COLUMBUS, Ohio — Former Franklin County Sheriff's deputy Jason Meade took the stand in a trial for the murder of 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. after five days of testimony from key witnesses.
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.
When Meade took the stand Tuesday afternoon, he was first asked about his duties as a deputy and what equipment, including firearms, he used in his 17 years with the sheriff's office. Meade, who was also a deputized member of the US Marshals office, provided the court with details on what operations he helped carry out.
When asked about the day of the deadly shooting in 2020, Meade said he aired over his radio that someone drove by and waved a gun at him. Meade said he made a U-turn and pursued the suspect's vehicle because he "didn't know what his intentions were at the time."
In his testimony, Meade said he had to investigate.
“That's my job,” he told the court.
Meade said he aired over the radio that the suspect stopped. He said he noticed he was parked on the wrong side.
"I have no protection, I have no weapon. I know he has a gun," Meade said. " I pull over, I opened the storage and get my vest. I started buckling up."
Meade said when he saw him get out of his car, he had a plastic bag in one hand and a gun in the other. The suspect then saw him and took off, Meade said.
Meade told the court that he grabbed his rifle from the back seat of his truck and started shouting commands, but there was no response.
Meade said he yelled, “US Marshals, police, get on the ground. Show me your hands. Get on the ground. Drop the gun.”
He then started closing the distance and the suspect opened the door to a house.
“He’s an armed suspect and I don’t know where he is going and he waved a gun at me and now he’s going in a home," he testified. "My attempt was to get him to back at me."
Meade said he couldn’t see his hands.
"He turned and pointed his gun at me and I shot him."
Meade said he was 100% positive he saw the gun and that he didn’t have any other choice.
Other deputies then reportedly arrived after the shooting, and they started approaching the suspect who had dropped to the ground. Meade said the gun was under the suspect’s right arm.
When asked why he discharged his weapon on Dec. 4, 2020, Meade said, “Because he pointed his gun at me, and I thought I was going to die.”
In their opening statements during the first week of the trial, prosecutors said the gun was found in the kitchen with the safety on.
Special prosecutor Gary Shroyer emphasized numerous times last Wednesday that Goodson was holding a bag of sandwiches in one hand and his keys in the other at the time he was shot. He also had his Airpods in his ears, Shroyer said. Neither he nor Goodson’s family have ever disputed that Goodson could have been carrying a gun but note that he also had a license to carry a firearm.
Shroyer shared that Goodson also had a gun holster with no strap around his waist.
Shroyer argued to the court, “Casey did not pose a reasonable threat to him or anybody else at the moment when he pulled the trigger."