A Union City-area man accused of fatally shooting another man in the driveway of a Union Township residence in a dispute over a woman denied ever pulling a gun on John P. Robinson and shooting him five times as Robinson worked on a vehicle.

Jeffery D. Briggs, 53, claimed instead that he was the victim of a setup on Jan. 26, 2021, in which the gun used in Robinson's killing was stolen from Briggs' car and was present at a Warren County residence where a man Briggs had loaned money to held Briggs at gunpoint and threatened him hours after authorities said Robinson was killed.

An Erie County jury didn't believe Briggs' version of the events.

The jury of eight men and four women deliberated for about 7½ hours over two days before returning guilty verdicts against Briggs Thursday on all charges, including first-degree murder.

Briggs showed no emotion as the verdicts were read in Erie County Judge Erin Connelly Marucci's courtroom shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday.

Connelly Marucci set Briggs' sentencing for May 3. His lawyer, Bruce Sandmeyer, said he knows Briggs will want to explore his post-trial options.

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In addition to first-degree murder, Briggs was convicted of two counts of aggravated assault and charges of possessing an instrument of crime and recklessly endangering in the shooting death of Robinson, 48, at a residence on Parker Road in Union Township, outside of Union City. Robinson was shot five times, with three shots striking his head, and he died of gunshot wounds to the head, Erie County forensic pathologist Eric Vey, M.D., said during testimony on Tuesday.

Pennsylvania State Police investigators accused Briggs of shooting Robinson before Briggs resurfaced a few hours later at a residence in Eldred Township, Warren County, where troopers eventually took him into custody.

More:Witnesses: Man charged in fatal Union Township shooting angry over 'stolen girlfriend'

Building a case

Prosecutors presented witness testimony, forensic evidence and the statements of state police investigators and experts during the three-day trial in supporting their allegations that Briggs intentionally shot Robinson to death. The evidence included a .357-caliber revolver, registered to Briggs' father, that was found at a Warren County residence where state police eventually apprehended Briggs hours after the shooting.

Also found at the Warren County property were shell casings that authorities said matched the gun. A bullet and bullet fragments collected from Robinson and from near his body at the shooting scene were also found to be a match to the gun, according to testimony.

Testimony also revealed that gunshot residue and indicators of gunshot residue were found in Briggs' vehicle and on his hands.

Briggs claimed in his testimony that the .357-caliber gun was likely stolen from his vehicle by a person who lives at the Warren County residence where Briggs was apprehended, and that surveillance video from that residence showed the person placing the stolen gun on a barrel outside of the residence. But Erie County Assistant District Attorney Greg Reichart questioned during his closing arguments why Briggs never told troopers who apprehended him about the stolen gun, and he said the video that Briggs said showed the other person placing the gun on the barrel also seemed to show Briggs placing something on the barrel after he arrived on the property.

According to state police, Briggs was apprehended in Warren County after a 911 call was placed reporting the shooter from Parker Road had arrived at the property with a gun, and reportedly stated that "he shot at me," investigators wrote in Briggs' criminal complaint.

Prosecutors during the trial played a recording of the 911 call in which a person who they said sounded like Briggs is heard saying he didn't have a choice when another person asked him about the shooting.

In his closing argument, Reichart also highlighted the testimony of the woman who said she was in a relationship with Briggs and lived with him for a time. Her statements revealed reported assaults and threats by Briggs, Reichart said.

On the night of the shooting, Briggs told state police troopers he and the woman were friends with benefits, Reichart told the jury.

More:Man charged in 2021 homicide denies killing, says he was threatened with murder weapon

A suspected setup

Briggs, in his testimony, said he and the woman were friends but were not romantically involved, and that he had let her live with him and his father at times.

He said on the day of the shooting he met up with the Warren County resident to loan the man $2,500. When they met up, Briggs said he directed the man to remove the money from the glove compartment of his car, where he and his father kept the .357-caliber revolver.

Briggs testified that when he went to the man's Warren County residence later that evening to collect the $2,500, the man pulled a gun on him while also holding the .357-caliber weapon and ordered him to the ground while also threatening him.

If Briggs had killed Robinson, why did he show up at the Warren County residence later that night, Sandmeyer asked the jury during his closing arguments. The only thing that made sense was that Briggs went there to collect the money he was owed, Sandmeyer said.

Sandmeyer also questioned the reliability of the witnesses brought to testify during the trial, noting that one witness, when asked to identify Briggs in court, identified him instead.

There is no evidence Briggs shot Robinson, Sandmeyer said, noting that there were no witnesses or video. There was certainly no evidence of revenge as a motive in the killing, he said.

As for the woman who claimed she was abused and held hostage by Briggs, she never called the police, never sought a protection-from-abuse order and never sought medical treatment, Sandmeyer told the jury.

Sandmeyer said after the verdict was read Thursday afternoon that he and Briggs respected the jury's decision.

Reichart thanked the jury for its efforts and Connelly Marucci and her court staff for facilitating such a smooth trial. He also credited the efforts of the state police, particularly those of the case's lead investigator, Trooper Scott Sipko.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Jury convicts Union City man in 2021 fatal shooting in Union Township