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Joshua Bays Sentenced to 25–30.5 Years in Fatal West Columbus Bus Stop Shooting
Read the full articleJoshua Bays pleaded guilty Wednesday in Franklin County court to involuntary manslaughter and evidence tampering for the fatal August 2025 shooting of Thomas Smith at a Franklinton COTA bus stop. He was sentenced to 25 to 30.5 years in prison, plus a consecutive year for escape.
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A 46-year-old Columbus man was sentenced to 25 to 30.5 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a fatal shooting at a West Side bus stop last year, court and local reporting records show.
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A Columbus man will spend the next 25 to 30.5 years in prison for killing another man at a bus stop in West Columbus last year.
Under the plea agreement, Bays also pleaded guilty to an escape charge in an unrelated case and received an additional 12 months in prison, which will be served consecutively to the homicide sentence.
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Bays plead to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence which each include firearm specifications. He also pleaded guilty to escape in a completely different case and was sentenced to an additional 12 months which is to be served consecutive to the Smith case.
The shooting occurred on the afternoon of Aug. 14, 2025, near a Central Ohio Transit Authority bus stop at West Broad Street and Wisconsin Avenue in Columbus's Franklinton neighborhood.
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The shooting happened on the afternoon of Aug. 14, 2025. Columbus police responded to a shooting in the area of West Broad Street and Wisconsin Avenue; finding Smith suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Smith was rushed to a nearby hospital and died three days later as a result of the gunshot wound.
Responding Columbus police officers found Smith suffering from a gunshot wound to the head, according to local reporting.
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The shooting happened on the afternoon of Aug. 14, 2025. Columbus police responded to a shooting in the area of West Broad Street and Wisconsin Avenue; finding Smith suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Smith was rushed to a nearby hospital and died three days later as a result of the gunshot wound.
Smith's wife was present at the bus stop during the shooting and provided detectives with Bays' name and physical description, investigators said.
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Smith’s wife was present at the time of the shooting and provided Bay's name and description to detectives. He fled the scene on a bicycle and was later identified from photo arrays as the person who shot Smith.
Following his arrest, Bays admitted to detectives that he shot Smith and discarded the firearm, WSYX reported.
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At the time of his arrest, Bays admitted to shooting Smith and getting rid of the firearm he used.
Man sentenced in fatal west Columbus bus stop shooting
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Joshua Bays entered guilty pleas in Franklin County court to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence, each carrying firearm specifications, in the killing of 56-year-old Thomas "Tommy" Smith.
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Joshua Bays, 46, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence in the death of 56-year-old Thomas "Tommy" Smith.
Man pleads guilty to fatal shooting at Columbus bus stop
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Bays was immediately sentenced in court Wednesday after entering his plea.
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A man charged with killing a person at a west Columbus COTA bus stop has pleaded guilty and was immediately sentenced in court Wednesday.