Prosecutors in Ohio Seek DISMISSAL of ONE MURDER CHARGE Against Ex-Deputy Involved in Fatal SHOOTING of BLACK MAN

Prosecutors have requested a court to dismiss one of two murder charges filed against a former Ohio sheriff’s deputy who will face a retrial for the death of a 23-year-old Black man.

Jason Meade faces one murder charge for willfully causing Casey Goodson Jr.’s death and another for causing his death during a felonious assault. But in a move filed Friday, special prosecutors Tim Merkle and Gary Shroyer asked the judge to dismiss the former court. The motion did not indicate why they made the request, and Merkle said Monday that prosecutors would not comment further on the motion.

Goodson was fatally shot numerous times in December 2020 while attempting to enter his grandmother’s Columbus home. His death, one of dozens involving Black people slain by white Ohio law enforcement personnel in the recent decade, generated widespread outrage and calls for police reform. Meade claims he shot Goodson because he displayed a gun.

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Meade’s first trial ended in a mistrial in February when the jury couldn’t agree on a judgment, capping up stormy procedures that saw four members discharged. His retrial is slated to begin October 31.

Monday, it remained unclear when a decision on the dismissal request would be made. Meade was charged with murder and reckless homicide for Goodson’s death. Meade has pled not guilty, and his defenders claim the prosecution’s decision to seek another trial was motivated by political pressure from local elected figures.

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Meade shot Goodson six times, five of them in the back, in the doorway of his grandmother’s home. Meade said that Goodson brandished a gun at him as they drove past each other, so he pursued Goodson because he stated he feared for his and others’ lives. He claimed he shot Goodson as the young man turned toward him with a gun.

Goodson’s relatives and prosecutors say he was fatally shot while clutching a sandwich bag in one hand and his keys in the other. They acknowledge that Goodson may have been carrying a gun and point out that he had a firearms license.

Goodson’s weapon, a pistol with an extended magazine, was discovered on his grandmother’s kitchen floor, with the safety mechanism activated.

There is no footage of the incident since Meade was not wearing a body camera, and prosecutors repeatedly claimed during the first trial that Meade was the only person who swore Goodson was holding a pistol.