Riley v. State

60 P.3d 204 (2002)

Facts

Riley (D) and Portalla opened fire on a crowd of young people who were merely socializing at a bonfire near a river. Two of the people were seriously wounded. Ds were indicted on two counts of first-degree assault. Ballistics did not reveal which of the weapons used had fired the wounding shots. The state could easily prove the wounds were inflicted by one of the two defendants but not which one. The jury was instructed to decide whether the defendants were either principals or accomplices. The jury found that D acted as an accomplice. D appealed.