Retrial scheduled in former Ohio deputy’s murder case

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The retrial of a former Ohio sheriff’s deputy who was charged with murder in the killing of a 23-year-old Black man is scheduled for this fall.

The Oct. 31 trial date for Jason Meade, who is white, was confirmed during a status conference held Monday by Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge David Young. Casey Goodson Jr. was among several Black people killed by white Ohio law enforcement over the last decade — deaths that have all sparked national outrage and cries for police reform.

He also oversaw Meade’s first trial earlier this year, where a jury couldn’t agree on a verdict and Young declared a mistrial in February, ending tumultuous proceedings that saw four jurors dismissed.

Special prosecutors Tim Merkle and Gary Shroyer, along with Montgomery County Assistant Prosecutor Josh Shaw — who were named to handle the case — issued a statement days later saying “it is in the best interest of all involved and the community” to move forward with another trial.

Meade was charged with murder and reckless homicide in the December 2020 killing of Goodson in Columbus. Meade has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers have said they were not surprised by the prosecution’s decision to seek another trial, which they said was due to political pressure from local elected officials.

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Meade shot Goodson six times, including five times in the back, as Goodson tried to enter his grandmother’s home. Meade testified that Goodson waved a gun at him as the two drove past each other so he pursued Goodson because he said 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, a handgun with an extended magazine, was found on his grandmother’s kitchen floor with the safety mechanism engaged.

Meade was not wearing a body camera so there isn’t footage of the shooting, and prosecutors repeatedly asserted during the first trial that Meade is the only person who testified Goodson was holding a gun.