Ex-Franklin County deputy free after posting $250k bond in death of Casey Goodson Jr.
A Franklin County magistrate set bond Friday at $250,000 for former county sheriff's SWAT deputy Jason Meade, who was indicted Thursday on murder charges in the shooting death of Casey Goodson Jr., one year ago in the Northland neighborhood.
Common Pleas Magistrate Mark Petrucci set the bail amount during the arraignment for Meade, who appeared via video link at the county jail and entered a not-guilty plea to the charges.
Meade posted the bond and was released from the county jail less than two hours after Friday's hearing.
The bond was significantly lower than those set for two former Columbus police officers who are charged with murder and awaiting trial in separate shootings.
Adam Coy, indicted in the December 2020 shooting death of 47-year-old Andre Hill, and Andrew Mitchell, indicted in the August 2018 death of 23-year-old Donna Castleberry, have bonds of $1 million each.
Coy's bond initially was set at $3 million by a Common Pleas magistrate, but it was lowered to $1 million four days later by a Common Pleas judge who reconsidered the bond at the request of defense attorneys.
Coy is free on bond, but Mitchell is being held in jail on separate, federal charges.
Supporters of Goodson's family called the bond set for Meade "a slap in the face" outside the courtroom after the hearing.
Sean Walton, the family's attorney, said his reaction to the bond amount was "extreme disappointment."
"You don't see too many bonds set in a murder case for less than $1 million," Walton said. "The first question that came to me, with extreme despair and sadness, is what is a Black life worth in this justice system?"
Gary Shroyer, one of two special prosecutors who presented the case to the grand jury, asked the magistrate to set a high bond considering "the severity of the charges," which he said carry a "risk of flight."
H. Tim Merkle, the other special prosecutor, said there was no evidence that Meade's life was threatened by Goodson "other than Mr. Meade's self-serving, uncorroborated statement," referring to a written statement voluntarily provided to investigators.
In an 11-page motion for reasonable bond filed Thursday, Meade's attorneys argued that their client "is not a flight risk in any way, shape or form."
Meade, 43, has strong ties to the community, no criminal record and no passport and has cooperated with authorities since the day of the shooting, wrote Mark Collins and two other attorneys representing him.
"He voluntarily complied with law enforcement at the scene" and "wrote and provided a voluntary, 10-page written statement" for investigators, according to the motion.
The defense team also asked the court to consider that the charges against Meade involve decisions made while on-duty as a law-enforcement officer, a position that permitted him to carry a gun and use lethal force.
They wrote that they will argue "his decision to do so was justified based on the totality of the circumstances when viewed through the eyes of a reasonable police officer on the scene," the standard set in U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
The indictment, issued Thursday by a Franklin County grand jury, charges Meade with two counts of murder — one for purposely causing the death and the other for causing the death as a result of committing felonious assault — and one count of reckless homicide.
The mandatory sentence for a murder conviction in Ohio is life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years. The maximum sentence for reckless homicide is five years.
Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the shooting, which occurred on the 3900 block of Estates Place, where Goodson lived with his grandmother. It happened just after Meade wrapped up work with a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force in an unsuccessful search for a suspect in the area.
Goodson was entering the side door of the home when he was shot by Meade. An autopsy determined that Goodson was struck six times in his torso, with five of the bullets passing through his back. and one entering his buttocks.
Goodson's family and attorney say he was simply entering his home, carrying Subway sandwiches for his family after a dentist's appointment, when he was killed.
Collins issued a statement Thursday saying that Meade had seen a driver, later identified as Goodson, brandishing a gun in a threatening manner at a passing car. Meade followed Goodson to the residence, according to Collins, where Goodson ignored the deputy's commands to show his hands and drop the gun as he approached the house, then pointed the weapon at Meade.
Goodson had a valid permit to carry a concealed handgun, and investigators have said a gun was found on the scene. Collins told The Dispatch that the gun was found under Goodson's body.
Meade, a 17-year veteran of the sheriff's office, left the job July 2 on disability retirement.
jfutty@dispatch.com
@johnfutty
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Casey Goodson Jr. family lawyer unhappy with bond for ex-deputy
