Death of Casey Goodson Jr.: Defense expected to plead its case in murder trial of Jason Meade

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The defense will soon call up its own witnesses in the murder trial of a former deputy who killed a Black man outside his grandmother’s house in 2020.

Jason Meade, a former Franklin County sheriff’s deputy, is on trial for the death of 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. Meade’s attorneys have asserted that Meade, fresh off an assignment with the U.S. Marshals Service, trailed Goodson after seeing him wave a gun while driving. He shot Goodson after he pointed his gun at Meade, his attorneys have claimed.

Goodson’s family, and the state, have argued that Goodson was not holding his gun, for which he had a concealed carry permit. He could not have been a threat, they've said, because his back was toward Meade when Meade shot him six times.

Meade faces two counts of murder and one count of reckless homicide. The prosecution is expected to rest its case Tuesday morning after calling more than a dozen witnesses to the stand. 

It is not yet clear whether Meade will testify in his own defense.

What happened earlier in the trial? Who will I see in the courtroom?

On Monday, jurors heard from officers and a paramedic who responded to the shooting. They reviewed body camera footage that showed Meade, on Goodson’s grandmother’s front porch, saying he saw Goodson with a gun.

A detective who analyzed Goodson's phone and Google account testified that Goodson was listening to music with AirPods up until about 12:20 p.m. -- likely the time medics removed the AirPods from Goodson's ears.

Across multiple witnesses, both the prosecution and defense focused on Goodson’s holster, a piece of cloth with a metal clip. One detective testified that, in his experience using a cloth holster while undercover, his gun has never fallen out. The lead detective in the case, meanwhile, noted that he would expect a gun to fall out of a cloth holster while a person was running – or if they fell.

Last week, jurors first heard from Goodson's grandmother, uncle and sister, who were all in the house when Goodson was shot at the side door. Technical experts involved in the investigation, including an FBI firearms expert and the medical examiner who performed Goodson's autopsy, also testified.

Meade spent his entire law enforcement career at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, first becoming a deputy in 2007. He left the force in July 2021 on disability retirement, five months before he was charged in Goodson’s death. He had been on paid leave since shooting Goodson.

The former Marine had been on the sheriff’s office SWAT team since 2014, according to his personnel file. He was previously a pastor at Rosedale Freewill Baptist Church in Irwin.

Representing Meade are three seasoned criminal defense attorneys: Mark Collins, Kaitlyn Stephens and Steven Nolder. Collins and Stephens have represented a swathe of law enforcement officials under prosecutorial scrutiny for their use of force, including former Columbus police vice officer Andrew Mitchell, who killed Donna Castleberry in 2018.

Presenting the state’s case are special prosecutors Gary Shroyer, Tim Merkle and Joshua Shaw, tapped by the Franklin County prosecutor’s office since it typically represents the sheriff’s office. Shroyer and Merkle have ample experience investigating officers who use deadly force — most recently, the duo is handling the murder case against former Columbus police officer Ricky Anderson, who killed Donovan Lewis in his bed in the Hilltop in August 2022.