Man killed, deputy U.S. Marshal wounded during federal task force raid on Columbus' Southeast Side

An unidentified man firing from a closet was killed and a deputy U.S. Marshal was wounded Wednesday morning in an exchange of gunfire as a federal task force was executing an arrest warrant on Columbus' Southeast Side.

Franklin County Chief Deputy Rick Minerd Jr. said at the scene that the shooting occurred just before 9:30 a.m. when the Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) was making entry into a residence on the 2700 block of Four Seasons Drive.

The residence is in a large subdivision located south of Williams Road and east of Alum Creek Drive on the southeast side of Columbus.

In a written statement Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. Marshals Service said its task force members were there to arrest a man wanted by Columbus police for an aggravated robbery charge.

As officers were taking that suspect into custody, the statement read, an unknown man fired from a nearby closet. A deputy U.S. marshal was shot in the torso, the release said.

Law enforcement returned fire, and the shooting suspect was hit, the release said. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.

Minerd said the deputy U.S. Marshal was taken to a Columbus hospital and was expected to survive.

The identities of the shooting suspect who died, the deputy U.S. Marshal who was wounded, and the officers who returned fire were being withheld as of mid-afternoon Wednesday.

The unidentified suspect from the arrest warrant was taken into custody, Minerd said.

Several other people inside the residence also were taken into custody to be interviewed in connection with the incident, he said.

"Obviously, there's a lot of work to be done in the investigation," Minerd said.

What law enforcement was involved in the shooting?

Columbus Deputy Police Chief Tim Becker said at the scene that the Division of Police is a member of SOFAST, but no city police officers were involved in this particular operation.

SOFAST is a multi-jurisdictional law enforcement task force created by the U.S. Marshals Service "to arrest the most violent felons in the Southern District of Ohio," with strike teams headquartered in Columbus, Cincinnati and Dayton. The task force is made up of U.S. Marshals as well as agents, officers, and deputies from multiple federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.

Who is investigating?

Minerd said law enforcement agencies involved at the scene decided that the Franklin County Sheriff's office would handle the investigation into the shooting and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation would process the crime scene for evidence.

Minerd said the sheriff's office was chosen to investigate the shooting because it is no longer a member of SOFAST.

Former member of task force charged in Casey Goodson Jr.'s death

The sheriff's office dropped out of SOFAST following the fatal shooting of Casey Goodson Jr. on Dec. 4, 2020, by then-Franklin County Sheriff's SWAT deputy Jason Meade.

Meade had been working as a member of an unsuccessful SOFAST operation near Goodson's residence in Northland at the time of the shooting.

Meade was indicted last week by a Franklin County grand jury on murder charges. Meade's attorney, Mark Collins, issued a written statement last week that was the first lengthy explanation of Meade's actions in the shooting.

According to the statement, Meade was leaving the SOFAST scene in his personal vehicle when he saw Goodson pointing a handgun at the driver of another vehicle and tracking the driver with it.

U.S. Marshal's new statement muddies details in Casey Goodson Jr. shooting case

Collins said Meade pursued Goodson in his personal vehicle to Goodson's home. Meade said that after Goodson got out of his vehicle and walked to a side door of the residence, Goodson turned and pointed a gun at Meade. That's when Meade opened fire, Collins wrote.

Goodson, who had a concealed carry permit, was shot six times, five times in the back, by Meade, according to a coroner's report. A gun was recovered underneath Goodson's body, Collins said.

Goodson's family said Meade shot Goodson multiple times in the back as he was bringing home Subway sandwiches after a dentist appointment. A truck driver, Goodson was a responsible gun owner and would not just wave it around at people, his family has said.

"It's a lie," Goodson family attorney Sean Walton said last week at a news conference when asked about Meade's claims that Goodson pointed a gun at Meade.

There is no body camera video of the fatal shooting because Sheriff Dallas Baldwin's office had not purchased the equipment for its deputies, something that has not changed a year later.

The same day as the indictment against Meade was made public on Dec. 2, Goodson's estate filed a civil suit against Meade and Franklin County in U.S. District Court.

According to the lawsuit, Goodson's estate is seeking damages for wrongful death and the violation of Goodson's civil rights, alleging the sheriff's office did not properly train or supervise Meade.

Walton said the lawsuit's filing the same day as the indictment was a coincidence. The suit was filed because some claims have a one-year statute of limitations.

Dispatch reporter Monroe Trombly contributed to this report.

hzacharian@dispatch.com

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Man killed in Columbus shooting during law enforcement raid