NEW CASTLE (AP) — A man jailed on charges he fatally shot another man after an argument at a western Pennsylvania public housing complex is a state prison guard.
Forty-six-year-old Joseph Cohen was suspended from his job at the State Correctional Institution-Mercer on Wednesday a few hours after he was arraigned on criminal homicide and other charges in the death of 25-year-old Demon Higgins.
New Castle police say the men argued at the Lincoln Terrace housing complex Tuesday night before Cohen shot Higgins in the chest.
One witness told police Cohen tried to help a woman arguing with Higgins and shot him after the woman tried to separate the men. But police say Cohen told them he drew his gun but only fired after Higgins “made a rush” at him.
Online court records don’t list a defense attorney.
