The Jasper County Attorney now says two men stabbed a Newton man to death because he cheated them on a drug deal. Seventeen-year-old Tyler Oberhart and 19-year-old Justin Robuck, both of Newton, are both charged with first-degree murder in the death of 19-year-old Jerry Pittman the second.
Pittman’s was found in his back yard around 11:30 Saturday morning. Police believe Pittman was killed about seven and a half hours earlier when Oberhart and Robuck confronted him over a 20 to $30 debt. The county attorney’s office says Pittman had traded real grass instead of marijuana to Oberhart and Robuck in exchange for prescription drugs.
The two men reportedly then went to Pittman’s house around four in the morning Saturday to retrieve the drugs and a fight ensued. An autopsy by the state medical examiner determined Pittman had been stabbed a total of 30 times and died at the scene. Information filed on the case shows that Oberhart accidentally stabbed Robuck in the left hand during the attack, and the 19-year-old was treated for a severe cut around five A.M. Saturday.
County Attorney Steve Johnson says Robuck turned himself in to Des Moines police Sunday afternoon and confessed his and Oberhart’s involvement in Pittman’s murder.