Morales v. Comm'r of Corr.

220 Conn.App. 285

298 A.3d 636

Angel J. MORALES

v.COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION

AC 45412

Appellate Court of Connecticut.

Argued April 11, 2023

Officially Released July 4, 2023

Naomi T. Fetterman, assigned counsel, for the appellant (petitioner).

Nathan J. Buchok, deputy assistant state's attorney, with whom, on the brief, were Sharmese L. Walcott, state's attorney, and Carlos Cruz, deputy assistant state's attorney, for the appellee (respondent).

Bright, C. J., and Moll and Suarez, Js.

BRIGHT, C. J.

The petitioner, Angel J. Morales, appeals, following the granting of certification to appeal, from the judgment of the habeas court denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, the petitioner claims that the habeas court improperly concluded that he failed to establish that he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel during his criminal trial. We disagree, and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the habeas court.

The jury reasonably could have found the following facts, as set forth by this court in the petitioner's direct appeal, at the petitioner's criminal trial. "On the evening of August 29, 2013, the [petitioner] drove with his friend, Christopher Spear, and two female companions to a nightclub in downtown Hartford known as ‘Up or On the Rocks.’ The [petitioner] parked his car in a nearby parking lot located in the area of High Street and Church Street. Also at the club that night were the victim, Miguel Delgado, his brother, Jose Delgado,¹ and a friend, Steven Castano, all of whom had arrived by taxi. While on the second floor of the club and with the [petitioner] present, Delgado and Spear bumped into each other; Spear spilled his drink on Delgado. An argument ensued, during which Spear made a racially charged threat to shoot someone. Returning from the bar, Castano found the two men arguing and tried to separate them. Spear, however, slapped the drink Castano was holding at him, the victim, and Delgado. At that point, the club's security escorted Spear, the [petitioner], and their companions out of the club while detaining the victim, Delgado, and Castano inside the club in an effort to defuse the situation and prevent violence.

"Club security held the victim and Delgado in the club for about ten minutes. When they left, Delgado and Spear renewed their argument outside of the nightclub where the [petitioner] had been waiting with Spear. With the [petitioner] present, Spear again threatened to shoot someone. Although their friends, but not the [petitioner], attempted to defuse the altercation, Delgado and Spear agreed to engage in a fistfight, and the parties proceeded to the parking lot where the [petitioner] had parked his car.

"When the men reached the parking lot, Spear struck Delgado on the head with a hard object injuring him. When Spear attempted to retrieve the object, which had fallen to the ground, Delgado punched him, rendering him unconscious. Despite the fact that Spear was unconscious on the ground, Delgado continued to beat Spear, causing him significant injuries to his head and face.

"Meanwhile, the [petitioner] recognized that the object with which Spear struck Delgado was a gun. The [petitioner] went to pick it up, but the victim, who was behind him, engaged the [petitioner] and the two men struggled with each other on the ground. In the course of the ensuing struggle, the [petitioner] obtained the gun. As the victim stood up, he struck the [petitioner] in the face and the [petitioner] fired a single shot, which struck the victim in the chest.

"The victim ran toward Allyn Street where he collapsed on the sidewalk. Despite intervention by Delgado, a passerby who administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and medical personnel, the victim later died at the hospital at 2:15 a.m. of a gunshot wound to his chest.

"After shooting the victim, the [petitioner] fled. He discarded the gun in a garbage receptacle. He then drove away, leaving behind Spear and the women who had accompanied them.

"On October 29, 2014, in a single long form information, the state charged the [petitioner] with murder in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 2013) § 53a-54a and reckless manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm in violation of [General Statutes] § 53a-55a (a) (murder charges), as well as criminal possession [of a firearm]." (Footnote in original.) State v. Morales , 172 Conn. App. 329, 332–34, 160 A.3d 383, cert. denied, 327 Conn. 988, 175 A.3d 1244 (2017).

