COLUMBUS, Ohio — Former Franklin County sheriff’s deputy Jason Meade charged in the shooting death of Casey Goodson Jr. asked Friday to move the criminal case into federal court.
Attorneys for Meade argue that as a member of a U.S. Marshals Service taskforce, Meade was operating as a federal agent at the time of the December 2020 shooting of Goodson.
RELATED: Former Franklin County Sheriff's deputy charged with murder for fatal shooting of Casey Goodson Jr.
Meade, a 17-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, was finishing up an unsuccessful search for a fugitive with the U.S. Marshals Office fugitive task force. Goodson was not the subject of the fugitive search.
U.S. Marshal Peter Tobin initially said Meade confronted Goodson after he drove by and waved a gun at the deputy. He later withdrew those comments saying they’d been based on “insufficient information.”
Tobin also said Meade was “not performing a mission” for the marshals at the time of the shooting.
Meade confronted Goodson outside of his vehicle in front of his grandmother's home. A witness said Meade told Goodson to drop his gun. When he didn't, Meade shot him.
Relatives say Goodson was carrying a bag of sandwiches while opening the door to his grandmother’s house at the time he was shot.
He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Meade also pleaded not guilty in state court Friday to charges of murder and reckless homicide. A magistrate set a $250,000 bond for the now-retired sheriff's deputy.
A lawyer for Goodson's family criticized the bond as too low given the circumstances.