In State v. Sexton, 311 N.J. Super. 70, 82, 709 A.2d 288 (App.Div.1998), the defendant, a juvenile tried as an adult, was charged with murder and related weapon charges following the shooting death of his friend, another juvenile. Sexton, supra, 311 N.J. Super. at 73, 709 A.2d 288. The two boys were handling a gun that was registered to the victim's grandmother, a fact that the jury did not learn. Id. at 75, 709 A.2d 288. The victim had assured Sexton that the gun was not loaded and he then pulled the trigger hitting his friend. Ibid. The victim eventually died from the gunshot wound and Sexton was convicted of reckless manslaughter. Id. at 73, 709 A.2d 288. At trial, Sexton maintained that he was acting under a reasonable, although mistaken, belief that the gun was not loaded. Id. at 76-77, 709 A.2d 288. The Court held that the trial judge committed plain error by failing to charge the jury that the State bore the burden of disproving the defendant's reasonable belief that the gun he had in his possession was not loaded. Sexton, supra, 311 N.J. Super. at 82, 709 A.2d 288. The Supreme Court affirmed. State v. Sexton, 160 N.J. 93, 733 A.2d 1125 (1999).