Witness: Robuck admitted to stabbing Newton teen

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Several acquaintances of Justin Alan Robuck and convicted murderer Tyler Ray Oberhart testified during Robuck’s first-degree murder trial Thursday, including Oberhart’s ex-girlfriend, who said Robuck admitted to stabbing 19-year-old Jerry Alden Pittman II. Twenty-year-old Mishana Laura Cornejo was one of two Newton females — along with 18-year-old Courtney Patricia Hummel — who waited for Robuck, Oberhart and Ray Robert Travis in an alley behind Pittman’s residence while the three young men confronted the Newton teenager in the early morning hours of Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007. Cornejo testified for several hours both Wednesday and Thursday at the Dallas County Courthouse in Adel, stating she heard Robuck claim to have stabbed Pittman multiple times following an altercation over a drug exchange that same day which resulted in the 19-year-old’s death. “When he was getting in the car, he told us, ‘I stabbed him at least 30 times. I think he’s dead,’” Cornejo said. Pittman was stabbed 29 times, according to the medical examiner. Cornejo also told the jury she heard Robuck say “I killed him” more than once but said she did not believe at the time that Pittman had been hurt very badly during the confrontation.

Investigators and other witnesses — including Newton resident Brandon Miller, who described himself as a friend of Robuck’s — have testified during the 20-year-old’s trial this week that Robuck joined Oberhart, Cornejo, Hummel and Travis between 3 and 4 a.m. the day Pittman was killed after learning Pittman had cheated Oberhart in a drug exchange only hours earlier. According to Cornejo, she drove Oberhart in Hummel’s vehicle to the Pittman residence at 714 W. Third St. S. so Oberhart could trade several Xanax pills for some marijuana. However, once the two returned to Cornejo’s apartment, where she and Oberhart resided, they discovered the marijuana was actually grass clippings, possibly from a lawn mower. Cornejo said she, Hummel and Travis were laughing about the incident but that Oberhart was mad. Hummel testified during Oberhart’s murder trial that Pittman previously had cheated her in a drug exchange, that a friend of Robuck’s also had been ripped off by Pittman and that Pittman had a reputation for being dishonest in drug exchanges. Cornejo testified Oberhart, then 17 years old, wanted to return to Pittman’s to get real marijuana, the pills back or money for the value of the pills. Hummel, Travis and Robuck — who was contacted at Miller’s by phone — decided to go with them. “Justin thought Tyler was going to get jumped,” Cornejo said. When asked if the boys discussed hurting Pittman, she answered, “No, just scaring him”.

Cornejo recalled hearing Robuck mention on the trip to Pittman’s that he had a butterfly knife, and she also remembered seeing Oberhart playing with a switchblade at her apartment earlier that day. Hummel testified at Oberhart’s first-degree murder trial in late July and early August that the switchblade was left in her vehicle by a friend and that she gave the knife to Oberhart before he went to speak with Pittman “for protection”. Both girls also said Travis wrapped his hemp necklace around his hand before exiting the car with the others. Both Cornejo and Hummel have testified they waited in Hummel’s vehicle, which Cornejo was driving because the others had been consuming alcohol and drugs that evening and morning, about five minutes before Robuck came running back, bleeding from his left hand and his clothing covered in blood. Cornejo described Robuck as looking “zombie-like” and having a blank stare. “When I looked at Justin, it was like I could see right through him,” she said. About half a minute later, Travis returned to the car as well. “(Travis) said that he hit Jerry with his necklace,” Cornejo said. The girls said Oberhart joined them about a minute later and that he also was covered in blood and had a smaller wound to his right hand. As they drove away from the scene, Cornejo recalled Travis telling Robuck and Oberhart that “they took it too far” and Oberhart saying Pittman was blacking out. “Justin said it will teach people to ever rip him off again and that he hoped he (Pittman) was dead,” Cornejo said.

Cornejo said she remained with Oberhart until he and Robuck were arrested Sunday, Oct. 7, 2007. The five had returned to Miller’s briefly before she, Oberhart and Robuck were joined by Newton resident Chadwick Ramsey Forbes, who she said drove them to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines to have Robuck’s hand treated. Hummel and Travis joined them at Robuck’s mother’s home later in the day, and the group learned Pittman was dead after receiving a phone call from Cornejo’s mother. Cornejo said she had been told by Oberhart that Forbes was getting rid of “the evidence” and that she saw a black garbage bag in the back of Forbes’ truck, but she did not know where it was taken. Cornejo said Oberhart told her on three different occasions that he stabbed Pittman once or twice. Other witnesses in Oberhart’s trial recalled hearing him claim to have stabbed Pittman in the chest or heart, but Cornejo denied ever hearing him say that. “(Oberhart) told me that he stabbed Justin’s hand to get him to stop stabbing Jerry,” Cornejo told jurors.

Cornejo and Hummel both have pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact of a felony, an aggravated misdemeanor, in connection with the case after making a plea agreement with the Jasper County Attorney’s Office. Hummel currently is serving her one-year sentence in the Jasper County Jail, and Cornejo is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 20. She also anticipates spending one year in jail. Cornejo also told jurors she spent six months in jail following Robuck and Oberhart’s arrests after she was found guilty of violating a no contact order between her and Oberhart. Cornejo said she and Oberhart spoke during multiple phone calls while he was in jail and that one of their teachers from Basics and Beyond Alternative School took notes from her to Oberhart at the jail.

Thursday’s testimony also included statements from Miller, who said he knew Robuck from working with him at Midtown Café and described Robuck as an “easy-going” person who he never believed would hurt anyone. “He cared a lot about his friends,” Miller said. Miller testified he was aware when Robuck left his apartment with the others that he was going to confront Pittman about a drug exchange, and he said he helped Robuck wrap his bleeding hand when the group returned. Miller said he did not know Pittman and was not told what had happened during the incident but that he did contact authorities after learning Pittman was dead the next day and being advised by his attorney.

A total of six people have been charged in connection with the Pittman murder case. Forbes faces charges of accessory after the fact of a felony and conspiracy to commit robbery, a class C felony, for his alleged involvement in the incident. Travis was found guilty of a lesser charge of second-degree robbery and is serving a 10-year sentence. He will serve at least seven years of the sentence before he is eligible for parole. Robuck’s trial continues today and is expected to take most of next week.

Mandi Lamb can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 424 or via e-mail at mlamb@newtondailynews.com.