THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE DEFENDANT, WHO WAS FOLLOWING THE SHOOTER’S CAR, WAS AWARE THE SHOOTER INTENDED TO KILL A RIVAL GANG MEMBER, OR EVEN AWARE THE SHOOTER WAS ARMED; THEREFORE THE CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT MURDER CHARGE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined defendant’s motion for a trial order of dismissal should have been granted. Defendant was following the shooter’s car when the shooter shot and killed a member of a rival gang. There was no evidence defendant knew the shooter intended to kill or even that the shooter was armed. Therefore the evidence did not demonstrate that defendant shared the shooter’s intent to kill:

While the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the People, showed that the defendant conspired with others to retaliate against rival gang members, it failed to establish that the defendant entered into a conspiracy with the goal of committing murder in the second degree … . The People failed to present direct or circumstantial evidence establishing that the defendant was aware that Kelson or Oliveras were armed or had the intent to commit murder or that the defendant, in fact, joined a conspiracy with the goal of committing murder … . For the same reasons, the evidence was insufficient to establish that the defendant believed that he was rendering aid to a person who intended to commit murder. People v Hewitt, 2026 NY Slip Op 03184, Second Dept 5-20-26

Practice Point: Consult this decision for insight into the proof necessary for a conspiracy-to-commit-murder conviction. There must be evidence the defendant shared the killer’s intent, not the case here.