A Franklin County judge placed retired Columbus officer Ricky Anderson on three years' probation in Donovan Lewis's death.

Three years' probation is the term WOSU reported a Franklin County judge imposed. Community control is the phrase in that story's last sentence and the phrase 10TV said the defense requested before the hearing. Those are not the same words for the result. Donavan, in the Dispatch passage, and Donovan, on WOSU and 10TV, are not the same spelling. The murder count WOSU says prosecutors dropped is not the count this term is on.

WOSU, by Allie Vugrincic, published November 4, 2026, at 12:26 p.m. EST, reported a Franklin County judge placed retired Columbus police officer Ricky Anderson on three years' probation for the death of 20-year-old Donovan Lewis. It reported he shot Lewis, a Black man, in 2022 while helping serve an overnight warrant, and that he was a Columbus police dog handler at the time. It reported body camera footage showed him shooting Lewis in his bed a moment after the door was opened and he woke up. It reported Anderson said he believed Lewis had a gun, and that Lewis had a vape pen in his hand. It reported he pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in September with an Alford plea, which the station said acknowledged there was enough evidence to support a conviction without Anderson actually admitting guilt, and that prosecutors dropped a murder charge. It reported he could be sent to prison if he does not follow the terms of community control. Three years' probation, and the terms of community control, are both in that story. The judge is not named. The caption on the same page says Anderson, center, appeared in court with attorneys Mark Collins and Kaitlyn Stephens on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026. Sept. 3 is the plea date in that caption. November 4 is the probation date in the story.

10TV Web Staff, in the story Yahoo published at 10:32 a.m. EST on November 4, 2026, reported Anderson would learn his sentence Wednesday and that the hearing was set for 11:30 a.m. That story is earlier than WOSU's 12:26 p.m. account of a term already imposed. It reported he was indicted on murder and reckless homicide in 2023, that he originally pleaded not guilty to both, and that he later entered an Alford plea for the reckless homicide charge. It reported the state will no longer pursue the murder charge. Will no longer pursue, at 10:32 a.m., and dropped, at 12:26 p.m., are not the same tense. It reported he could face a maximum of three years in prison. A maximum of three years, before the hearing, and three years' probation, after it, are not the same result. It reported a sentencing memo filed last week asked for community control and quoted the memo that "at the time of the reckless homicide, and for 59 years he had lived a record-free life." Community control, in that request, and three years' probation, in WOSU's account of what the judge did, are not the same sentence. It reported the shooting was Aug. 30, 2022, in the 3200 block of Sullivant Avenue, and that officers were there to arrest Lewis on multiple warrants, including domestic violence and assault. WOSU reported an overnight warrant and did not print the block or those warrant names. It reported bodycam footage showed Anderson opening a bedroom door and immediately shooting the 20-year-old, who was in bed. A moment after the door was opened and he woke up, on WOSU, and immediately, on 10TV, are not the same interval. It reported he appeared to be holding a vape pen and that no weapon was found. It reported officers handcuffed him, carried him outside, and performed life-saving measures, and that he was pronounced dead at Grant Medical Center. It reported the coroner's report said he died within minutes, that he was shot in the abdomen, and that the bullet damaged internal organs before lodging in his pelvis. WOSU did not print the coroner's findings or the hospital.

10TV reported Anderson was a 30-year veteran of the Columbus Division of Police and that in March 2023 he retired in bad standing because of the ongoing criminal and administrative investigation. A police dog handler, on WOSU, and a 30-year veteran, on 10TV, are not the same description. It reported that in 2024 Lewis's family filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Columbus and its police department accusing the department of systemic excessive force and racial issues. That lawsuit is not this probation term. It reported that after the Alford plea, Lewis's mother, Rebecca Duran, said, "He is guilty; he pled guilty. But it is not a win. It's not even near what I feel like should have happened or what Donovan deserved. But as far as accountability, I don't believe justice is the actual right word. It's not over, so we still have a lot to process." It reported Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #9 President Brian Steel said the change of plea was unexpected, and it quoted him: "Like I said from the beginning, this was a tragic incident. It shows that officers have to make split-second decisions. I've been very vocal that I never, ever believed that murder was an appropriate charge. However, I do believe that at times officers make split-second decisions and at times they get it wrong. Clearly, this was the wrong decision as the individual did not have a firearm." Those quotations are in the 10:32 a.m. story. They are not in the WOSU account of Wednesday's term. WOSU did not print Duran or Steel.

The Columbus Dispatch page for its November 4, 2026 story returned a payment wall when opened. The passage returned with a search of that story says Ricky Anderson, a former Columbus police officer charged in the 2022 death of Donavan Lewis, 20, will serve three years probation, and that he originally faced murder and reckless homicide charges after he shot and killed Lewis in bed on Aug. 30, 2022, while trying to arrest him. Donavan, in that passage, and Donovan, on WOSU and on 10TV, are not the same spelling. Will serve three years probation, in that passage, and placed on three years' probation, on WOSU, are not the same verb. Former, in that passage, and retired, on WOSU, are not the same word. The passage also says the case generated significant public outcry and protests and that Lewis was Black and Anderson is white. WOSU reported that Lewis was a Black man and did not print Anderson's race in the story text read here. Three years' probation is the term WOSU reported the judge imposed on the reckless homicide count. The murder count is the count WOSU says was dropped. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.