State v. Clark

764 A.2d 1251, 255 Conn. 268, 2001 Conn. LEXIS 16
CourtSupreme Court of Connecticut
DecidedJanuary 30, 2001
DocketSC 16258
StatusPublished
Cited by90 cases

This text of 764 A.2d 1251 (State v. Clark) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Clark, 764 A.2d 1251, 255 Conn. 268, 2001 Conn. LEXIS 16 (Colo. 2001).

Opinion

Opinion

SULLIVAN, J.

The principal issue in this appeal is whether the trial court properly denied the defendant’s motion to suppress cocaine seized pursuant to a war-rantless patdown search for weapons. The defendant claims that the search and seizure violated his constitu[270]*270tional rights under the fourth amendment to the United States constitution,1 and article first, §§ 72 and 9,3 of the Connecticut constitution. We disagree.

The state charged the defendant, Mark Clark, with possession of narcotics with intent to sell in violation of General Statutes § 21a-278 (b),4 possession of narcotics with intent to sell within 1500 feet of a school in violation of General Statutes § 21a-278a (b),5 and failure to [271]*271appear in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-172 (a) (l).6 The defendant moved to suppress the seized cocaine on the ground that the police did not have a reasonable and articulable suspicion to detain him or probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of his person and seizure of the contraband found thereon. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court, Wiese, J., denied the defendant’s motion to suppress. Pursuant to General Statutes § 54-94a7 and Prac[272]*272tice Book (1999) § 61-6,8 the defendant then entered a conditional plea of nolo contendere to the charges of possession of narcotics with intent to sell and failure to appear in the first degree.9 The trial court, DiPen-[273]*273tima, J., accepted the defendant’s conditional plea and rendered judgment thereon.10 The defendant then appealed to the Appellate Court. We transferred the appeal to this court pursuant to General Statutes §51-199 (c) 11 and Practice Book § 65-1.12 We conclude that the defendant’s motion to suppress properly was denied. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

At the hearing on the defendant’s motion to suppress, the trial court found the following relevant facts. On May 20,1998, Officer Michael Morris and Sergeant Karl Pettersen of the Torrington police department narcotics enforcement unit13 obtained a search warrant for apart[274]*274ment 7 at 156 Oak Avenue in Torrington. The apartment was rented to and occupied by Heather Han. The warrant was issued pursuant to an ongoing investigation of the apartment, during which Officer John Murphy, another member of the narcotics enforcement unit, had been informed of numerous complaints from tenants in the building regarding the pedestrian traffic coming and going from the apartment. Morris and Murphy also had obtained additional information about Han from a reliable confidential informant. That informant stated that he or she had personal knowledge that Han was selling crack cocaine out of her apartment.14

The affidavit for the search warrant represented that the informant had told the police that Han’s supplier was “a black male who drives a black colored Chevrolet Blazer.” The affidavit also stated that Murphy and Morris had seen a vehicle fitting that description in the parking lot of 156 Oak Avenue during surveillance. The license plate number of the vehicle indicated that it was registered to the defendant. The affidavit also represented that, in the course of their investigation, Murphy and Morris had supervised the informant during at least two controlled purchases of crack cocaine from Han. Moreover, on the evening of May 21, 1998, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Morris arrested two persons who had just purchased crack cocaine from Han at 156 Oak Avenue. Shortly thereafter, on that same evening, the police executed the search warrant. Morris, Murphy and Pettersen were at the scene, along with Officer Mark Zbell, a youth officer responsible for two minor children who were in the apartment.15

[275]*275At the time the warrant was executed, Han was in the apartment, along with another woman16 and the two children. Inside the apartment, the officers recovered cash, marijuana, an empty beer can altered for use in smoking crack cocaine and two empty plastic baggies and pieces tom therefrom containing residue of a white substance. In addition, the officers confiscated a letter from Han to a man named “Funk,” whom Han described as her supplier. In that letter, Han asked for money and referred to “sling[ing]”17 for Funk “w/out [sic] Mark knowing.”

During execution of the search warrant, the officers did not find any cocaine. It appeared to the officers that Han had exhausted her supply of dmgs at that time. At the request of one of the officers, Han placed a telephone call to Funk. She was unable, however, to reach Funk at that time. While the police continued to collect evidence in the apartment, Morris returned to the parking lot to undertake surveillance for the safety of the searching officers. While conducting the surveillance, he observed a black Chevrolet Blazer enter the parking lot. A black male exited the vehicle and proceeded to Han’s apartment. Morris alerted the other officers by radio that a black male was ascending the stairs toward Han’s apartment. Morris then verified the license plate of the vehicle and determined that it was the Chevrolet Blazer owned by the defendant.

Murphy was in the kitchen, and Zbell was nearby, when the defendant entered the kitchen area of Han’s apartment without knocking.18 The defendant was [276]*276asked to identify himself and he indicated that his name was Mark Clark.19 Murphy identified himself as a police officer and explained to the defendant that the officers were executing a search warrant. Upon receipt of this information, the defendant became “very nervous, visibly shaking [and] uncomfortable.”20 Because of his demeanor and his unannounced entry into the apartment, Muiphy determined that it was necessary to conduct a patdown of the defendant for weapons in order to ensure the safety of himself and the other officers.21

Murphy proceeded to pat down the defendant, starting from his upper body and moving downward toward his feet. During the patdown, Murphy observed a large bulge in one of the defendant’s socks.22 Zbell, who was [277]*277standing in close proximity to Murphy during the pat-down, also noticed the large bulge in the defendant’s sock. The defendant was not handcuffed during the patdown of his exterior clothing. When Murphy touched the bulge in the defendant’s sock, he felt a “plasticky packaging material and then [a] rock- or chunk-like substance.” Upon feeling the object, Murphy immediately recognized it as a large chunk of crack cocaine.23 Once Murphy removed the object and confirmed that it was crack cocaine, the defendant was arrested and taken into custody.

The defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized, claiming that the search conducted by the police violated the fourth amendment to the United States constitution and article first, § § 7 and 9, of the Connecticut constitution.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
764 A.2d 1251, 255 Conn. 268, 2001 Conn. LEXIS 16, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-clark-conn-2001.