Newton resident Ray Robert Travis, who pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in the October 2007 stabbing death of 19-year-old Jerry Alden Pittman II, will spend at least seven years in prison before he is eligible for parole. Travis, 20, was one of three — along with 18-year-old Tyler Ray Oberhart and 20-year-old Justin Alan Robuck — charged with first-degree murder in connection with Pittman’s death last fall. Travis pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery in February and testified during Oberhart’s trial earlier this month. Oberhart was found guilty of first-degree murder and will be sentenced Oct. 6. Travis appeared for sentencing Monday morning at the Jasper County Courthouse, where Fifth District Judge Gregory A. Hulse sentenced him to a term of imprisonment not to exceed 10 years and ordered that Travis not be eligible for parole until seven-tenths of his sentence is served. Travis will receive credit for the time he has spent in the Jasper County Jail since his arrest Oct. 30, 2007, and will be transported to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Oakdale. Travis also was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, a yet undetermined amount of restitution to Pittman’s family and to submit a DNA sample for the statewide profiling system. Pittman’s body was found by his father in the backyard of a neighbor’s residence around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007. The 19-year-old had been beaten and stabbed 29 times, according to autopsy reports. Oberhart and Robuck were arrested in connection with the incident on Oct. 7, 2007, and Travis — initially described in court records as a witness to the murder — was charged after authorities found part of a marble that had broken off a hemp necklace belonging to Travis at the scene of Pittman’s murder. During Oberhart’s trial, the prosecution’s witnesses — including Travis himself — testified he wrapped the necklace around his fist and hit Pittman during the confrontation, which ensued after Oberhart, Robuck and Travis went to Pittman’s residence at 714 W. Third St. S. around 3:45 a.m. to confront him for cheating Oberhart by giving him actual grass clippings instead of marijuana in exchange for prescription drugs earlier that morning. Three other local residents also are facing criminal charges in connection with the case. Eighteen-year-old Courtney Patricia Hummel and 20-year-old Mishana Laura Cornejo, both of Newton, have pleaded guilty as part of an agreement with the Jasper County Attorney’s Office to a misdemeanor charge of accessory after the fact. Both girls told jurors during Oberhart’s trial, which was moved to Dallas County due to pre-trial publicity, that they went with Oberhart, Robuck and Travis to Pittman’s residence on the morning Pittman was killed and waited in Hummel’s vehicle in the alley behind the house. Cornejo and Hummel testified they believed the boys intended to retrieve the prescription drugs, get the marijuana Oberhart had expected or the money for the value of the marijuana, which was around $20. Cornejo is scheduled to appear in court for sentencing on Oct. 20, and Hummel will be sentenced Nov. 3. They expect to serve one year in jail for their involvement in the incident, which included helping the boys plan alibis and clean blood evidence from Hummel’s vehicle, according to court documents. Chadwick Ramsey Forbes, 20, of Newton also has been charged in connection with the case for allegedly soliciting others to join in the assault on Pittman, having knowledge that the murder had taken place by driving Robuck to Des Moines to receive medical treatment for the stab wound to his hand, and helping Oberhart, Robuck and Travis plan an alibi. No court date for Forbes — who has been charged with accessory after the fact and conspiracy to commit robbery — is scheduled at this time. Robuck’s first-degree murder trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection on Sept. 22 and also will be in Dallas County.
Mandi Lamb can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 424 or via e-mail at mlamb@newtondailynews.com.