What did we learn from first week of Jason Meade's murder trial for death of Casey Goodson Jr.?

New details about the case of a former Franklin County Sheriff's office deputy charged with murder and reckless homicide in the December 2020 fatal shooting of a Black man came to light during the first week of his trial in Columbus.

Michael Jason Meade, 45, is charged with murder and reckless homicide in connection with the Dec. 4, 2020, shooting death of 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr. outside his grandmother's home in the 3900 block of Estates Place on the city's Northeast Side.

Meade was a member of a U.S. Marshals task force on the day of the shooting. His attorneys have said he saw Goodson waving a gun inside a vehicle, tried to stop Goodson and ultimately ended up shooting him.

Meade shot Goodson six times. Five of those shots hit him in the back.

Here's a look at what new information was revealed this week through testimony and arguments in the case.

Where was Casey Goodson Jr.'s gun found?

For the first time publicly, officials confirmed that Goodson was carrying a handgun at the time he was shot. In opening statements, special prosecutor Gary Shroyer said Goodson had a holster, with no strap to keep the gun inside of it, in the waistband of his pants.

Police found the gun on the floor with the safety engaged. Meade's attorney, Kaitlyn Stephens, said in her opening statement the firearm was within arm's reach of Goodson, who had a concealed carry permit.

Follow the trial live: Jason Meade trial: More witnesses testify Friday in deputy's killing of Casey Goodson Jr.

The gun, according to evidence photos shown to the jury, had an extended magazine in it, capable of holding up to 30 rounds of ammunition.

What prompted Jason Meade to confront Casey Goodson Jr.?

Stephens said in her opening statement that after an unsuccessful — and unrelated — search for a fugitive near Estates Place, Meade and other members of the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team had taken off their gear and started to leave the area.

While Meade was stopped at the traffic light at Karl and Ferris roads, Stephens said Meade saw a man in a vehicle holding a handgun with an extended magazine and pointing it at the windshield of their car. The car turned onto Ferris Road, and Meade followed the vehicle.

Related coverage: Who is the lawyer for Columbus-area cops in trouble? Collins has been go-to for decades

Stephens said Meade, who was in an unmarked police vehicle equipped with emergency lights, activated the lights and tried to pull Goodson over. However, Goodson parked facing the wrong way on the street, got out of the car, saw Meade and ran toward the side door of a home, Stephens said.

What did Casey Goodson's family see?

Goodson's grandmother, Sharon Payne, and sister, Janae Jones, were some of Goodson's relatives who were in the home when the shooting took place — shortly after noon Dec. 4, 2020.

Payne testified she heard a loud commotion, which she later discovered were gunshots, and a sound like a chandelier crashing. She ran out of a back bedroom to see Goodson lying facedown on the kitchen floor.

More: Family of Casey Goodson releases new evidence as murder trial of Jason Meade continued

Jones, who was 18 at the time, said she did not see the shooting and also heard loud noises, ran out of a back room and saw Goodson on the floor.

Goodson's family members who were in the home had not previously spoken publicly about what they saw and heard on the day of the shooting.

Did Casey Goodson know police were in the area?

Sharon Payne testified in the trial that her daughter, Tamala Payne, who is Goodson's mother, dropped off several of the elder Payne's grandchildren at her home several hours before the shooting. Tamala Payne told her mother, according to Sharon Payne's testimony, that police were in the area.

Sharon Payne testified that her daughter was planning to warn Goodson about police presence in the area. She did not elaborate in her testimony as to why Tamala Payne may have wanted to warn her son.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here's what we learned in first week of Jason Meade's murder trial