Jabari Santi-Baird, 23, and Erin Cottee, 28, have been charged with attempted homicide.
The May shooting that occurred along the 500-block of West Third Street in Lansdale began with a drug deal gone wrong, and ended with the intended victim chasing the gunman with a pair of samurai swords.
That’s according to the details of a criminal complaint filed by Lansdale Police in district court on Monday afternoon.
The complaint, which lead to multiple charges—including attempted homicide—against 23-year-old Jabari Santi-Baird and 28-year-old Erin Cottee, both of Souderton, details the events that transpired both before and after the shooting on May 4.
Prior to the Shooting
According to the criminal complaint, a man and woman residing along the 500-block of West Third Street reconnected with the woman’s former friend—identified as Erin Cottee—on the evening of May 3. Cottee allegedly asked the woman if she could find any cocaine, to which the woman replied “Yes. I know plenty of people,” the report states. The woman then stated that she believed Cottee was pregnant and was not willing to facilitate a drug deal for her, but Cottee replied that the cocaine was for her boyfriend, later identified as Jabari Santi-Baird, the report states.
At approximately 8 p.m. that evening, Baird and Cottee arrived to the woman’s residence to pick up the cocaine, according to the complaint. The woman informed the pair that her drug dealer did not want to meet them directly, so they waited in their vehicle while the dealer stopped by the residence, the report states.
After the dealer left, Baird and Cottee allegedly re-entered the home to pick up their cocaine. The report indicates that Baird was “acting hard” while inside, which caused the man and a friend to reportedly make jokes about Baird’s behavior. The complaint states that Baird and Cottee left a short time later.
The following morning between the hours of 4 a.m. and 5 a.m., the woman allegedly received two videos from Cottee’s Facebook account, featuring threats from Baird stating that the woman “shorted” him cocaine, the report states. The first video allegedly begins with Cottee saying “We’re leaving and we’re coming to your house, so you better [be] prepared,” before panning to Baird “racking” the slide of a handgun. The second video allegedly showed Baird threatening the man and woman, saying “Yo keep talking that s**t, keep talking that s**t, before I slide up in your crib and kill all y’all n*****s,” the report states.
The report states that the woman wanted to notify police, but the man said the situation would look bad because they facilitated a drug deal.
At 10 a.m., the woman reportedly received more messages from Cottee, stating Baird was coming for them, according to the report. The woman stated that she was just the middle man for the deal, and offered money to make the situation go away, the report states.
The Shooting
Shortly after 11:30 a.m., the man and the woman were sitting outside on their lawn chairs with their two dogs, when the man spotted a suspicious male—later identified as Baird—dressed in all black emerging from the alley, the report states. The man told the woman to go inside with the dogs, and then approached the suspicious male, who then pulled a gun and fired approximately three to four rounds at the man before fleeing on foot, the report states.
None of the rounds hit the man, who then went inside the home to retrieve two samurai swords before chasing after the shooter on foot, the report states.
Later, Baird allegedly sent the man another text stating that he was coming back, but never did, the report states.
Post-Shooting Investigation and Charges
Lansdale Borough Police were dispatched to the scene at 11:54 a.m. for a report of shots fired. The initial investigation uncovered four bullet holes in the building, with three of them located near the man and woman’s front door, and a fourth in a neighboring apartment above, the report states.
According to the complaint, the man and woman initially withheld information about the shooting, as investigators spent weeks speaking to witnesses and sources in an effort to identify the gunman. As detectives began to zero in on Cottee and Baird, the woman eventually went to the police station to inform investigators about the events that lead up to the incident, and later picked the couple out of a photo lineup, the report states.
Further investigation by police uncovered that Cottee was the registered owner of a Heckler and Koch 9mm handgun, which closely resembled the handgun that Baird had in his hand in one of the videos.
As a result of the investigation, Baird and Cottee are charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats and related weapons offenses.
Both have been remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $500,000 cash bail.
See also:
Pair Charged With Attempted Homicide In Lansdale Shooting
Lansdale Police Seek Leads In Weekend Shooting Incident, Suspect Still At Large
Montgomery Township Man Charged With Resisting Arrest, Disarming
Man Arrested for Sexually Assaulting 5-Year-Old at Hilltown Walmart: Police
Upper Gwynedd Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Four Girls In Philadelphia
