State v. Soto

In response to an attack by Roney against Bill, Aaron Kar and his friends drove past a group standing on the street, which included Roney and his brother Roscoe, and attempted to hit one of them with a stick from the moving car. The following afternoon, Bill attacked Roney with a baseball bat as he was walking alone. Roney was taken to the hospital and, meanwhile, Roscoe and some friends discussed a retaliatory attack. Roscoe called some friends in Nashua, asking them to bring a gun and, that evening, Michael Soto (defendant) drove from Nashua to Manchester and met with Roscoe and his other friends. Roscoe confirmed Soto had brought a gun, and the group smoked marijuana and settled on a plan to find and confront Roney’s assailants. The group found whom they suspected had been involved in Roney’s attack gathered near a dumpster. After driving past once or twice, the group parked their car around the corner and decided that Roscoe should do the shooting due to his blood relationship with Roney. Soto then wiped the gun with his shirt, racked the slide to cock it, and handed it to Roscoe, telling him the gun was “smooth.” Roscoe thereafter shot Aaron in the leg and abdomen, and Aaron later died from his wounds. Soto was convicted for the murder of Aaron Kar. Soto appealed, arguing the trial court erred by failing to include a provocation-manslaughter instruction.