Here's what we learned on day one of prosecution witnesses in Jason Meade's trial

On the first day of testimony Thursday in the murder trial of former Franklin County Sheriff's deputy Michael Jason Meade, new details emerged — and some details were called into question — when members of Casey Goodson Jr.'s family and responding officers took the stand.

Jurors also got their first look at some key exhibits in the case, beginning when prosecutors unwrapped a storm door with bullet holes in it in the middle of the courtroom. Later, a police sergeant showed the rifle Meade used to kill Goodson.

Meade, 45, is on trial on murder and reckless homicide charges in Franklin County Common Pleas Court in connection with the fatal shooting of Goodson, 23, on Dec. 4, 2020, just inside a storm door on a side entry door to Goodson's grandmother's home in North Linden where he resided.

Follow our live coverage: Testimony begins today in trial of Franklin County deputy accused of killing Black man

Meade has alleged through his defense attorneys that he saw Goodson drive by while waving a gun around and pointing it at Meade's unmarked vehicle. Meade pursued Goodson a short distance to the home and ultimately shot Goodson six times, five in the back. Meade's defense team alleges Goodson pointed his gun at Meade again, prompting the officer to fire.

Goodson's grandmother takes stand

The prosecution's first witness was Goodson's grandmother, Sharon Payne, who owns the house on Estates Place and was at home when Goodson was shot.

Her testimony began with the special prosecutors appearing to humanize Goodson by asking about his jobs over the years, his nicknames and how he looked after his siblings. This all drew repeated objections from the defense based on relevancy.

Payne said she was in her bedroom when she heard a loud noise that sounded to her like a chandelier crashing to the ground. Payne said when she went to the outside entrance door to the kitchen, she saw Goodson splayed face-down on the floor with bullet holes in his back and his palms to the ground as if to catch himself.

A 4-year-old child in the home was eating oatmeal at the kitchen table when the shooting occurred. Payne said she ran to the bedroom and called 911 twice, she said.

As a recording of the second 911 call was played in court, members of Goodson's family teared up in the courtroom gallery. At least one juror also wiped away tears, but Payne remained stoic on the stand.

On cross-examination, one of Meade's attorneys, Steven Nolder, played parts of an interview Payne and the family did with the FBI in April 2021 about the shooting. Nolder said Payne never told the FBI that a child was in the kitchen when the shooting happened.

Nolder also pointed out that Sharon Payne told the FBI that Goodson's mother Tamala Payne saw law enforcement in the neighborhood that morning and intended to warn Goodson.

Meade was working as part of the local U.S. Marshal's fugitive apprehension task force that morning serving a warrant on a house down the street. Officers were dispersing in separate vehicles when Goodson drove by Meade.

Nolder ended the cross-examination by showing Payne a photo taken from Goodson's Instagram from a different day before the shooting that showed Goodson in a car pointing a gun at the camera.

Payne said it was her first time seeing the photo.

"I'm sure he wasn't brandishing like he was pointing it at anybody," she said. "He wasn’t that type of person."

Uncle testifies about storm door, officers' commands

Goodson’s uncle, Ernest Payne Jr., testified that immediately after the shooting while holding his 3-year-old daughter, he rushed to the living room. There, Payne alleged an officer pointed a gun at him and commanded him, while using expletives, to drop to the ground.

Payne said he complied, and also complied with other officers who told him to exit through the front door. Outside, he said, he found officers in the front yard pointing their guns at the house.

Read more: In opening statements prosecution, defense argue if Jason Meade was justified

Payne was the first family member to return to the house that evening after Columbus police finished investigating the scene. He testified to what his family had previously said publicly: Goodson's keys were in the lock in the side door, and there was a bag of Subway sandwiches, a face mask and earbuds in the kitchen.

Officer testifies Goodson had earbuds in

Columbus police Officer Samuel Rippey, one of the responding officers who performed CPR on Goodson, testified Thursday that Goodson had Apple AirPods in his ears when he took over compressions.

On cross-examination, Mark Collins, one of Meade’s attorneys, asked Rippey about how it is illegal to wear earbuds while driving in Columbus.

Collins also asked Rippey what he would do if somebody pointed a gun at him. The prosecution objected to the question, but Common Pleas Court Judge David Young overruled and allowed Collins to continue.

"If someone pointed a gun at you, would you use deadly force?" Collins asked.

"Yes," Rippey said.

Collins did not bring it up, but Rippey shot and wounded a woman in 2019 who, police said, was waving a gun around at a Tim Hortons on the North Side.

Columbus police Sgt. John Standley of the division's crime scene search unit was on the stand at the end of the day and his testimony will continue Friday morning.

Dispatch staff writer Bethany Bruner contributed to this report.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: First witnesses testify in Jason Meade trial for Goodson shooting