State v. Carter

853 A.2d 565, 84 Conn. App. 263, 2004 Conn. App. LEXIS 335
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedAugust 3, 2004
DocketAC 23614
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 853 A.2d 565 (State v. Carter) 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. Carter, 853 A.2d 565, 84 Conn. App. 263, 2004 Conn. App. LEXIS 335 (Colo. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

Opinion

DiPENTIMA, J.

This case arises from the terrible consequences of a drug turf war. During a Fourth of July block party in the area of Enfield and Garden Streets in Hartford, a seven year old girl was struck by a stray bullet that caused serious injuries. After a jury trial, the defendant, Anthony Carter, was convicted of assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-59 (a) (5), attempt to commit assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-49 (a) (2) and 53a-59 (a) (5), risk of injury to a child in violation of General Statutes § 53-21 (a) (1) and criminal possession of a firearm in violation of General Statutes § 53a-217 (a) (1). He appeals from the judgment of conviction, raising nine issues for review.1 He claims that the trial court improperly (1) applied the doctrine of transferred intent in that the defendant was unaware of the presence of the victim, (2) rendered judgment when there was insufficient evidence to convict him of assault and risk of injury to a child because the state failed to prove that he shot the victim, (3) violated his due process rights in instructing the jury on a theory of transferred intent that was not charged by the state in the information and when the evidence on the charged [266]*266theory was insufficient, (4) regarding the count of risk of injury to a child, failed to tell the jury that his conduct must have been wilful and deliberate, and the proximate cause of the victim’s injuries, (5) rendered judgment despite insufficient evidence to support the conviction for risk of injury to a child, (6) admitted evidence of prior misconduct to prove motive because the prejudicial impact of that evidence exceeded its probative value, (7) denied his motion for a judgment of acquittal after the verdict, (8) instructed the jury regarding the firearm element in counts one, two and four of the information because the court used language different from the statutory language and (9) convicted him of risk of injury to a child when the information charged none of the facts necessary to constitute the crime charged.

The jury reasonably could have found the following facts. In the early part of July, 2001, the defendant and Maurice Miller became involved in a dispute over the sale of marijuana in a particular area of Hartford. On July 1, 2001, the defendant telephoned Miller and told him that he could either engage the defendant in a fair fistfight or the defendant would shoot him on sight. In response, Miller armed himself with a Glock handgun.

On the evening of July 4, 2001, Miller and another man called “Shorty” were standing by the side of a building in or near an alleyway on Enfield Street. The defendant arrived in a rented red Chevrolet Blazer (Blazer), exited the vehicle and then chased Miller along the alleyway while shooting at him. Miller saw a handgun in the defendant’s hand and noticed the muzzle flash. A bullet fired from the defendant’s gun struck and injured the victim, who was standing about one block away near a vehicle hstening to music. After the defendant stopped shooting, Miller turned around and began chasing him. Miller fired his weapon repeatedly at the defendant until the defendant reentered the red [267]*267Blazer. Miller fired the weapon again as the defendant drove away in the red Blazer.

The police arrived on the scene shortly after 6:45 p.m. They discovered eight .45 caliber shell casings. Forensic analysis led to the conclusion that all eight had been fired from the same handgun. The officers also discovered five nine millimeter Luger shell casings and one nine millimeter Luger metal jacket bullet. Later forensic analysis established that all of the nine millimeter casings had been fired from the same handgun.

On July 5,2001, the defendant informed the Manchester police about a hole in his rented Blazer. Through a forensic examination, the hole was identified as a bullet hole. The defendant did not inform the police officer of the gunfight but implied that the damage might have been caused by fireworks.

While incarcerated in September, 2001, the defendant told William Brunson, his cell mate, about his dispute with Miller and the events of July 4, 2001. He also admitted that a bullet fired from his gun struck the victim. Additional relevant facts will be set forth as necessary.

I

The defendant first claims that the court improperly applied the doctrine of transferred intent to the facts when instructing the jury. In particular, the defendant argues that in Connecticut transferred intent has been applied only to situations in which the defendant was aware of the presence of the victim and accidentally shot the victim and that the doctrine should not be expanded to encompass situations such as this, in which the defendant was unaware of the presence of the victim. We disagree with the defendant.

The defendant concedes that his claim is unpreserved and therefore requests review pursuant to State v. Gold[268]*268ing, 213 Conn. 233, 239-40, 567 A.2d 823 (1988). We review the defendant’s claim, as the record is adequate for review, and the claim implicates an essential element of the charged offense, the defendant’s intent. See State v. Hinton, 227 Conn. 301, 308, 630 A.2d 593 (1993). Indeed, the state does not contest that the first two prongs of the four part Golding test have been met. Because we conclude, however, that the court’s instruction was proper, the defendant’s claim fails under the third prong of Golding because the defendant has failed to demonstrate that a constitutional violation clearly exists and clearly deprived him of a fair trial.2

Because the claim requires us to interpret § 53a-59 (a) (5), our review is plenary. See State v. Higgins, 265 Conn. 35, 43, 826 A.2d 1126 (2003). Section 53a-59 (a) provides in relevant part: “A person is guilty of assault in the first degree when ... (5) with intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes such injury to such person or to a third person by means of the discharge of a firearm.” (Emphasis added.)

In interpreting statutes, we may look to other similar statutes for guidance. See In re Ralph M., 211 Conn. 289, 306, 559 A.2d 179 (1989) (when statute with reference to one subject contains provision, omission of such provision from similar statute concerning related subject is significant to show that different intention existed); see also Plourde v. Liburdi, 207 Conn. 412, 416, 540 A.2d 1054 (1988). In this case, we turn to our murder statute, General Statutes § 53a-54a (a)3, which [269]*269contains language virtually identical to the statute in question. By its plain language, our murder statute “specifically provide[s] for intent to be transferred from the target of the defendant’s conduct to an unintended victim.” State v. Hinton, supra, 227 Conn. 316. Because the statutes are virtually identical, we conclude that by its plain language, the assault statute also provides for intent to be transferred. See Public Acts 2003, No. 03-154, § 1.

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Carter v. Commissioner of Correction
203 Conn. App. 794 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2021)
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202 Conn. App. 54 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2021)
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194 Conn. App. 208 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2019)
State v. Andaz
186 A.3d 66 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2018)
State v. VanDeusen
Connecticut Appellate Court, 2015
State v. Carter
998 A.2d 1217 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2010)
State v. Akande
960 A.2d 1045 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2008)
State v. Kemler
942 A.2d 480 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2008)
State v. Elmi
138 Wash. App. 306 (Court of Appeals of Washington, 2007)
Carter v. Connecticut
544 U.S. 1066 (Supreme Court, 2005)
State v. Orellana
872 A.2d 506 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2005)
State v. Carter
859 A.2d 931 (Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
853 A.2d 565, 84 Conn. App. 263, 2004 Conn. App. LEXIS 335, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-carter-connappct-2004.