Hearing delayed in Hatfield manslaughter case

Derrick Cosby, 43, who is charged with the shooting death of Jeremy Chasteen, freed from custody after posting bail

MONTGOMERY TWP. » The preliminary hearing for a 43-year-old Hatfield Township man charged with the fatal shooting of a 31-yearold man at a party at the defendant’s home last month has been postponed until September.

Derrick Jason Cosby, of the 2400 block of East Orvilla Road — who faces one count each of first-degree felony voluntary manslaughter and first-degree misdemeanor possession of a weapon in connection with the July 22 shooting death of Jeremy Chasteen — had his hearing before Montgomery Township District Judge Andrea Hudak Duffy moved from Aug. 17 to Sept. 18, per court records.

Cosby — whose lawyer has maintained that his client fired the fatal shot to protect Chasteen’s wife from being assaulted by Chasteen during the party — was released from Montgomery County Correctional Facility on Aug. 9, following nearly a week behind bars, after posting 10 percent of $75,000 bail.

A joint investigation by Hatfield Township and Montgomery County detectives determined that Cosby fatally shot Chasteen once in the head from approximately five feet away during an altercation inside Cosby’s home around 11:45 p.m. that night, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Cosby called 911 immediately after the shooting and told a dispatcher that “there was a domestic violence case in my... house and I just shot a guy,” adding that “he was beating up his wife and I had no choice,” according to a transcript contained in the affidavit.

Responding officers found the man deceased in the first-floor family room and identified him as Chasteen, who had been an invited guest — along with his wife and their six children — at the party that began earlier that afternoon, the affidavit indicates.

During the subsequent investigation, authorities said, Cosby told detectives that in the evening he had started carrying his unloaded .45 caliber Glock 30 handgun in a concealed manner, and that shortly before the shooting he had learned that Chasteen and his wife had been arguing about who was going to drive home from the party.

According to the affidavit, Cosby said that Chasteen sped off in his vehicle without his wife, then came back and told his wife to get in the car, but when she said no, Chasteen allegedly punched his wife before the couple was separated by Cosby and another partygoer, who walked Chasteen back to his car.

However, Cosby told detectives, Chasteen shoved him, went back inside the house and again demanded his wife get in the car, and punched her again, at which point Cosby went into his bedroom and loaded a magazine into his handgun, court documents state.

Cosby said that he went back into the family room and saw several people forming a ‘barricade” between Chasteen and his wife, but when Chasteen continued to move toward his wife, Cosby fired one shot that struck Chasteen in the head, the affidavit says.

“At no time prior to the shooting did Derrick Cosby attempt to call the police,” the affidavit reads. “Derrick Cosby provided no warning to Jeremy Chasteen as he stated to detectives, ‘I just pulled it out and shot him one time.’”

“This is a tragic case for all involved,” Cosby’s attorney, Edward Galang said earlier this month upon Cosby’s arrest. “My client believed that the shooting was justified as he was protecting his home and the people in it. The person shot was a physically imposing individual that was intoxicated and acting violently. Mr. Cosby is a Navy veteran that has no criminal record. He immediately called 911 and cooperated with the police after the shooting. Mr. Cosby has nothing to hide and has voluntarily surrendered himself. We look forward to the day when all of the facts are revealed behind this unfortunate event.”