State v. Jeffreys

828 A.2d 659, 78 Conn. App. 659, 2003 Conn. App. LEXIS 353
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedAugust 12, 2003
DocketAC 21542
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 828 A.2d 659 (State v. Jeffreys) 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. Jeffreys, 828 A.2d 659, 78 Conn. App. 659, 2003 Conn. App. LEXIS 353 (Colo. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

Opinion

WEST, J.

The defendant, Michael Jeffreys, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered following a jury trial, of possession of narcotics in violation of General Statutes § 21a-279 (a), possession of narcotics with intent to sell in violation of General Statutes § 21a-277 (a) and possession of narcotics with intent to sell within 1500 feet of a public housing project in violation of General Statutes § 21a-278a (b). The defendant claims that (1) the trial court improperly denied his motion to suppress evidence, (2) the court improperly denied his [661]*661motion for a speedy trial and his motion to dismiss on speedy trial grounds, (3) there was insufficient evidence that he possessed narcotics with the intent to sell, (4) there was insufficient evidence that he was within 1500 feet of a public housing project, and (5) his rights against double jeopardy were violated when he was convicted and sentenced separately for possession of narcotics and possession of narcotics with intent to sell.1 We reverse in part and affirm in part the judgment of the trial court.

The jury could have found the following facts. On the morning of August 19,1999, a tactical narcotics team of the Bridgeport police department was conducting a drug surveillance operation in the vicinity of Trumbull Gardens, a public housing project.2 Two members of that tactical team, Officers Gregory Iamartino and Luis Batista, were conducting surveillance from the upper floor of a building in the area. The officers were equipped with binoculars and police radios, and they maintained radio contact with other officers constituting arrest teams. Those arrest teams were positioned outside the housing project and were poised to move into the project to effectuate the arrest of suspected drug dealers at the direction of the surveillance team.

Iamartino observed the defendant loitering within the apartment complex, near what appeared to be an abandoned building, and counting money. While the defendant was so engaged, a car entered the lot next to building, and the defendant approached the car and [662]*662talked briefly with the driver. The defendant and the driver then walked to a relatively secluded area between two buildings where the driver handed the defendant some money. In exchange, the defendant gave the driver some small items that he retrieved from his pocket. The driver then returned to her car and departed while the defendant resumed his previous station and returned to counting his money.

A short while later, a second female approached the defendant and pointed out the presence of two nearby police cars. At the sight of an officer, the defendant began to leave the scene. At that point, Iamartino radioed his arrest team, which moved in and arrested the defendant. The arrest team searched the defendant’s person and discovered $55 in cash and two small plastic bags containing a white powder that subsequently tested positive for cocaine.

I

We first consider the defendant’s claim that the court improperly failed to suppress evidence. The defendant argues that the evidence seized from him at the time of his arrest should have been suppressed because that arrest was made without probable cause. “Whether the trial court properly found that the facts submitted were enough to support a finding of probable cause is a question of law. . . . The trial court’s determination on the issue, therefore, is subject to plenary review on appeal.” (Citation omitted.) State v. Clark, 255 Conn. 268, 279, 764 A.2d 1251 (2001).

“We note at the outset that a search conducted without a warrant issued upon probable cause is per se unreasonable, subject only to a few specifically established and well delineated exceptions. ... It is the state’s burden at trial to establish the exception. . . . If evidence obtained without a warrant was obtained as a result of a valid search and seizure incident to a [663]*663lawful arrest, such evidence was not illegally obtained and is admissible.” (Citations omitted.) State v. Lizotte, 11 Conn. App. 11, 17, 525 A.2d 971, cert. denied, 204 Conn. 806, 528 A.2d 1154 (1987). The issue before us, then, is whether the search of the defendant was incident to a lawful, warrantless arrest.

A police officer is authorized to arrest, without a warrant, “any person who the officer has reasonable grounds to believe has committed or is committing a felony.” General Statutes § 54-lf (b); State v. Dennis, 189 Conn. 429, 431, 456 A.2d 333 (1983). The term “reasonable grounds” as used in the statute is synonymous with probable cause. State v. Dennis, supra, 431.

“[T]o establish probable cause, it is not necessary to produce a quantum of evidence necessary to convict. . . . Probable cause exists when the facts and circumstances within the knowledge of the officer and of which he has reasonably trustworthy information are sufficient in themselves to warrant a man of reasonable caution to believe that a felony has been committed.” (Citations omitted.) State v. Cobuzzi, 161 Conn. 371, 376, 288 A.2d 439 (1971), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 1017, 92 S. Ct. 677, 30 L. Ed. 2d 664 (1972). “In dealing with probable cause ... as the very name implies, we deal with probabilities. These are not technical; they are factual and practical considerations of everyday life on which reasonable and prudent men, not legal technicians, act.” Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 175, 69 S. Ct. 1302, 93 L. Ed. 1879 (1949). “Probable cause is a flexible common sense standard. It does not demand that a belief be correct or more likely true than false. Texas v. Brown, 460 U.S. 730, [742] 103 S. Ct. 1535, 75 L. Ed. 2d 502 (1983).” Three S. Development Co. v. Santore, 193 Conn. 174, 175, 474 A.2d 795 (1984).

In reviewing whether the court properly concluded that the search and seizure was valid under the excep[664]*664tion to the warrant requirement for a search incident to a lawful arrest, it is first necessary to evaluate the validity of the arrest. General Statutes § 54-lf (b) authorizes a police officer to make a warrantless arrest based on probable cause.3 ****8 Under the federal and Connecticut constitutions, the court uses a totality of the circumstances test in determining whether probable cause existed. See Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 231-32, 103 S. Ct. 2317, 76 L. Ed. 2d 527 (1983); State v. Velasco, 248 Conn. 183, 191-92, 728 A.2d 493 (1999).

“In reviewing a trial court’s determination that probable cause to arrest existed, we consider whether [it is] legally and logically correct and whether [it] find[s] support in the facts set out in the memorandum of decision ....

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
828 A.2d 659, 78 Conn. App. 659, 2003 Conn. App. LEXIS 353, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jeffreys-connappct-2003.