California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Gonzalez, A131631 (Cal. App. 2012):
"To convict a defendant of a nontarget crime as an accomplice under the 'natural and probable consequences' doctrine, the [trier of fact] must find that, with knowledge of the perpetrator's unlawful purpose, and with the intent of committing, encouraging, or facilitating the commission of the target crime, the defendant aided, promoted, encouraged, or instigated the commission of the target crime. The [trier of fact] must also find that the defendant's confederate committed an offense other than the target crime, and that the nontarget offense was a 'natural and probable consequence' of the target crime that the defendant assisted or encouraged." (People v. Prettyman (1996) 14 Cal.4th 248, 254.) " '[A] defendant whose liability is predicated on his status as an aider and abettor need not have intended to encourage or facilitate the particular offense ultimately committed by the perpetrator. His knowledge that an act which is criminal was intended, and his action taken with the intent that the act be encouraged or facilitated, are sufficient to impose liability on him for any reasonably foreseeable offense committed as a consequence by the perpetrator. It is the intent to encourage and bring about conduct that is criminal, not the specific intent that is an element of the target offense, which . . . must be found by [the trier of fact].' [Citation.]" (Id. at p. 261.)
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