Jason Meade's lawyers request postponement of trial

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Attorneys for a former Franklin County sheriff's deputy accused of murder have filed a motion to delay the start of his trial because of a trial overlap with the case against another former police officer.

Jason Meade, who is charged with murder and involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2020 death of Casey Goodson Jr., is scheduled to begin a new trial on October 31. A Franklin County Court of Common Pleas judge had previously declared a mistrial in his February case after the jury was unable to reach a verdict.

In Meade's motion filed Tuesday, his attorneys asked for a postponement of the October trial date because the trial of former Columbus Division of Police Officer Adam Coy is scheduled to begin Oct. 21. The judge has reserved at least two weeks for Coy's trial.

Attorneys Mark Collins and Kaitlyn Stephens represent both Meade and Coy.

Judge David Young has not yet made a decision on the motion.

Meade testified that Goodson brandished a gun at him as the two drove past each other, and that's why he pursued Goodson because he feared for his life and the lives of others. He said he eventually shot Goodson in the doorway of his grandmother's house because the young man turned around with a gun at him.

Goodson's family and prosecutors have said he was holding a sandwich bag in one hand and his keys in the other when he was shot. They do not dispute that Goodson may have been carrying a weapon and point out that he had a license to carry a firearm.

Goodson's gun was found on his grandmother's kitchen floor with the safety mechanism activated.

There is no bodycam video of the shooting, and prosecutors have repeatedly stressed that Meade was the only person who testified that Goodson had a gun in his hand. Meade was not wearing a bodycam.

In closing arguments, prosecutors said Meade's claims that Goodson posed a threat were simply not credible.

Defense attorneys insisted that the evidence in this case was consistent with Meade's testimony.

Coy fatally shot Andre' Hill on December 22, 2020, as Hill emerged from a garage on Oberlin Drive with a cellphone in his hand. Coy and another officer responded to a non-emergency call about a suspicious vehicle on Oberlin Drive.

Although none of the officers turned on their body-worn cameras, Coy was caught in a 60-second recording with no sound approaching the open garage where Hill was inside. Authorities later said Hill was home visiting a friend.

Hill appeared behind a vehicle with his cell phone in his left hand. His right hand was not visible. Seconds later, Coy pulled out his gun and fired at Hill.

Coy was released on December 28, 2020, and later charged with murder, involuntary manslaughter, and aggravated assault. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

He was initially charged with dereliction of duty for failing to activate his body camera, but that charge was dropped.

In April 2023, a judge granted Coy's defense request to delay the trial indefinitely so the former officer could receive cancer treatment. In December 2023, a judge set Coy's trial date for October 21, 2024.