Ohio prosecutors seek to dismiss 1 of 2 murder counts filed against ex-deputy who killed Black man

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Prosecutors have asked a judge to dismiss one of two murder counts brought against a former Ohio sheriff’s deputy who will soon face a retrial in the killing of a 23-year-old Black man.

Jason Meade faces one murder count for purposefully causing Casey Goodson Jr.’s death and one for causing his death during a felonious assault. But in a motion Friday, special prosecutors Tim Merkle and Gary Shroyer asked the judge to toss the former court. The motion did not state why they made the request and Merkle said Monday that prosecutors would have no further comment on the motion.

Goodson was fatally shot multiple times in December 2020 as he tried to enter his grandmother’s Columbus home. His death — one of several involving Black people killed by white Ohio law enforcement officers over the last decade — sparked national outrage and cries for police reform. Meade maintains that he shot Goodson because he brandished a gun.

Meade’s first trial ended in a mistrial in February when a jury couldn’t agree on a verdict, ending tumultuous proceedings that saw four jurors dismissed. His retrial is scheduled to start Oct. 31.

It wasn’t known Monday when a decision would be made on the dismissal request.

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

Meade shot Goodson six times, including five times in the back, in the doorway of 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 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 that 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 is no 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.