Ex-deputy Jason Meade guilty of reckless homicide in shooting of Casey Goodson Jr.

A former sheriff's deputy was found guilty of reckless homicide Thursday for shooting a Black man who was bringing sandwiches to his grandmother's house.

Jason Meade killed Casey Goodson Jr. in December 2020, sparking outrage in Ohio. Jurors at the trial said they could not agree on the murder charge, so Judge David Young declared a mistrial on that count.

Meade, who is white, shot the 23-year-old five times in the back and once in the side. He claimed the shooting was justified because he saw Goodson holding a gun and turning toward him in the doorway of the Columbus house. No one else testified to seeing Goodson with the gun he was licensed to carry, and no cameras recorded the incident.

This marked Meade's second murder trial after the first ended in a mistrial two years ago. He becomes the second white law enforcement officer convicted in the killing of a Black man in Ohio since George Floyd's 2020 death in Minnesota triggered national protests.

Tamala Payne, Goodson's mother, said the verdict brings her family closure and peace. She had previously told CBS News she believed her son was murdered in cold blood. "I'm happy, I'm sad and I'm everywhere," she told CBS affiliate WBNS. She added that having Meade convicted of something feels great.

Meade testified in the first trial that he pursued Goodson after the man waved a gun at him as their vehicles passed. Goodson's family and prosecutors said he held a bag of Subway sandwiches in one hand and keys in the other while listening to music through earbuds when killed.

Meade did not testify in the second trial.

Prosecutors argued evidence showed the gun was not in Goodson's hands but in a flimsy holder under his belt. They noted it was found under his body on the kitchen floor of his grandmother's house, safety mechanism still engaged, as Goodson lay mortally wounded.

Now 47, Meade retired from the Franklin County Sheriff's Department in 2021. He also serves as a Baptist pastor. His attorney pointed to Meade's oral and written accounts and called the shooting justified.

Ohio law defines murder as purposefully causing death, punishable by up to life in prison. Reckless homicide means acting recklessly to cause death, with a maximum five-year sentence.

Judge Young set sentencing for July 16.

Prosecutors expressed satisfaction with the reckless homicide conviction and have not decided on a third murder trial. Payne wants one. Sean Walton, attorney for the Payne family, told WBNS that nine jurors in the first trial and 10 in the second wanted to convict Meade of murder. "There's an overwhelming number of folks who hear this case and they understand that this was murder."

Defense attorneys Mark Collins and Kaitlyn Stephens did not speak to media after the verdict.

Brian Steel, president and chief executive of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9, said he respects the jury but is disappointed. He hopes prosecutors drop any murder retrial. "This was long six years drawn out. This is the second trial. I hope they're for the sake of not only the Meade family, the Goodson family and the community, I hope we don't try to do a third trial on this murder charge."

Christopher Corne, who drove nearby that day, testified for the prosecution in both trials. He said Goodson appeared to dance and sing in his truck shortly before the shooting and did not see a gun in his hand during the first trial.

Columbus police Officer Samuel Rippey testified in the second trial that he saw the gun, with an extended magazine, on the floor while giving Goodson emergency treatment.

Goodson's death fueled public outrage in Ohio amid rising demands for police reform after Floyd's killing by a white officer in Minneapolis. Banners reading "Justice for Casey Goodson Jr." and "Convict Murderer Meade" hung from Columbus highway overpasses until the judge ordered them removed during the trial.