State of Minnesota v. James Michael Peterson

Syllabus

In a direct appeal, appellant challenges his conviction for aiding and abetting second-degree murder. Witnesses reported hearing a gunshot, which was recorded at 1:47 a.m. Shortly after, law enforcement found the victim sitting inside his pickup truck with a gunshot wound; he later died. No witness testified to seeing the murder or to seeing appellant at the scene. The murder weapon was not recovered. But detailed testimony described appellant with a gun driving toward the victim to confront him. Appellant challenges the sufficiency of the circumstantial evidence to sustain his conviction. Because the record evidence is consistent with guilt and inconsistent with any rational hypothesis except that of guilt, we affirm.