State v. Bozelko

987 A.2d 1102, 119 Conn. App. 483, 2010 Conn. App. LEXIS 60
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedFebruary 23, 2010
DocketAC 29549
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 987 A.2d 1102 (State v. Bozelko) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Bozelko, 987 A.2d 1102, 119 Conn. App. 483, 2010 Conn. App. LEXIS 60 (Colo. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

Opinion

BEACH, J.

The defendant, Chandra Bozelko, appeals from the judgments of conviction, rendered after a jury trial in four files on fourteen counts. In docket number CR-05-128445, the defendant was convicted of attempt *486 to commit larceny in the first degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-122 and 53a-49; identity theft in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-129b; attempt to commit illegal use of a credit card in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-128d and 53a-49; and forgery in the third degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-140. In docket number CR-05-128811, the defendant was convicted of larceny in the third degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-124; identity theft in the third degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-129d; illegal use of a credit card in violation of § 53a-128d; and forgery in the third degree in violation of § 53a-140. In docket number CR-05-129108, the defendant was convicted of attempt to commit larceny in the fifth degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-125a and 53a-49; attempt to commit illegal use of a credit card in violation of § 53a-128d and 53a-49; and identity theft in the third degree in violation of § 53a-129d. In docket number CR-05-129107, the defendant was convicted of larceny in the fifth degree in violation of § 53a-125a; illegal use of a credit card in violation of § 53a-128d; and identity theft in the third degree in violation of § 53a-129d. The jury found the defendant not guilty on eight other counts. 1 On appeal, the defendant asserts that the court improperly (1) denied her motion for a mistrial, claiming that events that transpired during the trial prejudiced the jury, (2) denied her motion to proceed pro se and (3) instructed the jury about reaching *487 a unanimous verdict. Additionally, the defendant claims that her convictions of both identity theft and illegal use of a credit card violate her constitutional right to be free of double jeopardy. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The jury reasonably could have found the following facts. The defendant was employed by Kate’s Paperie, a paper products and gift store, between November 5, 2003, and January 24, 2004. Kate’s Paperie accepted major credit cards, and store employees had access to the signed credit card receipts, which included the customer’s name and full credit card account number.

In December, 2003, Pamela Williams purchased items from Kate’s Paperie in Greenwich. She paid for these items by using her American Express credit card. Shortly thereafter, Williams examined her American Express monthly statement and discovered that approximately $3000 had been charged to her card by a Greenwich boutique without her knowledge or authorization. American Express investigated the charges and determined that the charges were fraudulent. Williams’ credit card was deactivated and a new card using a new account number was issued to her. Using this new card, Williams made other purchases from Kate’s Paperie. In March, 2005, several purchases were charged to Williams’ new American Express account without her knowledge or authorization. These purchases were made online from Blissout, Inc., Amazon.com, Inc., Sephora USA, Inc., and The Finish Line, Inc.

On January 20, 2005, Paul Gerst, a Federal Express employee, attempted to deliver two packages to 133 Wild Rose Drive in Orange. The packages required the addressee to sign a receipt indicating that she had received them in order for Gerst to leave them. The homeowner at 133 Wild Rose Drive was not home, so Gerst did not leave the packages. As Gerst was getting *488 back into his truck, the defendant came out of a neighboring house. This house was numbered 183 Wild Rose Drive. The defendant informed Gerst that the packages were misaddressed. She told him that they should have gone to her home at 183 Wild Rose Drive, not 133 Wild Rose Drive. The defendant then signed for the packages using the name “S. Bosis.”

Prior to January, 2006, John Hillgen lived at 133 Wild Rose Drive. On several occasions, packages that did not belong to him were delivered to his home. Each time Hillgen informed the sender that they had misaddressed the packages and then returned them to the sender.

Gerst was assigned to deliver another package to 183 Wild Rose Drive on March 17, 2005. This package was addressed to Pamela Williams. Williams did not reside at 183 Wild Rose Drive. Gerst was instructed by his supervisor to deliver the package to the town of Orange police department as part of an ongoing investigation. Robert Cole, a town of Orange police investigator, called the telephone number listed on the package and discovered that it belonged to the defendant.

Five days later, Gerst was assigned another parcel to be delivered to 189 Wild Rose Drive. When Gerst delivered the package to the resident of 189 Wild Rose Drive, she informed him that the package did not belong to her but, rather, belonged to 183 Wild Rose Drive, the house next door. This package was addressed to the defendant.

In December, 2004, Jonathan Boies and his wife, Jodie Boies, were joint users of an American Express account. On December 23 or 24, 2004, Jodie Boies used her American Express credit card at Kate’s Paperie. On January 27,2005, Randy Vines, a fraud investigator from Nieman Marcus, the parent company of Bergdorf Goodman, telephoned Jonathan Boies regarding possible fraudulent purchases, in the amount of $2252, charged *489 to his American Express credit card and shipped to 133 Wild Rose Drive in Orange. The Boies’ American Express account was used again at the end of January, 2005, to purchase approximately $43,000 worth of merchandise from Bergdorf Goodman. The customer who ordered these purchases requested that the items be mailed to Debra Boies at 133 Wild Rose Drive in Orange, and used the defendant’s telephone number. Jonathan Boies did not have any knowledge of these purchases, did not know of any Debra Boies and did not authorize anyone to use his credit card.

The United States Postal Service and town of Orange police officers conducted a videotaped controlled delivery to the defendant, in which Patrick Bernardo, a United States postal inspector, purported to deliver merchandise from Bergdorf Goodman to 183 Wild Rose Drive, the address of the defendant. Bernardo asked the defendant: “[A]re you Debra Boies?” The defendant responded that she was and proceeded to sign “Debra Boies” on four different sections of the United States postal parcel slips. The defendant was then taken into custody.

I

We first turn to the defendant’s argument that the court erred in denying her motion for a mistrial on the basis of jury partiality. We disagree.

The additional facts relating to the defendant’s claim are as follows. On October 4, 2007, the presentation of evidence ended. The following morning, the court was informed that at least three jurors had received telephone calls regarding the case at home on the previous evening. The court instructed those three jurors to leave the room and inquired of the remaining three regular jurors and two alternate jurors whether they had received telephone calls as well.

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171 A.3d 457 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2017)
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Hudson v. Babilonia
192 F. Supp. 3d 274 (D. Connecticut, 2016)
State v. Bozelko
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State v. James H.
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State v. Flanagan
82 A.3d 1191 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2013)
State v. Underwood
64 A.3d 1274 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2013)
State v. Johnson
49 A.3d 1046 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2012)
State v. Osimanti
6 A.3d 790 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2010)
State v. BERNACKI
998 A.2d 262 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2010)
State v. Thompson
996 A.2d 1218 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2010)
State v. Bigelow
994 A.2d 204 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2010)
State v. Bozelko
990 A.2d 867 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
987 A.2d 1102, 119 Conn. App. 483, 2010 Conn. App. LEXIS 60, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bozelko-connappct-2010.