Man gets 17½-40 years for murder

A man will serve 17½ to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to third-degree murder.

Shayne A. Craighead, 23, also pleaded guilty to robbery and robbery of a motor vehicle, stemming from the shooting death a year ago today of Hasan Abdul-Rabb, 24.

A co-defendant in the case, Velmon Dowling, is scheduled for court Monday.

According to the prosecution, Craighead and Mr. Dowling met Mr. AbdulRabb on Ward Street in South Oakland in a drug transaction.

The two got into the back seat of Mr. AbdulRabb’s rented car and, a short time later, Craighead pulled out a gun. Another witness who had been in the car with Mr. Abdul-Rabb got out and ran. Moments later, he heard a gunshot.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Robinowitz said the victim was found on the ground with a bullet wound to the shoulder, and Craighead reached in his pockets and then drove off in the car.

He and Mr. Dowling were arrested later that night after a car chase that ended on Saw Mill Run Boulevard, and a .357 Magnum revolver was recovered inside a grill at a house on the North Side which Craighead was known to frequent, the prosecutor said.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Anthony M. Mariani said this was the 10th homicide case he’s had in the last two years that resulted from a drug sale.

“I wonder to myself how can we reach young men before they get here,” he said.

Mr. Abdul-Rabb’s mother told the court how much she misses her son.

“It’s been very hard. I know my son wasn’t perfect, but no man is,” Linda McCray said. “He didn’t deserve to die. Nothing’s going to bring him back, so, to me, it doesn’t matter how much time [Craighead] gets.”

Mr. Abdul-Rabb’s fiance said it has been hard adjusting to being a single parent to their two children.

“They want to know where he is,” Irie Mack said. “I miss my best friend. He was my partner in life.”