Friend of thief kills someone

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Question

Country: United States of America
State: New York

In New York, two men walk into a store and one of the men reaches into the cash register and takes $300 out. The owner comes out and the thief's friend pulls out a gun and shoots and kills the owner. The man who took the money said that the owner owed him $300 and he went to collect the debt. He claimed his friend came along just in case the owner made any trouble but that he did not plan on using any force and did not know the friend was armed. Can this person be guilty of murder on the basis of being an accessory and are there cases in NY that deal with this?

Answer

He cannot be guilty if he did not know in any way of the possible violence...but it seems very possible here he could be charged and a court would then decide.