MONTGOMERY TWP. >> A Hatfield man accused of killing another man during a house party in July is now headed to Montgomery County court.
Derrick Jason Cosby, 43, of the 2400 block of Orvilla Road waived his preliminary hearing Monday in the shooting death of Jeremy Chasteen, 31, on July 22.
“It’s an unfortunate situation for everybody that’s involved in this case,” said attorney Edward Galang, on behalf of Cosby.
Cosby faces one count of first-degree voluntary manslaughter and one first-degree misdemeanor charge of possessing an instrument of crime, which stem from a July 22 incident that led to the death of Chasteen.
“The primary issue is whether the force that was utilized by my client was appropriate under the law. It’s a justification issue, that will be addressed through the courts,” Galang said.
Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Richard Bradbury said the waived hearing was Cosby’s “acknowledging that we have enough to be able to satisfy today’s burden,” to continue to a full trial at the county level.
“The idea behind voluntary manslaughter is that someone behaved in a way that was not legally justified. That’s going to be the charge, moving forward,” Bradbury said.
