State v. Boutilier

WERNICK, Justice.

Found guilty by a jury of Manslaughter, committed in violation of 17-A M.R.S.A. § 203(1)(A), the defendant Robert C. Bouti-lier has appealed to this Court from the judgment of conviction entered in the Superior Court (Franklin County).

We sustain the appeal and set aside the judgment of conviction.

On May 17,1979, the defendant was operating a 1965 Chrysler proceeding south on Route # 4 in Strong toward Farmington. Two friends, Rod Savage and Emery Scribner, were passengers. In the trunk of the vehicle was a five-gallon metal can of gasoline. At approximately 11:15 p. m., the…