Appeals court weighs whether driver shared lethal intent in Dacia Street drive‑by shooting

The Supreme Judicial Court heard oral argument on whether evidence was sufficient to convict Michael Carlton of sharing deadly intent as the driver in a drive‑by shooting on Dacia Street. Attorney Richard Hartquist, representing Carlton, told the justices the physical evidence shows an “unplanned and a spontaneous event” and argued the Commonwealth’s case relies on inferences rather than proof of the driver’s mental state. "All of the physical evidence ... illustrates that this is an unplanned and a spontaneous event that cannot be attributed to the driver of the vehicle," Hartquist said. He emphasized that the case should be evaluated in three phases — before, during and after the shooting — and argued that none of those stages supplied reliable evidence that Carlton…