The following additional facts and procedural history are relevant to our resolution of this appeal. Attorney John R. Williams represented the petitioner in the criminal proceedings. The petitioner and Williams agreed, prior to trial, to pursue a theory of self-defense. Accordingly, on November 14, 2014, the petitioner submitted a request that the court charge the jury concerning self-defense. The petitioner's criminal trial took place over the course of five days from November 17 through 21, 2014. At trial, the state introduced a cell phone video taken by a bystander, that captured the fight and the shooting. In the video, the petitioner and the victim are depicted tussling with each other on the ground. The victim stands up and strikes the petitioner as the petitioner is getting up off the ground, raising his arm, and shooting the victim. After the victim was shot, he ran out of frame. "At trial, the [petitioner] stipulated that he shot the victim, but he testified both that the gun accidentally discharged and that he was acting in self-defense." Id., at 334, 160 A.3d 383. The following exchanges took place on direct examination between the petitioner and Williams:

"[The Petitioner]: So I was on the ground and I was tussling with someone and, you know, I turned around and as I turned around, you know, to try to get up I had got punched in the face and I had lost my balance and I was actually falling and that's when the gun discharged. ... [A]nd the gun actually goes off accidentally and—and I fall down.

* * *

"[Williams]: Why did you dive for that gun?

"[The Petitioner]: I mean, at the time I'm in the city I'm not—I don't know anyone. You know it's a gun. People are trying to fight us or whatnot. I'm so scared that I wasn't thinking or I mean I just [tried] to get out of harm's way, you know what I mean. My friend is getting attacked, there's a gun available. I tried to get it, you know, I tried to get possession of it so no one [would] harm me or anybody I'm with ....

* * *

"[Williams]: Now, what do you mean then as the shooter when you say [the gun] accidentally discharged?

"[The Petitioner]: I mean, as I [was] hit and I was falling down that's when the gun went off. I didn't have—I didn't mean to aim it or shoot somebody with it. It was just in my motion that it discharged.

"[Williams]: Well, were you holding that gun and pointing it at the individual who, in fact, was shot?

"[The Petitioner]: Yes.

"[Williams]: And why were you doing that?

"[The Petitioner]: I was being attacked and I panicked. I mean everything happened so fast in that situation I wasn't thinking. You know I got hit and everything happened so quickly.

"[Williams]: Could you tell us whether or not you were in fear?

"[The Petitioner]: Yes.

"[Williams]: What was the nature of your fear? What were you afraid of?

"[The Petitioner]: To be honest with you, I was scared the whole time. I didn't want to be there ever since when the drink spilled and on the way I was nervous the whole time, so you know so as soon as my friend got attacked and I see a gun I'm fearing, you know, the worst for my life and whatnot ....

"[Williams]: And is that why you pointed the gun at him?

"[The Petitioner]: I remember when I was on the ground I turned and [got] hit and as I was falling I fell to the right so my body shifted left so that's when the gun probably ... turned a left direction and ... the gunshot went off. I didn't have no intention [of] hurting nobody or whatnot.

* * *

"[Williams]: Did you believe that you were being attacked by the person who got shot?

"[The Petitioner]: Yes, I was attacked.

"[Williams]: And did you believe that he was going to hurt you?

"[The Petitioner]: Yes. I felt like if he were to get possession of—of, you know, the gun that he would have did the same thing to me."

On cross-examination, the following exchange occurred between the petitioner and the prosecutor:

"[The Prosecutor]: And the gun accidentally went off. You pulled the trigger.

"[The Petitioner]: I did, but not intentionally.

"[The Prosecutor]: How do you pull the trigger and not intentionally?

"[The Petitioner]: As same as how you crash a car from driving. I mean it just happened.

* * * "[The Prosecutor]: Are you saying you accidentally pulled the trigger because you were drunk?

"[The Petitioner]: No.

"[The Prosecutor]: Are you saying that the gun just went off when you fell?

"[The Petitioner]: Yes.

"[The Prosecutor]: You know that a gun just can't go off without pulling the trigger, right?

"[The Petitioner]: I know that, ma'am. I mean everything happened so fast. I mean, I acted with instinct. It was instantaneous."

After the close of evidence, the court, Dewey, J. , heard argument on the parties’ proposed jury instructions. As a result of the petitioner's testimony that the shooting was accidental, the state objected to the petitioner's proposed self-defense instruction. In response, Williams maintained that the evidence supported the instruction, notwithstanding the petitioner's testimony. Williams argued that "[t]he act of taking the gun into his hand and ... pointing it in the general direction of the assailant is a sufficient predicate act to impose criminal liability and, therefore, the [defense of] self-defense is applicable to that." The court agreed that the evidence warranted a self-defense instruction as evidenced by its inclusion in the jury charge. In addition to the murder charge in count one, the court included an instruction on the lesser included offenses of manslaughter in the first degree with a...