Man pleads guilty to reduced charges

By Ed Runyan | June 19, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

Wrightsman

WARREN

Barbara Soles had to move from her home of 24 years on state Route 7 in Vernon Township because it would have been too painful to remain in the place where her son, Joshua, died Nov. 1 of a gunshot.

“I can’t make a home there anymore,” she said Monday in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.

Joshua Soles, 20, died at the hands of a lifelong friend, Ryan C. Wrightsman, 21, of Farmdale, but prosecutors agreed Monday to allow Wrightsman to plead guilty to two misdemeanor charges in the case — negligent homicide and using weapons while intoxicated.

Wrightsman already has spent eight months in the Trumbull County Jail since the shooting and will serve only about another week before he can go free.

On Monday, Judge Peter Kontos sentenced Wrightsman to eight months in jail on reduced charges. He was indicted on felonies that could have landed him in prison for 20 years.

But there were problems with the testimony of the one other person there the day of the shooting. The third young man originally said in his 911 call that Soles had killed himself but later told police that Wrightsman pulled the trigger.

Authorities probably will never know for sure what happened in those final moments, Chris Becker, an assistant county prosecutor, said Monday.

That doesn’t seem right to Barbara Soles, but little about the death of Joshua Soles seems right to those involved.

“I miss my son so much every day. Joshua showed me respect, always told me he loved me, and I’ll never be able to hear those words again from Josh. It just isn’t fair,” Barbara said.

“I feel Ryan should be responsible for what he did. He has been around guns long enough to know what the dangers of guns are. He knew what would happen if he pulled the trigger, but he did.”

A fact that seems pretty clear is that Soles and Wrightsman had been drinking throughout the day.

One explanation is that there was an argument, that Soles put a rifle under his chin and dared Wrightsman to pull the trigger — actually said Wrightsman wasn’t brave enough to do it — and that Wrightsman showed him he was brave enough.

Becker said it’s likely that if the case had gone to trial, Wrightsman would have argued that he was trying to save his friend’s life, not end it.

“They were all highly intoxicated, and the victim had marijuana in his system,” Becker said.

“It’s one of those cases where someone ends up dead because of misusing a firearm while intoxicated. Unfortunately, we see too many of those cases.”

Wrightsman will be on probation for five years and must pay restitution of $8,976 — the cost of Soles’ funeral.