People v. Roe

542 N.E.2d 610 (N.Y. 1989)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D had an intense interest and detailed knowledge of guns. D had completed his first year of high-school. D was familiar with his father’s 12-gauge shotgun. Darrin and another friend dropped by to wait for Darrin’s older brother, and D entertained the boys by showing them a sawed-off shotgun, a gravity knife, Chuka sticks and demonstrated the assembly and disassembly of a sawed-off shotgun. D then took the boys to his parents’ room where he took out his father’s 12-gauge shotgun. D deliberately loaded a mix of live and dummy shells into the magazine of a 12-gauge shotgun. D pumped a shell into the chamber without knowing if it was live or not pointed the gun at Darrin, not 10 feet away, and exclaimed, “Let’s play Polish roulette. Who is first?” D pulled the trigger and discharged a live round into 82-pound Darrin. Darrin died from his massive injuries. D claimed that he was demonstrating the gun when his foot slipped, and the gun became airborne, and when he caught it he accidentally discharged it. D was convicted of depraved indifference murder.