State v. Coleman

700 A.2d 14, 242 Conn. 523, 1997 Conn. LEXIS 274
Supreme Court of Connecticut·Decided August 19, 1997·No. 15468·Published·Cited by 48 cases

Opinions

Opinion

PALMER, J.

The principal issue raised by this appeal is whether a defendant who has been sentenced under the terms of a plea agreement but who later is permitted to withdraw his guilty plea and allowed to proceed to trial is entitled, following his conviction after trial, to an explanation from the trial court setting forth its reasons for imposing a greater sentence than had been imposed under the plea agreement. Following a court trial, the defendant, Charles Coleman, was convicted of four counts of sexual assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-70 (a) (l),1 burglary in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-101 (a) (2),2 burglary in the second degree in violation [526]*526of General Statutes § 53a-102,3 unlawful restraint in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-95 (a),4 and robbery in the third degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-136 (a) and 53a-133.5 The trial court rendered judgment sentencing the defendant to an effective term of imprisonment of 110 years.6 The defendant appealed to the Appellate Court, which affirmed his convictions. State v. Coleman, 41 Conn. App. 255, 675 A.2d 887 (1996).7 We granted the defendant’s petition for certification to appeal from the Appellate Court, limited to the following issues: (1) “Did the Appellate Court improperly disregard the state’s concession that, in this case, the defendant should not receive multiple punishment for his two burglary con[527]*527victions?” and (2) “Whether, under our supervisory powers or the state constitution, we should adopt the presumption set forth in North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711 [89 S. Ct. 2072, 23 L. Ed. 2d 656] (1969), pertaining to the imposition of a greater sentence after having successfully attacked his first conviction?” State v. Coleman, 237 Conn. 931, 677 A.2d 1372 (1996). Although we conclude that the defendant’s second degree burglary conviction must be vacated,8 we otherwise affirm the judgment of the Appellate Court.

The relevant facts and procedural history are set forth in the opinion of the Appellate Court. “On August 12, 1986, the defendant was arraigned on seven charges stemming from a burglary, robbery and repeated sexual assaults that occurred in the early morning of March 4, 1986. An agreement was reached in which the defendant pleaded guilty under the Alford doctrine9 to the charges, as well as to charges from eight other files. Prior to sentencing, the defendant sought to withdraw all of his pleas. The trial court allowed the defendant to withdraw his plea on one count from another file, but denied his motion to withdraw his pleas in this case. The [trial court, Ronan, J.,\ sentenced [the defendant] to thirty-five years in prison on all charges from all nine files.

“On appeal, [the Appellate Court] affirmed the trial court’s refusal to allow the defendant to withdraw his plea. State v. Coleman, 17 Conn. App. 307, 552 A.2d 442 (1989). Subsequently, the defendant filed a petition for habeas corpus relief in federal court claiming that his plea canvass was defective. The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut vacated the defen[528]*528dant’s pleas and remanded the matter for trial.10 . . . The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit subsequently affirmed the decision of the District Court.11

“After pleading not guilty to all counts, the defendant elected to be tried by the court. . . . The trial court [Fracasse, J.] found the defendant guilty on seven of the eight counts as charged. On the other count, the court found the defendant guilty of the lesser included offense of burglary in the second degree. The defendant received an effective sentence of 110 years in prison.

“The trial court found the following . . . facts [relative to its judgment of conviction]. The victim resided alone in a New Haven apartment. During the early morning of March 4, 1986, she was asleep with her glasses on and wearing a nightgown. Between 3:30 and 4 a.m., the defendant used a sharp cutting tool to remove a pane of glass from one of the victim’s bedroom windows and entered her apartment. The victim awoke with the defendant straddling her. The defendant held his hand over the victim’s mouth and told her not to move if she did not want to get hurt. The defendant told her to take off her glasses and she did so. The defendant forced her to commit fellatio as he stood next to her bed and also forced her to engage in vaginal intercourse.

“The defendant then demanded the victim’s money. She had cashed her paycheck the previous day and had separated the money into envelopes, each marked for the purpose of paying various bills. The defendant ordered the victim to take the money from the envelopes and she did so. The victim estimated that she had between $500 and $600. The defendant went through [529]*529the envelopes and moved them about on the bed. The defendant asked the victim if she had any jewels or furs, and she replied in the negative. The defendant also asked her if she had a car, and she replied that she had a Datsun; he said he did not want the car.

“The defendant then ordered the victim to get on her hands and knees on the bed, and he engaged in anal intercourse. He also forced her to engage again in fellatio. Before leaving, the defendant forced the victim onto her stomach and tied her up with shoelaces that he had brought with him. The defendant cut the victim’s telephone wires inside the apartment and left through a window and down a fire escape.

“After waiting a short time to be certain that the defendant was gone, the victim freed herself. After discovering that her telephone wires had been cut, she called the police from a neighbor’s telephone. When the police arrived they took the victim to the police station where she gave a statement. The police then took the victim to a hospital for a physical examination. The police later identified the defendant through a partial palm print that he had left on one of the envelopes in the apartment that had contained the victim’s money.” (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Coleman, supra, 41 Conn. App. 259-61. Additional facts will be set forth as necessary.

On appeal to this court, the defendant claims that he is entitled to: (1) vacation of his second degree burglary conviction; and (2) resentencing on his seven other convictions. We agree with the defendant’s first claim, but we reject his second claim.

I

The first certified question is whether the Appellate Court improperly rejected the state’s concession that his convictions for both first degree burglary and sec[530]*530ond degree burglary constitute inappropriate multiple punishments for the same conduct. We need not reach that precise question because we conclude that the trial court and the Appellate Court improperly determined that second degree burglary under § 53a-102 is a lesser included offense of first degree burglary under § 53a-101 (a) (1).12

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State v. Coleman, 700 A.2d 14, 242 Conn. 523, 1997 Conn. LEXIS 274 (Colo. 1997).

700 A.2d 14 (State v. Coleman) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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