COLUMBUS, Ohio — The first week of the murder trial for former Franklin County sheriff's deputy Jason Meade has wrapped up. Meade is charged with fatally shooting 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. more than three years ago.
Meade pleaded not guilty in December 2021 to murder and reckless homicide charges for the shooting death of Goodson and is back in court for his trial after several delays.
Both the prosecution and the defense delivered opening statements on Wednesday. The court then heard witness testimonies on Thursday and Friday.
The prosecution called Goodson's sister, Janae Jones, and his grandmother, Sharon Payne, to the stand. On Friday, two officers in the Columbus Division of Police Crime Scene Unit were called to the stand as well as an FBI agent and a worker in the Franklin County Coroner’s Office.
The trial is set to resume on Monday at 9 a.m. and is expected to last at least another week.
LATEST UPDATES FROM COURT:
Feb. 2 — Witness testimony continued
Witnesses called to the stand Friday (as of 3:30 p.m.):
- John Standley, Sergeant with CPD's crime scene search unit
- FBI Agent Aimee Qulia
- Dr. Anne Shepler, Coroner's Office
- Sontino Williams, tech with the Columbus Division of Police Crime Scene Search Unit
Standley continued his testimony from the previous day. FBI Agent Aimee Qulia was then called to the stand to talk about bullet trajectory and testified for most of the morning. Qulia explained in detail about how the bullets went through the screen door into the home.
Shepler was called up to the stand to talk about the bullet wounds and the damage that each caused. Images of Goodson's autopsy were shown to the court and the coroner explained where he was shot.
Williams was then called to the front of the court to testify about the evidence shown and his training as a detective in the crime scene search unit.
Watch coverage from Day 3 of the trial
Feb. 1 — Witness testimony begins
Witnesses called to the stand Thursday:
- Sharon Payne, grandmother of Casey Goodson Jr.
- Janae Jones, sister
- Ernest Payne Jr., uncle
- Samuel Rippey, Columbus police officer
- John Standley, Sergeant with CPD's crime scene search unit
The prosecution first called Sharon Payne, the grandmother of Casey Goodson Jr., to the stand. She owned and lived at the home where the fatal shooting took place.
Payne was asked about Goodson's upbringing. She said she had a close relationship with her grandson, who she called, "CJ."
During her testimony, the 911 call she made moments after the shooting was played in court. Payne said in her testimony after hearing a loud noise she ran out to find Goodson lying on the kitchen floor.
On the 911 call, you can hear someone in the background asking everyone to get out of the house.
Officer Rippey was one of the first to respond to the scene and took over CPR compressions when he arrived.
Casey's uncle, Ernest Payne Jr., testified that he found airpods after the officers left. He also took pictures of a bag of Subway sandwiches on the floor that Goodson was allegedly holding at the time of the shooting.
Jurors were also shown pieces of evidence, including the screen door from Goodson's grandmother's house with bullet holes and Meade's gun that was used in the shooting.
Watch coverage from Day 2 of the trial
Jan. 31 — Opening statements delivered
Opening statements by both the prosecution and the defense were delivered in court Wednesday morning.
Prosecuting attorney Gary Shroyer called the shooting "unjustified" and said that evidence will show Meade acted with intent, knowingly and recklessly causing the death of Goodson.
The prosecution revealed that Goodson's gun was found on the kitchen floor of the home near where he fell after he was shot. Shroyer said the gun’s safety button was on and that Goodson had a soft-sided holster without a strap in the front of his pants.
Goodson, according to the prosecution, was only carrying keys and a bag of Subway sandwiches and his back was to Meade at the time of the shooting.
“Six shots in the back, all fired by the defendant into the back of Casey Goodson with no reasonable basis for the defendant to perceive a threat by Casey,” Shroyer said. “It's an unjustified shooting.”
In the defense’s opening statement, attorney Kaitlyn Stephens said Goodson waved a gun, ran and pointed his weapon in the direction of Meade.
The defense stated evidence throughout the trial will show that Meade was not reckless in the shooting. Stephens argued Meade is trained to shoot until the threat is over and that he shot to stop the threat of an attack before the threat “attacked him.”
