State v. Wright

774 A.2d 1015 (Conn.App. 2001)

STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. EDWARD WRIGHT

AC 19636

THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT

Argued January 25, 2001

April 17, 2001

Deborah G. Stevenson, special public defender, for the appellant (defendant).

Margaret Gaffney Radionovas, assistant state's attorney, with whom, on the brief, were Scott J. Murphy, state's attorney, and Brian Preleski, assistant state's attorney, for the appellee (state).

Landau, Mihalakos and Daly, Js.

Landau, J.

OPINION

The defendant, Edward Wright, appeals from the judgment of conviction, following a jury trial, of attempt to commit murder in violation of General Statutes §§§§ 53a-49¹ and 53a-54a,² and assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-59 (a) (1).³ The jury also determined that the defendant had been on pretrial release at the time he committed the crimes of which he was convicted, which subjected him to the provisions of General Statutes §§ 53a-40b. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court improperly (1) denied his motion for a judgment of acquittal at the end of the state's case- in-chief, (2) failed to instruct the jury on the issue of self-defense in accord with his request to charge and (3) admitted certain rebuttal testimony into evidence. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The jury reasonably could have found the following facts. For approximately one year prior to the incident that gave rise to his conviction, the defendant had been romantically involved with Jane Cadorette. About one week before the incident, Cadorette terminated the relationship. Although the defendant and Cadorette had jointly leased an apartment at 6 Park Street (apartment) in Bristol, the defendant had not resided in the apartment for one week prior to the incident. Most of the defendant's personal possessions had been removed from the apartment, and Cadorette had taken all of his clothing to the home of his new girlfriend, Jennifer Long.

Cadorette spent the evening of September 6, 1997, with Verrand Little, the victim, a man with whom she had had a romantic relationship for approximately eight years prior to her relationship with the defendant. The victim spent the night with Cadorette in the apartment. At about 8 a.m. on the morning of September 7, 1997, while Cadorette and the victim were still asleep in the bedroom, the defendant entered the kitchen of the apartment by dislodging a chair that had been wedged under the doorknob. Cadorette awoke and called the police.

The defendant entered the bedroom by breaking down the door, which was locked and also secured with a chair. Upon entering the bedroom, the defendant shouted to Cadorette, "You got what you wanted, bitch." The defendant began to fight with the victim. During the altercation, the victim's head hit and broke through a wall, and the doors to a closet were knocked down. The defendant went to the kitchen, where he got a knife and the glass container of a blender. The defendant returned to the bedroom and hurled the glass container at the victim, but did not strike him. The defendant then stabbed the victim several times.

As the defendant was leaving the apartment, two police officers arrived and ordered him to return to the apartment, where they handcuffed him and placed him on the kitchen floor. The defendant became belligerent, kicking, fighting and screaming invectives and threats at the victim and Cadorette. The defendant said things such as, "I'll get you," "I'll kill you," "I should've killed you" and "I'm going to kill you when I get out."

Emergency medical personnel who attended the victim found that he had sustained wounds to his hands, shoulder and back. When he stabbed the victim in the back, the defendant also punctured the victim's lung, causing it to collapse. The victim sustained a total of five stab wounds, lost a significant amount of blood and had difficulty breathing. He was removed from the scene by Life Star helicopter.

Following his arrest, the defendant was charged with attempt to commit murder, assault in the first degree and burglary in the first degree.⁴ After he was convicted, the defendant appealed.

I.

The defendant's first claim is that the court improperly denied his motion for a judgment of acquittal at the end of the state's case-in-chief because there was insufficient evidence to convict him. The defendant argues specifically that the state failed to prove that he intended to commit the crimes of attempt to commit murder and assault in the first degree because there was evidence that he had acted in self-defense. We disagree.

