State v. Gonzalez

Summary

The court affirmed the Appellate Court's judgment directing acquittal on the charge of first-degree manslaughter with a firearm as an accessory and ordering resentencing on the remaining convictions. It held that the evidence did not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant intentionally aided the shooter in causing the victim's death, even though the defendant introduced a firearm into the altercation and may have been involved in a drug transaction. The court distinguished accessorial liability from conspiracy-based vicarious liability because the state neither pleaded nor proved a conspiracy theory.