Casey Goodson Shooting

January 2, 2025

Former Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy Jason Meade was convicted of reckless homicide in the 2020 shooting death of 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr., but the case remained unresolved on the murder charge after jurors deadlocked for a second time.

On December 4, 2020, Casey Goodson Jr. was returning to his grandmother’s home in Columbus, Ohio. His family and prosecutors said he was carrying a bag of Subway sandwiches and his keys, and that he was listening to music through earbuds when he was shot. Jason Meade, then a Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy, claimed Goodson had shown or pointed a gun after the two passed each other in vehicles and that Goodson later turned toward him with a gun near the doorway of the home.

What made the case especially troubling was the lack of video evidence. Meade was not wearing a body camera, and no camera captured the shooting. Prosecutors argued that Meade was the only person who claimed Goodson had a gun in his hands at the moment of the shooting. Goodson was licensed to carry a firearm, but prosecutors and Goodson’s family said he was not threatening Meade when he was shot.

Goodson was struck six times, including five times in the back and once in the side, as he was entering his grandmother’s home. A firearm was later found after the shooting, but prosecutors said the evidence showed it was not in Goodson’s hands when Meade fired. The case became one of the most closely watched police-shooting prosecutions in Ohio, in part because Goodson had not been the target of the fugitive operation Meade had been involved in that day.

Meade was indicted in 2021 on murder and reckless homicide charges. His first trial ended in a mistrial in 2024 after jurors could not reach a verdict. In May 2026, during his second trial, a jury found Meade guilty of reckless homicide but could not agree on the murder charge, causing the judge to declare another mistrial on that count.

As of the latest reported court developments, prosecutors were still deciding whether to try Meade a third time on the murder charge. A judge reinstated Meade’s bond while that decision remained pending, and a new judge was assigned after Judge David Young recused himself from any possible third trial.

Goodson’s family also pursued civil claims. In 2024, Franklin County approved a $7 million settlement connected to the federal civil rights lawsuit brought by the estate of Casey Goodson Jr. The county resolution stated that the settlement was not an admission of liability by Franklin County, the sheriff’s office, or Meade.

The reckless homicide conviction did not erase the central dispute that has surrounded this case from the beginning: Meade said he fired because he believed Goodson had a gun and posed a threat; Goodson’s family and prosecutors said Casey Goodson was entering his grandmother’s home with sandwiches and keys when a deputy shot him from behind.

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