The following procedural facts are relevant to our disposition of the defendant's claim. At the end of the state's case-in- chief, the defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal on all three counts against him. The court granted the defendant's motion with respect to the charge of burglary in the first degree, but denied it as to the charges of attempt to commit murder and assault in the first degree. The defendant then presented his case and took the witness stand to testify on his own behalf. In light of that procedural background, the defendant's claim as stated is not reviewable. See State v. Rutan, 194 Conn. 438, 440, 479 A.2d 1209 (1984).

"Because the defendant's testimony came after the denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal, the waiver rule precludes him from raising this claim on appeal. `Under the waiver rule, when a motion for acquittal at the close of the state's case is denied, a defendant may not secure appellate review of the trial court's ruling without foregoing the right to put on evidence in his or her own behalf. The defendant's sole remedy is to remain silent and, if convicted, to seek reversal of the conviction because of insufficiency of the state's evidence. If the defendant elects to introduce evidence, the appellate review encompasses the evidence in toto.' State v. Rutan, [supra, 194 Conn. 440]...." State v. Kari, 26 Conn. App. 286, 291, 600 A.2d 1374 (1991), appeal dismissed, 222 Conn. 539, 608 A.2d 92 (1992).⁵ We therefore must look at all of the evidence that was before the jury, not just the state's case in chief.

"The standards by which we review claims of insufficient evidence are well established. When reviewing a sufficiency of the evidence claim, our courts apply a two-prong test. First, we construe the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict. Second, we determine whether upon the facts so construed and the inferences reasonably drawn therefrom the jury reasonably could have concluded that the cumulative force of the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.... State v. Perry, 48 Conn. App. 193, 196, 709 A.2d 564, cert. denied, 244 Conn. 931, 711 A.2d 729 (1998).

"It is within the province of the jury to draw reasonable and logical inferences from the facts proven.... The jury may draw reasonable inferences based on other inferences drawn from the evidence presented.... Our review is a fact based inquiry limited to determining whether the inferences drawn by the jury are so unreasonable as to be unjustifiable.... We note that the probative force of the evidence is not diminished because it consists, in whole or in part, of circumstantial evidence rather than direct evidence.... It has been repeatedly stated that there is no legal distinction between direct and circumstantial evidence so far as probative force is concerned.... It is not one fact, but the cumulative impact of a multitude of facts which establishes guilt in a case involving substantial circumstantial evidence.... [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.... In doing so, we keep in mind that [w]e have not had the jury's opportunity to observe the conduct, demeanor, and attitude of the witnesses and to gauge their credibility.... State v. Radzvilowicz, 47 Conn. App. 1, 17-18, 703 A.2d 767, cert. denied, 243 Conn. 955, 704 A.2d 806 (1997)." (Emphasis in original; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Sanchez, 50 Conn. App. 145, 149-50, 718 A.2d 52, cert. denied, 247 Conn. 922, 722 A.2d 811 (1998).

The defendant testified in the following manner to support his claim of self-defense. According to the defendant, when he first entered the bedroom, the victim picked up a baseball bat and swung it at the defendant, striking him in the nose and breaking it.⁶ The defendant claimed that he then went into the kitchen and heard Cadorette tell the victim not to hit him with the baseball bat again. Because he feared for his life, the defendant grabbed the knife to defend himself. The defendant and the victim continued their struggle. At some point, the defendant claimed, the victim dropped the baseball bat and lunged at the defendant with a chair. The defendant used the knife to defend himself and cut the victim. During their struggle, the victim and the defendant fell to the floor, where the victim rolled onto the knife, which caused the injury to his back.

Although he told the police on the morning of the incident that he lived at 31 Landry Street in Bristol with his friend Warren Brown, on direct examination in his own case, the defendant denied that he lived at the Landry Street address. He also testified that he spent the night of September 6, 1997, at Brown's home.

The jury also heard Cadorette testify that the defendant had removed most of his personal possessions from the apartment and that she had taken his clothes to the home of Long, his new girlfriend. On cross-examination, the defendant denied that he was romantically...