COLUMBUS, Ohio — The murder case of a former Franklin County Sheriff’s Office deputy who shot Casey Goodson Jr. will stay in Ohio, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
Federal Judge Edmund Sargus Jr. of the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, determined Meade was not acting in accordance of his role as a deputized U.S. marshal. Therefore, Meade will be tried in Ohio.
On Dec. 4, 2020, former deputy Jason Meade, a 17-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, was finishing up an unsuccessful search for a fugitive as part of his work for a U.S. Marshals Office fugitive task force. Meade shot and killed Goodson, 23, who wasn’t related to the task force’s mission.
Meade pleaded not guilty to murder and reckless homicide charges.
Meade was a full-time sheriff’s deputy at the time of the shooting; he has since retired on disability. His attorneys argue he was a federal officer for all intents and purposes, and want his case moved to federal court. Prosecutors trying him for murder say the shooting had nothing to do with his work as a temporary federal officer.
Meade’s lawyers says the deputy fired his weapon when Goodson pointed a gun at him. Goodson’s family has never denied that Goodson might have had a gun on him but has also noted he had a license to carry a gun.
Goodson’s family says he was opening the door to his grandmother’s house holding a bag of sandwiches at the time he was shot. Investigators said a gun was recovered from the scene but have not provided further details.
Meade said in a statement taken shortly after the shooting that he yelled, “U.S. Marshals! It’s the police!” and “Show me your hands!” Meade retired from the sheriff’s department last year on disability.
In the days after Goodson’s death, racial injustice protesters took to the streets of Ohio’s capital. A federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Goodson’s family alleges the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office failed to investigate claims of unreasonable force against Black residents and failed to properly train deputies on firing guns at civilians, “particularly at African Americans.”
Meade’s salary was still paid by the county, and he was authorized only to “seek and execute arrest and search warrants” under his marshals’ assignment, according to court documents and testimony at the Feb. 11 hearing.
Cases of fugitives pursued by the task force must be issued a federal identification number and the warrant verified before a task force member can take action, Charles Sanso, a U.S. marshal who oversees four such operations in Ohio, testified Feb. 11. Neither situation existed with Goodson, he said.
After reviewing Meade’s actions the day of the shooting, “We concluded that this was not a marshal service shooting,” said Sanso, a witness called by prosecutors.
When Meade saw Goodson with the gun, an act that amounted to a state crime, “he was not exercising federal authority,” Elizabeth Ellis, a special Franklin County prosecutor, told the judge Feb. 11.
But Ryan Rosser, a current member of the Columbus fugitive task force, testified on behalf of Meade that he couldn’t equivocally say whether Meade was acting as a sheriff’s deputy that day.
Meade’s attorneys hope to have him covered by immunity provided to federal officers, meaning his case could not be tried in a state court and the charges would have to be dismissed.
Meade has pleaded not guilty and is free on $250,000 bond.
The lawsuit filed by Goodson’s family against Meade and the sheriff’s office also claims that Meade received hundreds of hours of firearms and SWAT training but little on violence de-escalation techniques.
