State v. Morales

CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedMarch 29, 2016
DocketAC37121
StatusPublished

This text of State v. Morales (State v. Morales) 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. Morales, (Colo. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

****************************************************** The ‘‘officially released’’ date that appears near the beginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the ‘‘officially released’’ date appearing in the opinion. In no event will any such motions be accepted before the ‘‘officially released’’ date. All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecti- cut Reports and Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the electronic version of an opinion and the print version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Con- necticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest print version is to be considered authoritative. The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears on the Commission on Official Legal Publications Electronic Bulletin Board Service and in the Connecticut Law Journal and bound volumes of official reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be repro- duced and distributed without the express written per- mission of the Commission on Official Legal Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. ****************************************************** STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. RONALDO MORALES (AC 37121) Keller, Mullins and Schaller, Js. Argued October 19, 2015—officially released March 29, 2016

(Appeal from Superior Court, judicial district of Fairfield, Kavanewsky, J.) John L. Cordani, Jr., assigned counsel, for the appel- lant (defendant). Emily D. Trudeau, deputy assistant state’s attorney, with whom, on the brief, were John C. Smriga, state’s attorney, and Ann F. Lawlor, senior assistant state’s attorney, for the appellee (state). Opinion

MULLINS, J. The defendant, Ronaldo Morales, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of strangulation in the second degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-64bb, unlawful restraint in the first degree in violation of General Stat- utes § 53a-95 (a), threatening in the second degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-62 (a) (1), and assault in the third degree in violation of General Stat- utes § 53a-61 (a) (1).1 On appeal, the defendant claims the following: (1) his conviction of unlawful restraint, assault, and strangulation violate his constitutional right against double jeopardy; (2) his jury trial and due process rights were violated when the trial court found at sentencing that the state had proven that the unlawful restraint, assault, and strangulation charges were based on distinct and separate incidents; (3) his constitutional rights were violated when the state introduced at trial evidence of unwarned statements and other conduct; and (4) the trial court erred in admitting prior uncharged misconduct evidence on the issue of intent. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. The jury reasonably could have found the following relevant facts. In October, 2012, after having been in a romantic relationship since earlier that year, the defen- dant and the victim began living together at the victim’s uncle’s house at 704 Garfield Avenue in Bridgeport. They lived there with the victim’s son, the victim’s uncle, and the uncle’s friend. In December, 2012, their relation- ship began to sour. Consequently, in early July, 2013, the defendant began sleeping in a room in the basement instead of in the victim’s bedroom. In the early evening of July 17, 2013, the defendant and the victim were alone at home. The defendant went upstairs and knocked on the victim’s bedroom door. After knocking at the door for some time, the defendant demanded that she let him in. She eventually complied. Once inside the victim’s bedroom, the defendant sat next to the victim on the side of her bed, and they discussed their relationship. At some point in the con- versation, the defendant punched the victim on the side of her face. After he punched her, he then began choking her, and she lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness, he was on top of her. He expressed surprise that she was not dead and told her that he would have to kill her to prevent her from calling the police. He produced a knife and held it to her back. He then gave the knife to her and told her to kill him. She threw the knife out of reach and begged him to leave. Then, the victim tried to leave the house. She reached the front door, which was at the bottom of the stairs leading up to her bedroom, but the defendant leapt down the stairs, intercepted her, and prevented her from leaving the house. He then dragged her back upstairs. He forced her back into the bedroom, where she offered him money in exchange for leaving but told him that she did not have the money with her in the house. He replied that he would take her to the bank. The defendant took the victim’s keys to her car and drove them to the bank. When they arrived at the bank, which was closed, the defendant accompanied the victim to the automated teller machine. After she withdrew cash from the machine, he demanded that she give it to him, but she replied that she would give it to him in the car. When they returned to the car, she pretended to climb in until she saw that he was in the car. Once she saw that he was inside the car, she fled to a nearby Walgreen’s pharmacy where an employee called the police at her request. The defendant drove away in the victim’s car and was arrested thereafter. The record also reveals the following relevant facts and procedural history. The state charged the defendant by way of an eight count substitute long form informa- tion. At the conclusion of the defendant’s jury trial, he requested and received a jury instruction as to the lesser included offense of strangulation in the second degree. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on the charges of strangulation in the second degree, unlawful restraint, threatening, and assault. At the defendant’s sentencing hearing, the court, sua sponte, raised the issue of the propriety under § 53a- 64bb (b)2 of the jury’s guilty verdict on the strangulation, unlawful restraint and assault charges. In response, the state summarized the evidence presented at trial, arguing that it established three separate incidents out of which the charges respectively arose. The defendant countered that the verdict on those charges could not be sustained without knowing whether the jury actually found that each charge arose from a separate incident.3 The court concluded that there was ‘‘enough evidence to support jury verdicts on each of these counts as separate and discrete incidents.’’ In accordance with the jury’s verdict, the court imposed a total effective sentence of eight years imprisonment. This appeal fol- lowed. Additional facts will follow as necessary. I The defendant first claims that his conviction of and punishment for strangulation in the second degree, assault, and unlawful restraint violated his constitu- tional right against double jeopardy. He argues that his conviction of assault and unlawful restraint must be vacated because (1) those charges arose from the same act or transaction as the charge of strangulation in the second degree, and (2) § 53a-64bb (b) expresses the legislature’s intent to treat strangulation in the second degree as the same offense as assault and unlawful restraint for double jeopardy purposes. We disagree. Before discussing the merits of this claim, we note that the defendant never raised a double jeopardy chal- lenge in the trial court, and, therefore, his double jeop- ardy claim was not preserved for appellate review. State v. Thompson, 146 Conn. App.

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State v. Morales, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-morales-connappct-2016.