People v. Johnson

Defendant, age 26 at time of offense (and who was not a gang member and had no criminal history), was convicted, after bench trial, of 1st degree murder, on an accountability theory, of 2 victims in a 2012 gang-motivated drive-by shooting. Evidence showed that Defendant drove the vehicle from which the shooter shot the victims. Defendant introduced evidence that he operated a freelance tax service, and that the shooter was a customer who asked him for a ride and that Defendant was unaware of his intentions to shoot the victims. There was no direct evidence of Defendant's intent to assist shooter in the drive-by shooting. Defendant stopped the vehicle at the shooter's request, and there is no evidence that Defendant knew of shooter's intentions or even that he had a gun. There was no evidence that Defendant participated in shooter's plan to shoot the victims before or during the offense. State's evidence was so unsatisfactory as to justify a reasonable doubt of Defendant's guilt. (HOWSE and BURKE, concurring.)