An Arizona man convicted in a road rage shooting had his sentence thrown out after his victim was brought back to life in an AI-generated video.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Gabriel Horcasitas was convicted of manslaughter for killing U.S. Army Veteran Christopher Pelkey and sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison. While the judge gave Horcasitas the maximum sentence, an appellate court ordered him to be re-sentenced after the victim’s family played an AI video in court depicting Pelkey forgiving Horcasitas.

“The AI video here…does not reflect actual events,” noted a Sept. 30 opinion from the Arizona Court of Appeals. “While the record does not reflect precisely how the AI video factored into the sentencing calculus, there is no question it played a role.”

“We vacate the manslaughter sentence and remand for resentencing,” the court opinion continued, “because the AI video was not reliable.”

In November 2021, Horcasitas and Pelkey were stopped at a red light in Chandler when Horcasitas began repeatedly honking his horn at Pelkey’s truck, according to the court opinion. When a yelling Pelkey got out and approached Horcasitas’ car Horcasitas shot him.  Horcasitas later told police that he had feared for his life after Pelkey “charged” toward his car and repeatedly threatened to kill him, according to the opinion. However, eyewitnesses reported that Pelkey had not moved past the rear of his own truck or touched Horcasitas’ vehicle.

Horcasitas underwent two trials: His 2023 manslaughter conviction was thrown out after prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense, the court opinion read, while a second jury convicted him of manslaughter in 2025. Horcasitas was later sentenced to 10.5 years in prison.

The AI video was presented during Horcasitas’ sentencing hearing.

“It is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances—in another life, we probably could have been friends,” the AI-generated version of Pelkey said in the video, according to NBC News.

“I believe in forgiveness, and a God who forgives,” the video continued, according to the New York Times. “I always have and I still do.”

The AI Pelkey also thanked Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Todd Lang for presiding over the case, “especially when the rescheduled trial conflicted with your daughter’s spring break.”

Lang commended the presentation.

“I love that AI,” Lang said. “Thank you for that, and as angry as you are, and justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness and I know Mr. Horcasitas appreciated it, but so did I.”

“I feel that that was genuine,” Lang continued, “that his obvious forgiveness of Mr. Horcasitas reflects the character I heard about today.”

“But it also says something about the family because you told me how angry you were and you demanded the maximum sentence,” Lang said, according to the court opinion. “And even though that’s what you wanted, you allowed [Pelkey] to speak from his heart as you saw it. I didn’t hear him asking for the maximum sentence.”

Lang imposed the maximum sentence, noting “that’s more than the State asked for.”

Pelkey’s sister Stacey Wales later told Inside Edition she has no regrets about using AI, saying, “Our job was to humanize Chris.”

But Horcasitas quickly appealed his sentence, arguing that the video denied him due process.

According to the court opinion, “He contends the ‘lifelike AI recreation of the victim conveyed an authority and authenticity’ that had a ‘psychological impact’ on the sentencing judge.”

The court concluded that the AI video “clearly impacted the sentencing judge.”

Horcasitas’ new sentencing date has not yet been scheduled, his attorney Kristen Reller told Oxygen, adding, “Because the case is still active, we cannot comment at this time.”

A spokesperson from the Maricopa County Superior Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Oxygen. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office declined to comment when asked by Oxygen.