The defense also said Meade's gun was set on automatic and that Meade pulled the trigger once, firing six shots at Goodson.
“He continues to yell, ‘show me your hands’ before the suspect makes entry into that home,” Stephens said. “My client thought it was all over. My client thought he was going to surrender. In that split second, the suspect turns towards the officer, looks in Jason's direction as he lifts his hands up leveling the barrel of the gun toward my client and in that split second Jason steps to the left and fires.”
Jurors visited the home of Goodson’s grandmother in the Linden neighborhood Wednesday afternoon to see the scene of the shooting. The purpose of the trip was to help the jury put into perspective the evidence that will be presented throughout the trial.
Attorneys on both sides were in attendance but were not allowed to intervene in any way.
The first witnesses in the case are expected to be called to the stand Thursday.
You can view the entire Jason Meade murder trial on 10TV+ , on 10TV's YouTube channel and in this story. The 10TV+ app is free to download on Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV.
Jan. 30 — Voir dire began on Tuesday as attorneys asked potential jurors questions, allowing attorneys from each side to remove up to four potential jurors. There are eight women and four men on the jury, plus four alternates.
Shooting death of Casey Goodson Jr.
On Dec. 4, 2020, Meade was wrapping up an unsuccessful search for a fugitive with the U.S. Marshals Office Fugitive Task Force when he fatally shot Goodson, who was not the subject of the search.
Court records show Meade confronted Goodson outside of his vehicle in front of his grandmother's home in the 3900 block of Estates Place.
Meade's attorneys argue Goodson waved a gun at the deputies, then Meade told Goodson to drop the weapon. Defense attorney Mark Collins has said in previous interviews that Goodson did not listen to those commands. Meade then fatally shot Goodson.
Relatives say Goodson was carrying a bag of sandwiches while opening the door to his grandmother’s house at the time he was shot.
At the time, the sheriff's office did not have body worn cameras. There is no video of the shooting.
Goodson's mother said he had a concealed carry permit and legally had a gun.
An autopsy report showed Goodson was shot five times in the back and once in the buttocks.
Delays in Jason Meade trial
The trial was supposed to start on Oct. 30.
“The prosecutors let us know that the delay was needed in order to prepare for trial,” said Sean Walton, the Goodson family attorney.
Meade's attorneys wanted the case to be tried in federal court as a step toward having the state charges dismissed because it was less likely Meade would be charged with killing Goodson under federal law. The judge ruled the case would stay in state court.
Additionally, on Feb 23, 2023, attorney Mark Collins, who is representing Meade, confirmed that a judge denied Meade's request to change the venue of his murder trial.
Who was Casey Goodson Jr.?
Goodson’s mother Tamala Payne said he was the best older brother to his nine brothers and sisters and his joy was infectious and filled the room.
“The kid had a whole life ahead of him, he had plans, he had dreams, he wanted to be a CCW instructor, he had his CDL license, he was working and saving, trying to save enough money to purchase his own truck,” Payne said.
In an interview back in December 2022, Bredlin Harper who is Goodson's brother, said he sacrificed everything for him.
“He wasn't just our brother, he wanted to be our dad! He fought for us when he was here, and now we have to fight for him."
In 2020, 10TV spoke with Malissa Thomas-St. Clair, who is the founder of Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children and was also Goodson's former sixth-grade math teacher.
“Casey as a sixth-grader was the most compassionate, loving, selfless student. He was helpful, he always wanted to do, he loved to be able to just put a smile on your face. He was light-hearted and funny,” St. Clair said.
Who is Jason Meade?
Meade, who has been out on bond, was a deputy with the sheriff's office for 17 years. He was placed on administrative leave after the shooting, and took disability retirement in July 2021, months before he was indicted.
Meade was also a deputized member of the US Marshals office, but a judge ruled he was not acting a federal agent at the time of the shooting.
According to Meade's personnel file from the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, he was one of seven deputies involved in a deadly shooting in Pike County in 2018. All deputies were cleared in that shooting.
In March 2019, he was given an oral reprimand for using his taser and not telling his supervisor.
He was also one of the deputies who climbed on the rooftop to arrest Monica Justice in July 2020. She was sentenced to 40-to-45 years in prison for a shooting that injured two Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies.