Retired county deputy Jason Meade going on trial nearly three years after fatal shooting

Former Franklin County Sheriff's Office SWAT deputy Jason Meade is scheduled to go on trial in October, nearly three years after the fatal shooting of Casey Goodson Jr. in December 2020.

Meade, whose legal first name is Michael but who goes by Jason, is facing charges of murder and reckless homicide for shooting 23-year-old Goodson on Dec. 4, 2020 as Goodson was entering his grandmother's Northland home. Meade shot Goodson six times, five in the back, an autopsy showed.

A scheduling conference was held Wednesday morning with attorneys and Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David C. Young. Afterward, Meade's defense attorney, Mark Collins, told The Dispatch that Meade's trial has been rescheduled for Oct. 30. Jurors will come in the Friday before that on Oct. 27, Collins said.

When Meade was in court for a hearing in February, Tamala Payne, Goodson’s mother, told The Dispatch that it's been frustrating how long this case has taken to get to trial.

Past reporting:Judge denies change of venue for murder trial of former Franklin County deputy Jason Meade

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The 2020 shooting

Meade has said, through Collins, that he saw Goodson point a firearm at another driver and Meade's unmarked vehicle. So Meade, who was working as part of a U.S. Marshal's task force that failed to find a suspect in an unrelated matter, followed Goodson to his grandmother's home.

According to Collins, Meade shouted repeatedly for Goodson to show his hands and drop a handgun, but Goodson instead pointed it at Meade. Goodson's family has said Goodson was legally licensed to conceal carry the handgun but was holding Subway sandwiches and keys in his hands — not the gun — and was wearing earbuds when he was shot.

A firearm was recovered at the scene, according to police. But information about where that firearm was found has not been released.

Unlike many other shootings by law enforcement officers in recent years, no footage of the incident is available because the Franklin County Sheriff's Office did not have body cameras at the time. Sheriff Dallas Baldwin's office only began phasing in body cameras last year, and after much public criticism.

Meade, a 17-year veteran of the Sheriff's Office, was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting. He took disability retirement in July 2021 before he was indicted by a Franklin County grand jury.

The Goodson family's federal civil rights lawsuit against Meade and the county will only go forward after the criminal case is resolved.

Related:Deputy who killed Casey Goodson has used faith to justify use of force before

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites