State v. Dixon

806 A.2d 1153, 72 Conn. App. 852, 2002 Conn. App. LEXIS 517
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedOctober 15, 2002
DocketAC 22041
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 806 A.2d 1153 (State v. Dixon) 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. Dixon, 806 A.2d 1153, 72 Conn. App. 852, 2002 Conn. App. LEXIS 517 (Colo. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

[854]*854 Opinion

BISHOP, J.

In this case, which is the companion to State v. Abernathy, 72 Conn. App. 831, 806 A.2d 1139 (2002), James Dixon, one of two codefendants, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of felony murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54c, attempt to commit robbery in the first degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-49 and 53a-134, conspiracy to commit robbery in the first degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-48 and 53a-134, and carrying a pistol or revolver without a permit in violation of General Statutes § 29-35 (a). On appeal, the defendant claims that (1) the court violated his rights under the sixth amendment to the United States constitution1 and article first, § 8, of the constitution of Connecticut2 on three separate occasions when it misinteipreted or misapplied the Connecticut Code of Evidence, (2) the court violated his rights under the fourteenth amendment to the United States constitution3 and article first, § 8,4 when it declined to admit certain evidence under the residual exception to the hearsay rule, (3) the state failed to disclose exculpatory material to him in a timely manner and (4) the court violated his right, under the sixth amendment, to a jury [855]*855drawn from a fair cross section of the community.5 We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

On the basis of the evidence admitted during the defendant’s trial, the jury reasonably could have found the following facts. On the evening of October 21,1998, the defendant, Eddie Abernathy, Anthony “Tone” Cannon, Raymond “Flip” Hite, Michael Homes, Tamaika Easterling, Lacrisha Williams and others gathered at Tasheeka “Chicken” Contrelle’s apartment, at 99 Wyllys Street in Hartford, where they drank liquor and smoked marijuana. Later that evening, Homes led the defendant, Abernathy, Cannon and Hite into Contrelle’s bedroom, shut the door and proposed that they commit a robbery. After some discussion, the five men exited the bedroom and entered the kitchen, where they drank more liquor and smoked more marijuana.

Awhile later, at about 10 p.m., the defendant, Abernathy and Cannon left the party together. The defendant had in his possession a small, chrome .25 caliber handgun, and Abernathy had in his possession a black, nine millimeter handgun. The three men entered a black Honda Prelude, which Cannon had acquired earlier that day, and drove throughout Hartford, stopping to buy gasoline on Washington Street and to buy juice on Brook Street. Thereafter, the three men, while driving on Green Street, saw a man, in the distance, walking in the middle of the road. Abernathy, who was driving, drove the Honda to the side of the road, conversed briefly with the defendant and turned off the engine. He then turned toward Cannon, who was in the backseat, handed him a mask and the black, nine millimeter handgun and told him to rob the man walking in the middle of the road. Cannon accepted the handgun and put on [856]*856the mask, and he and the defendant exited the Honda together. As they approached the man, Cannon said, “What up?” The man, Baze “Burt” Privette, recognized Cannon’s voice and responded, “Tone?”

Cannon hesitated and asked Privette for a cigarette. Privette replied that he did not have one. Cannon then backed away from him, but the defendant, who had been standing to Cannon’s right, did not. Rather, he drew the chrome .25 caliber handgun, held it to Priv-ette’s head and ordered him to “run everything.” He then grabbed Privette and led him into an alley nearby. Halfway down the alley, the defendant shot Privette in the head, killing him. He searched Privette’s pockets and then ran out of the alley. He and Cannon entered the Honda and told Abernathy what had occurred. Abernathy ordered them to give him the mask and guns and to keep quiet. The defendant and Cannon complied. The three men then drove away, heading toward the vicinity of Capitol Avenue and Lawrence Street.

All three men later were arrested and charged in connection with the incident. The defendant was charged with murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54a (a), felony murder, robbery in the first degree, conspiracy to commit robbery in the first degree and carrying a pistol or revolver without a permit. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty as to the murder count, and a verdict of guilty of felony murder, conspiracy to commit robbery in the first degree, carrying a pistol or revolver without a permit and the lesser offense of attempt to commit robbery in the first degree. The court rendered judgment accordingly and later sentenced the defendant to a total effective term of fifty years imprisonment. This appeal followed. Additional facts and procedural history will be presented as necessary.

I

The defendant first claims that the court violated his rights under the sixth amendment and article first, § 8, [857]*857on three separate occasions when it misinterpreted or misapplied the Connecticut Code of Evidence.6 Specifically, he claims that the court violated his federal and state constitutional rights to confront witnesses and to present a defense when it precluded him from (1) calling an individual named Antonio Johnson as a witness for the purpose of impeaching Cannon’s testimony concerning his motivation for cooperating with the state, (2) calling Johnson as a witness for the purpose of impeaching Cannon’s testimony that Cannon never had a disagreement or fight with Privette and (3) asking Homes the following question on cross-examination: “And there came a point that Tasheeka [Contrelle] was arrested for [possession of a] shotgun [in her home on the night of the crimes], correct?”

In State v. Abernathy, supra, 72 Conn. App. 835-49, Abernathy raised the same challenges to those eviden-tiary rulings, which we addressed and rejected in part I of that opinion. We reject the defendant’s claims on the basis of that analysis.

II

The defendant next claims that the court, in declining to admit certain testimony under the residual exception to the hearsay rale, violated the Connecticut Code of Evidence as well as his state and federal constitutional rights to due process.7 Specifically, the defendant argues that the court improperly excluded the testimony of Sahmish Banks, a friend of Privette, that on October 21, 1998, Privette had told her that he had had an “argument with some kid.”

In State v. Abernathy, supra, 72 Conn. App. 849-52, Abernathy raised the same challenges to that eviden-[858]*858tiary ruling, which we addressed and rejected in part II of that opinion. We reject the defendant’s claims on the basis of that analysis.

Ill

The defendant argues that the state and Cannon, a witness who presented testimony unfavorable to the defendant during the state’s case-in-chief, previously had agreed that Cannon would testify against the defendant in exchange for a favorable sentencing recommendation on his own pending charges relating to the shooting. Because the existence of that agreement never was disclosed, the defendant claims that the state failed to disclose exculpatory material to him in a timely manner in violation of Brady v.

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Related

Dixon v. Commissioner of Correction
233 Conn. App. 851 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2025)
State v. Cowen
Connecticut Appellate Court, 2021
State v. Rosa
196 Conn. App. 490 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2020)
Elsey v. Commissioner of Correction
10 A.3d 578 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2011)
State v. Abernathy
806 A.2d 1139 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2002)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
806 A.2d 1153, 72 Conn. App. 852, 2002 Conn. App. LEXIS 517, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-dixon-connappct-2002.