Additional Charges Filed Against Duo Accused of Lansdale Shooting

Keith Heffintrayer•

Prosecutors have levied additional charges against a pair of Souderton residents who are accused of a shooting that occurred in May along West Third Street in Lansdale.

Additional counts of attempted homicide and discharging a firearm into an occupied structure were filed against 23-year-old Jabari Santi-Baird and 28-year-old Erin Cottee, during a pair of preliminary hearings in front of Magisterial District Judge Ed Levine on Friday morning. Prior charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats and related weapons offenses were held against both.

Though Cottee waived her preliminary hearing, her attorney, Geoffrey Hood, requested a bail reduction from $500,000 cash to either $500,000 unsecured or 10% of a lowered bail amount. Hood said that the request was made due to Cottee being four months pregnant and having shared custody of her 7-year-old son. Hood added that Cottee was not receiving proper nutrition for a pregnant woman in jail, and said that she was not a flight risk and would be staying with her father in Souderton.

Following Hood’s argument, Assistant District Attorney Scott Frame played one of the videos in evidence, in which Cottee is allegedly under the influence of drugs while early in her pregnancy. While the video was played, Cottee’s father, who attended the hearing, lowered and then shook his head.

Judge Levine ultimately reduced Cottee’s bail to $99,000, which will take her out of 23-hour lockup and place her in general population. Cottee was crying as she was exiting the courtroom, though investigators allowed her a few minutes to speak to her father. She was then transported back to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.

After Cottee waived her hearing, a preliminary hearing for Santi-Baird was held, in which his public defender argued that the attempted homicide charges were excessive due to the changing and conflicting statements made by the victims and witnesses, but Judge Levine held all charges for formal arraignment in county court.

Judge Levine also declined to reduce Santi-Baird’s bail, which stands at $500,000 cash.

Charges against Santi-Baird and Cottee stem from a shooting that occurred on May 4 along the 500 block of West Third Street. That incident followed what police described as a drug deal gone wrong the previous night.

To read more about the original incident, click here.

(Editor's note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. Should the defendant choose to issue a public statement, or is later found not guilty or has the charges dropped, we will update this article accordingly.)