anybody else at the moment when he pulled the trigger,” prosecutor Gary Shroyer said.
Meade’s legal team, on the other hand, is sticking by their self-defense argument as laid out in their 2021 statement.
In her opening arguments, Meade’s attorney, Kaitlyn Stephens, said Goodson didn’t listen to Meade’s warnings to drop his weapon, so Meade ultimately felt justified in using deadly force to protect his safety and the safety of others inside the home.
Meade retired from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in June 2021 after 17 years on the force. A grand jury indicted him in December of that year on two counts of murder and one count of reckless homicide for Goodson’s death. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Goodson’s family filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the sheriff’s office for failing to properly train deputies on firing guns at civilians, “particularly at African Americans.”
