COLUMBUS, Ohio — An attorney for the former Franklin County Sheriff's deputy charged with murder says that their request to push back the start date of his trial has been granted.
Jason Meade’s trial has been rescheduled for February, his attorney Mark Collins shared Monday. The request was made due to an overlap with another former law enforcement officer’s trial.
A Franklin County Court of Common Pleas judge declared a mistrial in Meade’s February trial after the jury could not come to a decision. Meade, who was charged with two counts of murder and one count of reckless homicide in the 2020 death of Casey Goodson Jr., was scheduled to begin his new trial on Oct. 31.
In May, special prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss one of the two murder charges against him. Prosecutors are seeking to dismiss the murder charge that accuses Meade of purposely causing Goodson’s death, according to court records.
Sean Walton, the attorney representing Goodson’s family in the case, released a statement on their behalf. The family said that they were aware of the motion and supported the decision.
In Meade's motion filed nearly two weeks ago, his attorneys requested the October trial date be pushed back due to former Columbus Division of Police officer Adam Coy's trial that is scheduled to begin Oct. 21. The judge has blocked off at least two weeks for Coy's trial.
Collins and attorney Kaitlyn Stephens represent both Meade and Coy.
What happened in Meade's first trial?
Meade testified that Goodson waved a gun at him as the two drove past each other, so he pursued Goodson because he feared for his life and the lives of others. He said he eventually shot Goodson in the doorway of his grandmother’s home because the young man turned toward him with a gun.
Goodson’s family and prosecutors have said he was holding a sandwich bag in one hand and his keys in the other when he was fatally shot. They do not dispute that Goodson may have been carrying a gun and note he had a license to carry a firearm.
Goodson’s weapon was found on his grandmother’s kitchen floor with the safety mechanism engaged.
There is no body camera video of the shooting, and prosecutors repeatedly asserted that Meade is the only person who testified Goodson was holding a gun. Meade was not wearing a body camera.
During closing arguments, prosecutors said Meade's claims about Goodson posing a threat were simply not credible.
Defense lawyers insisted that the evidence in the case was consistent with Meade's testimony.
Adam Coy case
Coy fatally shot Andre' Hill on Dec. 22, 2020, as Hill emerged from a garage on Oberlin Drive holding a cellphone. Coy and another officer were responding to a non-emergency call on the report of a suspicious vehicle on Oberlin Drive.
Though neither officer turned on their body-worn cameras, a 60-second rollback with no audio captured Coy approaching the open garage with Hill inside. Authorities later said Hill was at the home visiting a friend.
Hill appeared from around a vehicle with the cellphone in his left hand. His right hand was not visible. Seconds later, Coy removed his gun and fired it at Hill.
Coy was fired on Dec. 28, 2020, and later charged with murder, reckless homicide and felonious assault. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He was initially charged with dereliction of duty for not activating his body camera, but those charges were dropped.
In April 2023, a judge granted a request by Coy's defense to postpone the trial indefinitely so the former officer could receive cancer treatment. In December 2023, a judge set Coy's Oct. 21, 2024 trial date.