Jabari Santi-Baird, 26, and Erin Cottee, 31, both of Souderton.
It’s been nearly three years since a drug deal gone wrong led to a shooting along the 500 block of West Third Street in Lansdale Borough. Though no one was injured, upwards of four gunshots were fired at a pair of residents — one of whom chased the gunman away on foot while carrying a pair of samurai swords.
On Monday, the case — bogged down by the coronavirus pandemic — reached its conclusion as the gunman and his then-girlfriend both entered guilty pleas to attempted homicide and related offenses.
Jabari Baird, 26, and Erin Cottee, 31, both of Souderton, were scheduled to take their case to trial this week, however they struck a plea agreement with prosecutors on Monday with both pleading guilty to attempted homicide and conspiracy to commit homicide. Baird also entered a guilty plea to a charge of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, and Cottee entered guilty pleas to additional charges of conspiracy to discharge a firearm into an occupied structure and sale of a firearm to an ineligible transferee.
Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Rogers sentenced Baird to 6 to 14 years in state prison, with the state of Maryland taking over parole monitoring upon his release. Cottee received a sentence of 5 to 12 years in state prison, with the state of South Carolina taking over parole monitoring upon her release, according to court records.
Baird will receive credit for 988 days of time served, and Cottee will receive credit for 983 days of time served, court records show. All other charges were dropped in exchange for their pleas.
The charges against Baird and Cottee stemmed from a shooting that occurred on May 4, 2019, along the 500 block of West Third Street. That incident followed what police described as a drug deal gone wrong the previous night.
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 Cottee — on the evening of May 3, 2019. 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 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 middleman for the deal, and offered money to make the situation go away, the report states.
The Shooting
Shortly after 11:30 a.m. on May 4, 2019, 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 led 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 were charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, terroristic threats and related weapons offenses.
Additional charges were filed against Baird and Cottee during their preliminary hearings in August 2019.
See also:
Additional Charges Filed Against Duo Accused of Lansdale Shooting
Drugs, Guns and Samurai Swords: Details Released in Lansdale Shooting Investigation
Pair Charged With Attempted Homicide In Lansdale Shooting
