Ohio

Deliberations resume in the murder trial of former Ohio deputy who fatally shot a Black man

Published

2 years ago

February 16, 2024

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Deliberations resumed Friday in the murder trial of a former Ohio sheriff’s deputy accused of pursuing a motorist and killing the man at his family’s home.

Jason Meade, who is white, is charged with murder and reckless homicide in the December 2020 killing in Columbus of 23-year-old Casey Goodson Jr., who was Black.

The jury started its deliberations Wednesday afternoon but has since been forced to start over twice after jurors were dismissed and replaced by alternates, one on Wednesday and another Thursday. Court officials have not said why either juror was removed, but they can be dismissed for a number of reasons, including if they fall sick, research the case outside the deliberation room, or talk about it to someone outside the court.

The panel initially included four alternates who heard all the testimony in the case. One of them was elevated to the main jury during the trial. The two juror dismissals during deliberations means just one alternate remains.

Meade testified that he pursued Goodson because he feared for his life and the lives of others after Goodson waved a gun at him as the two drove past each other. He said he then shot Goodson in the doorway of his grandmother’s home because Goodson turned toward him with a gun.

Police said that Meade, who is a pastor at a Baptist church, shot Goodson six times, including five times in the back.

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 fatally shot. They do not dispute that Goodson may have been carrying a gun and note he had a license to carry a firearm.

Goodson’s weapon was found on his grandmother’s kitchen floor with the safety mechanism engaged.

There is no bodycam video of the shooting, and prosecutors repeatedly asserted that Meade is the only person who testified Goodson was holding a gun.

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Ohio

Car crashes into fitness center in Warren

Published

10 hours ago

July 7, 2026

Press Room

Car crashes into fitness center in Warren

WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) — Police are investigating after a car crashed into a popular fitness center in Warren.

Just before 10 p.m., a car drove into the Planet Fitness on Elm Road. The car has since been removed from the building.

Bystanders tell our crew on scene that two people were taken away by ambulance.

Warren’s Police Department is investigating the cause of the crash.

Alex Sorrells contributed to this report.

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Ohio

Veteran Officer Among 4 Dead in Ohio Shooting

Published

20 hours ago

July 6, 2026

Press Room

Veteran Officer Among 4 Dead in Ohio Shooting

A nighttime call about a break-in in small-town Ohio ended with four people dead, including a police sergeant and a 13-year-old girl. Authorities say officers arrived around 9:30pm Sunday in Rittman, about 20 miles west of Akron, and were immediately met with gunfire, the Canton Repository reports. Sgt. Scott Ries, a 10-year veteran of the Rittman Police Department and a former Wayne County deputy sheriff, was fatally shot while responding to what officials described as a disturbance call.

Four other officers—three Medina County sheriff’s deputies and a Hinckley Police Department officer—were injured, the AP reports. Two were hospitalized in stable condition and two were treated at the scene. A Wayne County K-9, Vick, was badly injured.

The suspected shooter, 38-year-old Brandon Fazekas, died from a wound consistent with suicide, the coroner said. The Wayne County coroner identified the other victims as the suspect’s ex-partner and her daughter, WKYC reports. The coroner said 43-year-old Christine McWilliams and her 13-year-old daughter, McKinley, were both killed in what appear to be homicides. Rittman is a town of around 6,100 people on the border between Wayne and Medina counties.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the probe. In a statement, the city of Rittman praised Reis, 54, for his “honor and courage” and “enduring commitment to protecting others.” “Our hearts are broken with this unimaginable loss,” the city said.

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