Defendant chose to pull trigger, prosecutor says

YOUNGSTOWN — A prosecutor told the jury Allen K. Frost purposely killed Gregory Sopher, but the defense lawyer said Sopher’s death was unintentional.

The lawyers made their opening statements Tuesday in Frost’s trial on a murder charge with a gun specification. The case is before Judge Maureen A. Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

“He killed a man. He needs to be held responsible for that,” Robert J. Andrews, assistant county prosecutor, said of Frost, 37, of Crandall Avenue.

“The defendant chose to get the gun. The defendant chose to point the gun at Greg Sopher’s head. The defendant chose to pull the trigger,” Andrews told the seven-woman, five-man jury.

“When you shoot a gun at somebody, especially when you shoot at their head from a very short distance, you’re shooting to kill that person,” the prosecutor said.

For more, see Wednesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com