Deliberations resume in the murder trial of former Ohio deputy who fatally shot a Black man

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Deliberations resumed Friday in the murder trial of a former Ohio sheriff’s deputy accused of pursuing a motorist and killing the man at his family’s home.

Jason Meade, who is white, is charged with murder and reckless homicide in the December 2020 killing in Columbus of 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr., who was Black.

The jury started its deliberations Wednesday afternoon but has since been forced to start over twice after jurors were dismissed and replaced by alternates, one on Wednesday and another Thursday. Court officials have not said why either juror was removed, but they can be dismissed for a number of reasons, including if they fall sick, research the case outside the deliberation room, or talk about it to someone outside the court.

The panel initially included four alternates who heard all the testimony in the case. One of them was elevated to the main jury during the trial. The two juror dismissals during deliberations means just one alternate remains.

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Meade testified that he pursued Goodson because he feared for his life and the lives of others after Goodson waved a gun at him as the two drove past each other. He said he then shot Goodson in the doorway of his grandmother’s home because Goodson turned toward him with a gun.

Police said that Meade, who is a pastor at a Baptist church, shot Goodson six times, including five times in the back.

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 he had a license to carry a firearm.

Goodson’s weapon was found on his grandmother’s kitchen floor with the safety mechanism engaged.

There is no bodycam video of the shooting, and prosecutors repeatedly asserted that Meade is the only person who testified Goodson was holding a gun.