The charges follow the death of Billy Grooms, who police say stepped between an alleged attacker and a woman.

HILLSBORO, Ohio — A Highland County grand jury has indicted Javen Austin Meadows on two murder counts and five other charges after police said he fatally struck Billy Grooms with a pickup truck during a gas station assault.

The July 7 indictment marks a major expansion of a case that began with assault and strangulation charges after the May 31 confrontation. Prosecutors now allege Meadows purposely killed Grooms, 49, and also committed violence against two other people in the South High Street parking lot. Grooms had intervened while a woman was being attacked, according to police and court records. Meadows, 23, is presumed innocent unless proved guilty.

The indictment charges Meadows under two different sections of Ohio’s murder law. One count alleges that he purposely caused Grooms’ death. The other alleges that Grooms died as a direct result of Meadows committing or attempting to commit felonious assault. The grand jury also charged Meadows with attempted murder, two counts of felonious assault and one count of strangulation. A final specification seeks the forfeiture of the Ford F-150 that authorities say Meadows used during the crimes. The charging document does not represent a finding of guilt. It states the prosecution’s formal allegations and allows the case to move forward in Highland County Common Pleas Court. Public reporting available immediately after the indictment did not identify a trial date or show how Meadows planned to plead to the new charges.

The prosecution’s account begins shortly after 2:30 a.m. May 31, when Meadows allegedly followed a former girlfriend to a business described in local reports as the Holtfield gas station. Court records say his Ford F-150 struck another truck as he entered or parked in the lot. Meadows then got out, approached the other vehicle and grabbed a woman by the neck, authorities allege. He threw her to the pavement and kicked her, according to the initial municipal court affidavit. When she stood again, he allegedly took her phone and punched her back to the ground. Police have said Meadows followed an ex-girlfriend to the station, but early reports did not clearly establish whether the woman identified as the assault victim was that former girlfriend. Her name has not been publicly released.

Grooms was at the station with one of his sons when he saw the confrontation, relatives said. His sister-in-law, Angela Osborn, said Grooms approached Meadows and told him to release the woman. Police and family members said Grooms helped get the alleged attacker away from her. Meadows then returned to the F-150, according to the accounts. Amy Grooms, Grooms’ wife, said the driver headed directly toward her husband, hit him and dragged him. The grand jury’s attempted murder count concerns a second victim, while the felonious assault allegations describe the pickup as a deadly weapon in attacks involving two people other than Grooms. The indictment does not fully explain each person’s location or actions during the rapid confrontation, leaving those details for later court filings and testimony.

Emergency crews took Grooms from the parking lot with multiple broken bones and a severe brain injury. He was later airlifted for advanced treatment and placed on life support. Amy Grooms said the family initially hoped doctors could control the swelling in his brain, but his condition worsened over the following days. Grooms died June 4 after his family was told that further treatment could not reverse the damage, relatives said. His death transformed what had first been handled as an assault investigation into a potential homicide case. Hillsboro police had said in early June that further charges were possible, but the department and prosecutors needed additional time to gather medical findings, witness statements, physical evidence and other records before presenting the matter to a grand jury.

The murder counts show two legal theories that prosecutors may pursue at the same trial. The purposeful-murder allegation requires the state to prove that Meadows acted with the intent required by that section of Ohio law. The second count connects the death to the alleged felonious assault. Prosecutors could seek convictions on both counts while the court later determines how overlapping offenses should be handled for sentencing. The attempted murder charge adds another question: whether evidence shows that Meadows acted with the required intent toward a surviving victim. The indictment alleges conduct that would have caused murder had it succeeded. It also accuses Meadows of creating a substantial risk of physical harm by strangulation or suffocation and of using the truck to cause or attempt to cause harm.

The forfeiture specification gives the state a separate path to seek ownership of the F-150 if prosecutors prove that Meadows owned or possessed it and used it to commit the charged crimes. Such a specification does not decide whether the vehicle may ultimately be retained by the government. That issue generally depends on the criminal case and later court findings. The truck also may serve as physical evidence. Investigators could examine its exterior, undercarriage, tires, electronic systems and any recorded location or operational data. Authorities have not publicly released the full evidence inventory. It also remains unclear whether the gas station had surveillance video, whether customers recorded the confrontation or how many people directly witnessed the collision.

The woman whom Grooms helped later credited him with saving her life. “I believe Billy was a hero,” she said in a statement released through local television reporting. “I believe his actions saved my life.” Her account may become central to the prosecution because she was present for the alleged strangulation and for at least part of the confrontation that followed. Other possible witnesses include Grooms’ son, people in or near the vehicles and employees or customers at the business. Prosecutors will have to establish not only what happened but also the order of events, the movements of the pickup and Meadows’ state of mind when the truck struck Grooms.

The initial case moved through Hillsboro Municipal Court after Meadows was arrested on assault and strangulation allegations. Those early filings described conduct involving the woman but did not charge him with Grooms’ death. A felony murder prosecution, however, belongs in the county’s common pleas court after a grand jury indictment. The new seven-count case replaces the narrower public picture that existed in early June. It formally identifies Grooms’ death as an alleged murder and adds accusations involving the truck and other people in the parking lot. Court proceedings are expected to include an arraignment, evidence exchanges, motions and hearings before any trial, though a detailed public schedule had not been reported with the indictment.

Defense lawyers will have an opportunity to challenge the prosecution’s account, the wording of the charges and the admissibility of evidence. They may examine whether the collision was intentional, whether Meadows could see the people around the truck and whether witness descriptions match physical records. Prosecutors, in turn, may rely on crash evidence, medical findings, communications, surveillance recordings and testimony about the earlier alleged assault. No public account has yet resolved every factual conflict. The exact route of the pickup, the distance Grooms was dragged and the actions of each surviving victim have not been fully described in released court materials.

While the criminal case developed, Grooms’ family prepared for the loss of a husband, father and primary provider. Reports differed on whether he was the father of two or three children, although local coverage and relatives identified two surviving sons in his household. His family described him as quiet but compassionate and said intervening was consistent with the way he treated others. After his death, his organs were donated to at least five people, extending the lifesaving act that relatives said began when he crossed the parking lot to help a stranger. A fundraiser established for the family collected tens of thousands of dollars as the investigation continued.

The indictment leaves Meadows facing allegations involving three victims and a potential murder prosecution arising from the same minutes-long encounter. The next public milestone will be his appearance in Highland County Common Pleas Court, where the charges can be read and a plea entered.

Author note: Last updated July 10, 2026.