Retired Columbus Police K-9 Officer Ricky Anderson pled not guilty Monday to charges alleging he murdered an unarmed Black man in his bed last year.
Anderson appeared virtually in a tan jumpsuit and handcuffs while in the custody of the Franklin County Sheriff's Department and his attorney Kaitlyn Stephens unsuccessfully argued for a lower bond. Magistrate Pamela Broer Browning set the bond at $500,000 with a $20,000 recognizance bond.
Anderson was indicted by a grand jury on Friday on one count of murder and one count of reckless homicide for shooting 20-year-old Donovan Lewis on August 30, 2022. Anderson helped serve a warrant for Lewis's arrest during an early morning raid of his apartment and shot him as he was laying in his bed.
Stephens hinted at what the defense's argument would be when explaining her request for a lower bond.
"(Anderson) lawfully carried and was required to carry a gun when he had to face every officer's nightmare and made a split-second decision under the defense of justification that this court is well aware is afforded to him by the Supreme Court of the United States," Stephens said.
Stephens argued Broer Browning should set the bond at $250,000 at most, citing past cases. Stephens argued that because prosecutors waited almost a year to charge Anderson, they didn't view him as a risk to society and the bond should be lower.
But Broer Browning opted for the higher bond.
Lewis's family, including his mother Rebecca Duran, attended in person and sat silently behind the special prosecutors.
Neither Lewis's family, their attorneys or Stephens offered comment to reporters after the arraignment.
On Friday, the family and their attorneys held a press conference after the charges were announced. Duran said she was grateful for the charges but she and her attorneys said prosecutors took too long to charge Anderson.
A judge has not been assigned to the case yet and a trial date has not been set.
