A federal judge is expected to rule in about a week on where former Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy Jason Meade should be tried for the fatal shooting of Casey Goodson Jr. in December 2020.
Defense attorneys for Jason Meade argued at a hearing Friday in U.S. District Court in Columbus that the case against him for killing 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. on Dec. 4, 2020, should be moved to federal court rather than be tried in Franklin County.
Meade, a former SWAT deputy, was indicted in December by a Franklin County grand jury on charges of murder and reckless homicide in Goodson’s death.
Defense attorney Mark Collins has said Meade had been on an unrelated, unsuccessful search for a wanted suspect as a member of the U.S. Marshal’s Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST).
Through Collins, Meade has said that Goodson had pointed a firearm at another vehicle, causing Meade to pursue him a short distance away to the latter’s residence on the 3900 block of Estates Place in Columbus’ Northeast Side and ordered him to drop his gun.
A person nearby heard Meade issue commands to Goodson, but could not see Meade or Goodson when Meade opened fire. An autopsy revealed Goodson was shot six times, five of them in the back.
Meade said Goodson pointed his gun at the deputy before Meade opened fire, Collins said. A gun was recovered under Goodson at the scene, but precisely where has not been revealed by Columbus police investigating the shooting with help from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Goodson had a concealed carry permit and his family has said he was carrying a firearm while bringing sandwiches to his family after a dentist’s appointment when he was shot while putting his keys in a side kitchen door.
Meade’s defense team is arguing that he was acting in his capacity as a federal task force member and should have been charged in federal court, not Franklin County court. There is no federal charge for murder, but Meade could be charged with civil rights violations.
“We believe that it’s difficult for an agency to say, ‘OK, for this five minutes you’re a deputy task force member and the next minute you’re not.’ There is policy and procedure in place. If you’re acting under federal authority, the case should be held here,” said Collins, standing on the steps of the Joseph P. Kinneary U.S. Courthouse on Marconi Boulevard, Downtown.
During Friday’s hearing, Columbus police officer Ryan Rosser, who is also assigned to the SOFAST team, testified about what he witnessed while working alongside Meade on Dec. 4, 2020.
Rosser said the SOFAST team had been searching for someone else in the area and had “geared down,” meaning they had taken off their bulletproof vests following an unsuccessful search. Rosser testified that Meade said he had seen someone with a gun, the team put their vests back on and pursued a vehicle Meade pointed out to the Estates place location.
In his testimony, Rosser said he saw a man, later identified as Goodson, standing outside a vehicle and did not see anything in his hands. He also testified he heard Meade, who he estimated was 20 yards closer to Goodson, saying “Show me your hands.”
Much of the testimony on Friday centered on whether Meade was operating as a federal deputy U.S. Marshal or as a Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy at the time of the shooting.
