State v. Watts

71 Conn. App. 27

800 A.2d 619

STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. CHAUNCEY WATTS

(AC 21966)

Appellate Court of Connecticut.

Argued January 10, 2002.

Officially released July 9, 2002.

Foti, Schaller and Flynn, JS.

Avery S. Chapman, for the appellant (defendant).

Lisa A. Riggione, senior assistant state's attorney, with whom, on the brief, were James E. Thomas, state's attorney, and John F. Fahey, assistant state's attorney, for the appellee (state).

Opinion

FLYNN, J.

The defendant, Chauncey Watts, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-55a (a) and 53a-8 (a), and three counts of assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-59 (a) (5) and 53a-8 (a). On appeal, the defendant claims (1) that there was insufficient evidence to support each of his convictions, (2) that the trial court improperly denied his motion for ajudgment of acquittal after the state's casein-chief, (3) that the jury's verdict was legally inconsistent, (4) that the trial court improperly admitted evidence of uncharged misconduct by the defendant and (5) that the court improperly admitted certain out-ofcourt statements made by the defendant. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The jury reasonably could have found the following relevant facts. At the time of the incident giving rise to the conviction at issue in this appeal, the defendant was a member of the "20 Love" street gang, along with Charlie Ray Logan. At that time, there was strife between the Love organization and the "Latin Kings," a competing street gang. In the defendant's words: "Back then, it was like a war on the streets. The Latin Kings shot at us and we shot back."

In the evening of September 29, 1995, the defendant and Logan were riding bicycles on the streets of Hartford. At approximately 8 p.m., they rode past four young women at the corner of Alden and Dean Streets, where one of the women, Darlene Cardona, resided. At the time, the women had known the defendant for roughly two years through the local school system.

Shortly thereafter, Cardona's boyfriend, who was apparently not involved in any way in the crime or in the defendant's subsequent trial, arrived and the three other women, Arlene Reyes, Madeline Rodriguez and Jessica Rodriguez,¹ left the residence to visit a local grocery store on Franklin Avenue. After visiting the grocery store, the women walked to a friend's house, at 53-55 Franklin Avenue.

At roughly 8:30 p.m., the three women were sitting on a blue Cadillac parked in the driveway at the residence, facing the street. Four young men, Javier Mateo, Carlos Santiago, Jose Roldan and Jose Ortiz, were standing around the car. Jessica Rodriguez heard some noise and stood up, observing the street. As the defendant and Logan rode their bicycles past the residence on Franklin Avenue, each brandished a handgun and each fired four rounds at the group gathered by the car.² Carlos Santiago felt a bullet graze his neck. He ducked to avoid further gunfire and crawled away. Jose Ortiz was shot through the left thigh. Jose Roldan caught a round in the left knee, where it lodged. He managed to stagger away, onto Maple Avenue, where he entered a building and called an ambulance. Javier Mateo's flank was turned to the street during the shooting. One bullet passed through his left thigh. Another bullet entered his right flank, passed through his abdomen and chest, and exited from his left armpit. The defendant and Logan fled the scene on their bicycles.

Meanwhile, Cardona and her boyfriend heard the shots from her porch on Dean Street, followed by screams. In a matter of seconds, she observed the defendant and Logan fleeing from the scene on Dean Street, "cuffing something" in their sweatshirts. Cardona heard someone scream "Javi," the name of her friend. To avoid danger, she waited until the defendant and Logan passed by before rushing to the scene on Franklin Avenue.

Javier Mateo was rushed to Hartford Hospital. The bullet had perforated his heart, leading to cardiac arrest. Although briefly resuscitated, he died after roughly one hour in the operating room.

After seeing his own picture in the news the following day, the defendant fled to Florida. Approximately three years later, the defendant returned to Hartford and surrendered himself to the police on an outstanding warrant. He gave a statement to the police implicating himself as one of the shooters. The state then brought the charges leading to the convictions at issue in this appeal. Further facts will be set forth where necessary.

We first turn to the defendant's claim that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction for manslaughter in the first degree with a firearm and assault in the first degree. We conclude that the evidence was sufficient.

