A judge declared a mistrial for the second time Friday in the murder trial of a former Ohio deputy Jason Meade, who was charged with two counts of murder and one count of reckless homicide in the 2020 shooting death of 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr.
On Friday morning, the last remaining alternate juror was brought in, one day after the jury was originally given the case. Hours later, Franklin Court of Common Pleas Judge David Young declared a mistrial after multiple questions from the jury on whether they could reach a verdict on one charge but be hung on another, and whether justification applied to one or all counts.
In an unexpected move, the judge then rescinded the mistrial minutes later and asked the jury to continue deliberating. Hours later, the jury informed they judge they could not reach a verdict. Young again declared a mistrial and excused the jury. A new date for the trial remains to be announced.
Meade, a former deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, had faced up to life in prison after a grand jury charged him in December 2021 in connection with the shooting, a year after Goodson’s death.
On Dec. 4, 2020, the then-Franklin County deputy was working with the U.S. Marshals Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) in Columbus searching for a wanted fugitive. Meade testified that he spotted Goodson inside a black hatchback and saw him waving a gun while driving. He said Goodson eventually pointed the gun at him. The ex-deputy then followed Goodson to his grandmother’s house, where he lived.
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