Casey Goodson, a 23-year-old Black man with no criminal history, was bringing sandwiches home to his 72-year-old grandmother and 5-year-old brother when an Ohio sheriff’s deputy shot him in the back with an automatic rifle as he tried entering the home, killing him instantly. Franklin County sh eriff’s deputy Jason Meade, who was part of a federal task force searching for an unrelated fugitive, claimed Goodson had pointed a gun at him while driving.  He also claimed Goodson pointed the gun at him again while entering the home after following him that fateful day in 2020. Former Ohio deputy Jason Meade (right) was convicted of reckless homicide in the shooting death of Casey Goodson, who was entering his grandmother’s house with a bag of sandwiches when he was shot six times in the back. (Sean Walton and Franklin County Sheriff’s Office) But the only thing in Goodson’s hands were a bag of sandwiches from Subway and the keys to enter his grandmother’s house in Columbus which were still dangling from the keyhole in a side door after he had been shot and killed, his body lying inside his grandmother’s kitchen. A gun was found beneath Goodson’s body but he had a concealed weapons permit, allowing him to legally carry a firearm. The gun had been in a holster with the safety mechanism engaged. Ohio is also an open carry state. ‘Snoring on the Floor’: D.C. Passenger Takes a Swing At Black Driver, Then Quickly Learns the Definition of a Knock-out Punch On Thursday, May 7, an Ohio jury convicted Meade of reckless homicide after the first trial ended in a mistrial in 2024. The judge also declared a mistrial on the more serious murder charge in the 2026 trial after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision.  Meade, who will be sentenced on July 16, is facing up to three years in prison for the reckless homicide charge, local media reported. A murder charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in Ohio. The conviction marks the end of a lengthy battle for justice for Goodson’s family, especially his mother who had previously accused Meade of murdering her son in “cold blood.” “It gives us closure,” Tamala Payne told ABC News. “It gives us peace. And now I’m sure I speak for my family when I say this, I know now, Casey can rest.” An autopsy showed Goodson was shot five times in the back and once in the buttocks.  A lawsuit filed by the family against Meade and Franklin County in 2021 was settled in 2024 for $7 million. The claim described Meade as a “violent deputy” who was allowed to continue preying on the community despite his history. The lawsuit also described Meade, who is also a Baptist pastor, as a “religious zealot” who claimed on a YouTube video posted by the sheriff’s office that the Bible granted him the right to use force, describing it as a “righteous release.” He also bragged at a Baptist convention that he loved his job because it allowed him “to hunt people.” “Jason Meade was a violent deputy who had a history of violating established departmental policy regarding the use of force,” the lawsuit states. But he was not charged with murder until a year after the shooting after he had already left the department on a disability retirement, ending a 17-year career. “There’s a relief to know that as we leave court here today, he is not free for what he did to Casey, and that’s all they wanted was accountability and justice for Casey,” attorney Sean Walton told local media, who was representing Goodson’s family in the civil lawsuit. ‘I Didn’t See a Gun’ The shooting took place on Dec. 4, 2020, after Goodson left a dentist’s appointment, then stopped at Subway to pick up sandwiches for his family. Meanwhile, Meade was part of a U.S. Marshals Service task force searching for an unrelated fugitive when he said he spotted Goodson in traffic pointing a gun at him, which was when he began following him. But witnesses, including Columbus Police Detective Ryan Rosser, who was also part of the task force, testified that he never saw a gun in Goodson’s hands even after Meade told him he had a gun. Rosser, who took the witness stand during both trials, told the jury that Meade pulled up to him in a panic, accusing Goodson of carrying a gun — but Rosser did not recall Meade telling him that Goodson had pointed the gun at him. “Deputy Meade was panicked, saying we got to go, he’s got a gun, he’s got a gun,” Rosser said, according to local media. Rosser testified he pulled up to the scene seconds before Meade opened fire. “I am exiting the truck, and I hear show me your hands, and I hear gunshots,” Rosser said, adding that he did not see a gun in Goodson’s hands. “I didn’t see anything, I couldn’t tell,” he told the jury. Another witness, Chris Corne, who is not a cop also testified, telling jurors that he spotted Goodson driving past him, and he appeared to be animated, listening to music but was not brandishing a gun. “He come around the corner looked like he was dancing, getting crazy, be bopping around the car,” Corne told jurors after he came forward in February 2024 to testify as a witness. “What made me come forward is the fact that I didn’t see a gun.” Another cop who testified, Reynoldsburg Police Officer Seth Pinney, was working for the Minerva Park Police at the time and said he was one of the first officers to speak to Meade after the shooting, telling jurors he did not recall Meade telling him Goodson had pointed a gun at him. One of the first Columbus paramedics to arrive on the scene, Nicholas Leidheiser, testified that Goodson had been wearing AirPods and likely did not hear Meade yelling at him about a gun. Despite the absence of evidence, Meade took the stand during his first trial, claiming that Goodson had pointed a gun at him, making him fear for his life. He chose not to testify during the second trial. “My son was murdered in cold blood, and we don’t have no answers as to why he was murdered,” his mother told CBS News days after the shooting, refusing to believe he would ever point a gun at anybody without reason, especially a cop. “Casey would never ride by waving his gun at anybody, let alone a police officer.” ‘A Violent Deputy’ Who Loved to ‘Hunt People’ Convicted for Killing Black Man Holding Sandwiches, Falsely Claiming Victim Had Been Pointing Gun ...read more read less