BATON ROUGE — A state appeals court set aside a second-degree murder conviction Thursday, finding that a judge used "speculation" rather than reason to determine who shot and killed a young father along Prescott Road in 2021.

The judge was Eboni Johnson Rose, who returned to the bench in June following a lengthy suspension. The state Supreme Court last year sidelined Rose temporarily, questioning whether she was competent to serve after she a series of mistakes negated some convictions.

The case Thursday involved a decision made prior to her suspension. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeal overturned Curtis Stewart Jr.'s 2023 murder conviction, saying the state hadn't proven its case. Stewart had been sentenced to life in prison.

District Attorney Hillar Moore III said his office disagreed with the court's decision and would ask the state Supreme Court to review it.

In its 2-1 decision, the court said the state hadn't proven Stewart's guilt.

"The trial court's determination that the shots were fired by the defendant was based on speculation rather than reasonable inferences," the panel said in a 2-1 decision.

"Very simply put, if two vehicles were involved, and we have no evidence putting the defendant in either vehicle at the time of the shooting, and we cannot say that the defendant was the shooter, the state failed to negate a reasonable probability of misidentification," the court said.

"Most glaringly, no rational trier of fact could conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant was the shooter," the court added.

Rose had convicted Stewart in the April 25, 2021, death of Devonta Ennis, 25. Prosecutors said people in two cars blocked Ennis in a driveway and fired 22 shots into his Mercedes, but only three shell casings were found at the scene.

Stewart said he wasn't among the three people seen on grainy surveillance video entered into evidence, and a geolocation expert said he could pinpoint Stewart's location only to a four-mile radius.

According to testimony, the vehicles used to block the Mercedes were linked to two women who said Stewart had access to their vehicles. Defense lawyer Ron Haley said police used "tunnel vision" while investigating.