State v. Marchesano

In State v. Marchesano, 162 Ariz. 308, 783 P.2d 247 (App. 1989), Marchesano and a friend, Allen Tommasone, entered a restaurant and robbed it at gunpoint. The restaurant owner followed the two as they left the restaurant. As the owner emerged from the building, Tommasone shot him in the arm. Id. at 310, 783 P.2d at 249. On appeal, Marchesano argued that, even if he acted as an accomplice in robbing the restaurant, he could not be convicted of attempted first degree murder of the restaurant owner because, although Tommasone might have acted with premeditation, there was no evidence that he did. See A.R.S. 13- 1105(A)(1). Thus, the issue before the court was whether Tommasone's premeditation could be attributed to Marchesano as his accomplice. 162 Ariz. at 313, 783 P.2d at 252. In determining this issue, the Marchesano court started with the rule of liability that an accomplice "is criminally accountable for the conduct of another." A.R.S. 13-303(A)(3). The court then turned to the question "whether, in the attribution of an accomplice's conduct, the law also attributes the accomplice's culpable state of mind." 162 Ariz. at 313-14, 783 P.2d at 252-53. The court concluded that it did.