We review the following points of law because such an insufficiency claim is grounded in principles of due process. The due process clause of the fourteenth amendment to the United States constitution protects a criminal defendant from conviction absent proof beyond a reasonable doubt of each fact necessary to constitute the elements of the crime. In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364, 90 S. Ct. 1068, 25 L. Ed.2d 368 (1970). Because a "jury may occasionally convict even when it can be said that no rational trier of fact could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," a defendant is entitled to challenge his conviction on that basis with a motion for a judgment of acquittal. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 317, 99 S. Ct. 2781, 61 L. Ed.2d 560 (1979).

"The standard of review employed in a sufficiency of the evidence claim is well settled. [W]e apply a two part test. First, we construe the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict. Second, we determine whether upon the [evidence] so construed... the [finder of fact] reasonably could have concluded that the cumulative force of the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Senquiz, 68 Conn. App. 571, 575-76, 793 A.2d 1095, cert. denied, 260 Conn. 923, 797 A.2d 519 (2002).

"[T]he inquiry into whether the record evidence would support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt does not require a court to ask itself whether it believes that the evidence ... established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.... Instead, the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt....

"It bears emphasis that [i]n evaluating evidence that could yield contrary inferences, the [jury] is not required to accept as dispositive those inferences that are consistent with the defendant's innocence.... As we have often noted, proof beyond a reasonable doubt does not mean proof beyond all possible doubt ... nor does proof beyond a reasonable doubt require acceptance of every hypothesis of innocence posed by the defendant that, had it been found credible by the [jury], would have resulted in an acquittal.... On appeal, we do not ask whether there is a reasonable view of the evidence that would support a reasonable hypothesis of innocence. We ask, instead, whether there is a reasonable view of the evidence that supports the jury's verdict of guilty." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Best, 56 Conn. App. 742, 752-53, 745 A.2d 223, cert. denied, 253 Conn. 902, 753 A.2d 937 (2000).

In his specific claim, the defendant argues that the eyewitness identifications of him were of questionable reliability because the witnesses had a motive to lie about the defendant's involvement and had an opportunity to collude before giving statements implicating him. The defendant suggests that "when viewed in a critical light," the evidence is insufficient.

This argument suggests a standard of review in diametric opposition to the one we are bound to employ. We must view the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict, not "a critical light." Although there was a brief opportunity for the witnesses to converse prior to their statements to the police, we are in no position to infer that they fabricated their identifications and later testimony. "It is ... the absolute right and responsibility of the jury to weigh conflicting evidence and to determine the credibility of the witnesses.... Thus, the issue of the identification of the defendant as the perpetrator of the crime is peculiarly an issue of fact to be resolved by the jury." State v. Jefferson, 67 Conn. App. 249, 256, 786 A.2d 1189 (2001), cert. denied, 259 Conn. 918, 791 A.2d 566 (2002). Several eyewitnesses, and the defendant's own statement, identified the defendant as one of the shooters. The jury was entitled to believe that evidence and find the defendant guilty beyond any reasonable doubt.

We turn now to the defendant's claim that the trial court improperly denied his motion for a judgment of acquittal. Pursuant to the "waiver rule," discussed in State v. Calonico, 256 Conn. 135, 138, 770 A.2d 454 (2001), we decline to review this claim. "The waiver rule prohibits appellate review of the sufficiency of the state's prima facie case if the defendant presents evidence after the motion is denied. See State v. Booker, 28 Conn. App. 34, 41-42, 611 A.2d 878, cert. denied, 223 Conn. 919, 614 A.2d 826 (1992), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 916, 113 S. Ct. 1271, 122 L. Ed.2d 666 (1993). Thus, when the state does not concede that it failed to establish a prima facie case and the defendant presented evidence, we must rely on the trial court's determination. See id." State v. Zoravali, 34 Conn. App. 428, 442, 641 A.2d 796, cert. denied, 230 Conn. 906, 644 A.2d 921 (1994).

The defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal after the state closed its case-in-chief. The court denied this...