Farmdale man indicted in death of friend in Vernon Twp.

Staff report

WARREN

Ryan Wrightsman, 21, of Farmdale has been indicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter, felonious assault, using weapons while intoxicated and reckless homicide in the death of his friend last week in Vernon Township.

The charges carry a penalty of around 20 years in prison upon conviction.

The charges were handed up in a special report of a Trumbull County grand jury Thursday. Wrightsman will be arraigned on the charges Monday morning in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.

Police said Wrightsman shot Joshua Soles, 20, inside Soles’ house on state Route 7 during an argument Nov. 1. Wrightsman, Soles and a third friend had been drinking throughout the day and using marijuana.

Police say they believe Soles held the shotgun that killed him to his own neck and asked Wrightsman to pull the trigger. Wrightsman reportedly pulled the trigger after Soles told him: “You don’t have the [guts].”

Soles died of a single gunshot to the upper body. Trumbull County Sheriff Thomas Altiere said the three men had been friends a long time and had gone to school together.