Jury finds OC man guilty

A jury of nine men and three women delivered the verdict at about 5 p.m. after deliberating for two hours Friday afternoon.

Earlier in the day, Ruben Craig, who represented himself throughout the four-day trial, took the stand to recount his version of events that led to his stabbing of Shawn Schillinger near a playground on East Third Street in Oil City on May 30, 2016.

Schillinger received stab wounds to the chest and groin in the altercation. He was flown to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh and underwent six to eight operations for his injuries.

He died Jan. 12 at UPMC Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh at the age of 44 due to unrelated causes.

Craig described his prior aggravated assault conviction in Erie County in 2004, when he was found guilty of slitting a cab driver’s throat. Previously, Craig had claimed the cab driver was trying to rob him.

“It was one of the worst mistakes of my life. At first I had a hard time taking responsibility for what I did,” Craig said.

Craig said he moved to Oil City in February 2015 in order to move in with his girlfriend, now wife, Jen Craig.

Ruben Craig, who said he has a black father and Scotch-Irish mother, said Jen Craig’s family did not take kindly to him.

The only interaction he had with Jen Craig’s sister, Brooke Biernesser, was at a relative’s birthday party in early 2015, Ruben Craig said. There, he said he introduced himself to Biernesser and her boyfriend, Robert Neubauer, who is Schillinger’s brother.

Ruben Craig also explained family tension when Jen Craig lost parental rights over her two sons in a custody battle with her mother in May 2015. It had been deemed that Ruben Craig posed a risk to her sons due to his prior felony conviction, Ruben Craig said.

Ruben Craig disclaimed Biernesser’s prior testimony that he stalked her and lurked around her East Third Street residence. He said he walked most places, and right before the stabbing, he had been out for a stroll in the neighborhood where he lived a block away from Biernesser and Neubauer.

That was when Neubauer, Schillinger and Schillinger’s friend came toward him on the street, Ruben Craig said.

Schillinger landed the first punch and had grabbed a brick in order to strike him in the head, continued Ruben Craig.

He said he also thought Neubauer was hiding a firearm behind his back.

Ruben Craig said he threatened to use force if the men did not back off.

“I didn’t have a choice,” said Ruben Craig, tearing up on the stand. He said he tried to aim for Schillinger’s hip so as to hurt him, but not kill him.

Ruben Craig also said he stabbed Schillinger more than once because people do not often feel the first stab.

On cross-examination, District Attorney Shawn White painted Ruben Craig in an entirely different light, describing the defendant as entitled and someone who would not take responsibility for his actions.

The DA discussed Ruben Craig’s discharge from the military based on disciplinary issues.

White also dug into stories he claimed Ruben Craig made up in order to justify his actions and shift blame onto others.

One such story, White said, was the idea that Biernesser and Neubauer were racists and had an issue with the mere presence of Ruben Craig.

“If they are so racist, why would you be walking in a dark alley near their house?” asked White.

Ruben Craig said he had walked the route because it did not have any inclines in the pavement. He added that while race was not the only issue Jen Craig’s family had with him, it was the primary one.

The DA then inquired about the brick Ruben Craig alleged Schillinger to have used as a weapon. The sole partial red brick police recovered from the scene, and which was entered into evidence by the defense, was not the brick Ruben Craig told officers was used against him, said White.

White brought up Ruben Craig’s interview with Oil City Police Chief Bob Wenner immediately after the incident.

Ruben Craig cited the specific self-defense section from the crimes code when speaking with Wenner, the DA said, along with asking about footage from a surveillance camera near the East Third Street playground.

“So you really feel you’re the victim in this case?” White asked.

“People want to hurt me,” Ruben Craig responded.

Before the defense rested, Christopher Barsh, Jen Craig’s ex-boyfriend, was also called to the stand.

White called Wenner during rebuttal, and the police chief said he didn’t think Ruben Craig was first struck with a brick.

Wenner continued during cross-examination, explaining how the surveillance footage showed Neubauer, Schillinger and Schillinger’s friend moving backward as Ruben Craig moved forward during the altercation.

Defense closes

Ruben Craig told jurors in closing that the case was a clear display of self-defense with stand-your-ground law justifications.

“I have every right to stand 40 feet, 50 feet from where I live,” Ruben Craig said.

It was perfectly legal for him to carry a knife, and no evidence existed that proved he meant to cause injury to Schillinger, said Ruben Craig.

Detailing the alleged plan hatched between Biernesser and Schillinger to harm him, Ruben Craig said their ultimate goal was to make him leave Jen Craig.

“The only reason I’m standing trial is because I have a felony conviction from 13 years ago,” said Ruben Craig.

Prosecution closes

White argued Ruben Craig’s need to control situations, and the DA discussed inconsistencies with testimony regarding the brick and the surveillance camera footage.

“That video contradicts everything he said happened that night,” White said.

Namely, the DA said Ruben Craig was confronted with non-deadly force and had the duty to retreat since he was not at his residence.

During the incident, Ruben Craig provoked Schillinger, and any injuries Ruben Craig sustained in the altercation were superficial, White said.

“This defendant wanted to kill Shawn Schillinger. If John Rodgers (Oil City firefighter and paramedic) didn’t come along when he did, Shawn Schillinger would (have been) dead,” White concluded.

Following the verdict, Boyer ordered Ruben Craig to be returned to state prison immediately, where he is currently serving a term on Venango County charges of illegally possessing a firearm that stem from his conviction in the Erie County case.

A sentence date was set for Oct. 3 in Courtroom 2 of the Venango County Courthouse.