Attorneys delivered opening statements Wednesday in the trial of Michael Jason Meade, the now-retired Franklin County Sheriff's Office SWAT deputy charged with murder after he shot and killed 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. in Dec. 2020.
Meade is white and Goodson was a Black man.
Meade's attorneys say he pursued Goodson after seeing him handling a gun in a vehicle, while the two were stopped at an intersection.
The prosecutors say Goodson was driving home from a dentist appointment and picking up sub sandwiches when Meade chased him down.
The defense and the prosecution outlined the cases they intend to present to the jury over the next few weeks before Judge David Young in Franklin County Common Pleas Court. The statements showed where each side differs on some key elements of the case, though they do agree on some facts. Goodson was wearing ear buds, he was carrying a bag of sub sandwiches as he walked into his home on Estates Place in North Linden and a gun was found with Goodson after he was shot six times by Meade.
Special prosecutor Gary Shroyer said Meade shot Goodson in the back through a storm door as he walked into his grandmother's house. Shroyer argued the shooting was not justifiable, because Goodson wasn't a threat to anyone. He claims Goodson was oblivious to Meade's commands.
"Casey did not pose a reasonable threat to the defendant or anyone else at the time he pulls his trigger. Because the evidence in our case shows Casey wasn't even facing him," Shroyer said.
Defense attorney Kaitlyn Stephens said Meade pursued Goodson because he thought he was a danger because of the weapon he saw. He said Goodson pointed the gun at him when they drove past each other and said that Goodson ran from him after after making eye contact with him. Meade fired the gun as Goodson walked into the house, after Goodson turned toward him and pointed his gun at him, making Meade fear for his life.
"It is every officer's worst nightmare to stare down the barrel of a gun. Both of them will tell you that leveling the gun in the direction of an officer is absolutely an immediate threat," Stephens said.
The defense is disputing whether or not all six shots were in Goodson's back.
Stephens said Meade pulled the trigger once while Goodson was turned toward him, but the other bullets struck Goodson because the rifle's rapid fire feature fires in six-round bursts.
Shroyer said all six shots were in Goodson's back and emphasized how Goodson fell, face forward with his palms down on the floor.
Each side says they have medical experts who can confirm which direction Goodson was facing when the first bullet hit him.
The attorneys are also offering differing perspectives on why Goodson's gun was lying next to him after he was shot.
Shroyer said Goodson had a concealed carry permit and was legally allowed to carry the weapon, and implied it likely fell from the holster when Goodson was shot in the back and fell forward.
"Casey's gun was found on the floor, with its safety still engaged. The gun had not been fired. He also had a soft-sided holster in the front of his pants. The holster does not have a strap to hold the gun in place. It's just you put it there. There's nothing there to hold it in," Shroyer said.
Stephens, though, said the weapon was found outside of a holster, within arm's reach of Goodson's body, because Goodson had the gun out when he went into the house as Meade followed.
She argues that these circumstances would mean Meade was justified in shooting Goodson.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the suspect turns toward the officer, looks in Jason's direction as he lifts his hand up, leveling the barrel of the gun toward my client. And in that split second, Jason steps to the left and fires in accordance with his training, one shot until he sees the suspect fall," Stephens said.
