The court reverses defendant's conviction of purposeful murder and related firearms offenses. The court concludes that defendant's trial was tainted by a detective's reference, in violation of a prior court ruling, to defendant's alleged gang membership and the presence of gangs in the area of homicide. The panel concludes that the court's curative instruction was insufficient to alleviate the prejudice caused by the detective's remarks.
Judge Ostrer wrote a separate, unpublished concurrence.