Victim opposes early release

Man who admitted to violent 2003 Fairport Harbor home invasion and sentenced to 23 years will get hearing on May 13

On Feb., 27, 2003, Gail Kopp was in her Fairport Harbor home getting ready for work, “The Today Show” in the background, when a knock came at her door.

It was Charles Allen, under the guise of a delivery man, who forced his way into the home with a masked man. He and the masked man, Shon Hickenbottom, beat Kopp, bound her, jolted her with a stun gun, held handguns to her head and stole belongings worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, including an almost 11-carat diamond ring.

“They made me kiss the ring goodbye,” Kopp recalled in a May 11 interview.

Allen, now 49, of California, was sentenced to 23 years in prison in January 2004 after pleading guilty to charges of first-degree felony aggravated robbery, first-degree felony aggravated burglary, second-degree felony kidnapping and second-degree felony felonious assault.

But now Allen is seeking an early release, something Kopp opposes. On May 13 in Lake County Common Pleas Court, visiting judge Joseph Gibson will

“I feel he should serve his time. You came into my house, stole my stuff, you took my life away. You took my time and energy away from me. You shouldn’t be out.” — Gail Kopp

preside over Allen’s motion.

In his motion for early release, Allen said he takes full responsibility for his actions and consequences.

“What I did was selfish and dehumanizing,” he said.

Allen wrote in a letter to the judge that his 17 years in prison made him take a “long honest look at myself, the man I was and the man I want to be.”

“The man I used to be was lost, irresponsible and full of self-hate and pity,” Allen wrote. “The man I am now is truthful, determined, dependable, grateful and responsible. Looking back now I would rather be dead than the man I once was.”

Allen wrote that his goals include getting his bachelor’s degree and working toward becoming a licensed chemical dependency counselor.

Kopp, who owned Affordable Jewelry, Coins & Loans in Wickliffe, said that Allen did apologize, but said an apology “doesn’t mean anything.”

During the home invasion, Kopp said she was thrown on the ground and stunned 12 times with the stun gun. Guns were held to her head twice. She had retinal tears in her right eye.

“I feel he should serve his time,” she said. “You came into my house, stole my stuff, you took my life away. You took my time and energy away from me. You shouldn’t be out.”

During his time in prison, Allen has written letters to Kopp and she said they have spoken a few times. Kopp said she at one point suggested the possibility of the two of them speaking together at jails in hopes to change inmates’ lives, but she is no longer interested in doing that. Kopp said that she forgives Allen, but she doesn’t forget.

The Lake County Prosecutor’s Office is also opposing early release for Allen.

“The seriousness of the offenses and the facts underlying this case demonstrate that the defendant is not yet a suitable candidate for community control,” Assistant Lake County Prosecutor Amy C. Alesci wrote in a court filing. “While the (prosecutor’s office) does recognize the defendant has expressed responsibility for his crimes, (the prosecutor’s office) does not believe the defendant yet amenable to community control sanctions...In order to protect the public from future offenses and in order to not demean the seriousness of the underlying offenses, the defendant should continued to serve his stated prison term.”

According to Ohio prison records, Allen’s sentence runs through Aug. 8, 2026.

Hickenbottom is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence after being found guilty by a Lake County jury in 2004 on two counts of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, kidnapping, assault, aggravated theft and three conspiracy counts.