State v. Ruiz

368 A.2d 222, 171 Conn. 264, 1976 Conn. LEXIS 1163
CourtSupreme Court of Connecticut
DecidedJuly 6, 1976
StatusPublished
Cited by123 cases

This text of 368 A.2d 222 (State v. Ruiz) 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. Ruiz, 368 A.2d 222, 171 Conn. 264, 1976 Conn. LEXIS 1163 (Colo. 1976).

Opinion

Barber, J.

The defendant was charged in an information with one count of assault in the first degree in violation of § 53a-59 (a) (1) of the General Statutes. Upon a trial to a jury, he was found guilty of the crime of assault in the second degree in violation of § 53a-60 (a) (2) of the General Statutes and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. On appeal from that judgment he filed thirteen assignments of error, but in his brief he has pursued only five issues, claiming that the court erred: (1) in its charge to the jury; (2) in denying a motion for a mistrial; (3) in denying a motion to dismiss the information; (4) in denying a motion for a directed verdict of acquittal; and (5) in sentencing the defendant. Those assignments of error not briefed are considered abandoned. State v. Williams, 170 Conn. 618, 619, 368 A.2d 140.

*266 The information arose out of an incident which occurred in Bridgeport on the evening of April 21, 1973, in which Julio Echevarria was apparently shot through the neck. The finding reveals that the state offered evidence and claimed to have proved the following facts: On the evening in question, Echevarria was one of seven occupants riding in a car owned and being operated by his brother, Eric Lugo. At the corner of Jane Street and Noble Avenue, the Lugo vehicle stopped for a stop sign and was struck from behind by an automobile driven by the defendant. After the collision, Echevarria got out of the Lugo vehicle to see what had happened, and approached the defendant’s car. When Echevarria was about three feet from the passenger’s door of the defendant’s car, Lugo saw the defendant extend his right arm and point his right hand at Echevarria. Lugo then saw a flash of gunfire come put of the defendant’s hand, heard the sound of a gunshot come from within the defendant’s car, and saw Echevarria raise his hand and clutch his throat. Lugo went to the side of the defendant’s automobile and said: “Okay, you fired on my brother, but now you stay there and wait for the police.” At this point the defendant backed up his car and left the scene. Lugo took his brother to a hospital, where it was discovered that Eche-varria had sustained a penetrating injury to his neck, which appeared to be a gunshot wound. Exploratory surgery disclosed a tract going through the neck, beneath the sldn and one of the muscles, in close proximity to the carotid artery, jugular nerve, and vagus nerve. Echevarria was in the hospital for about two weeks.

The state relied primarily on the testimony of Eric Lugo for a description of the shooting because *267 Echevarria is an illiterate deaf-mute and was found incompetent to testify at trial. The defendant testified in his own behalf, offering a different version of the incident. The finding reveals that the defendant offered evidence and claimed to have proved the following: The incident occurred, not at the corner of Jane Street and Noble Avenue, but at the corner of William Street and Arctic Street. No contact was made between the two cars; the defendant had pulled up behind the Lugo vehicle at a stop sign, stopped three or four feet behind the Lugo vehicle, and waited approximately two minutes for the Lugo vehicle to proceed. Echevarria then got out of the Lugo vehicle, and, as he approached the defendant’s car, the defendant heard a sound like a firecracker. There had been bad blood between the defendant and Lugo for about a year prior to April 21 because of an incident in which the defendant “got fresh” with Lugo’s wife. Echevarria was shot by accident and sustained a merely superficial wound. 1 The defendant had never owned a gun, no gun or weapon was found in his automobile or in his apartment, and no paraffin tests were performed by the police to determine whether the defendant had fired a gun. The bullet which struck Echevarria was never found. The defendant was born left-handed and, except for writing, performed everything else with his left hand.

I

Consideration of the defendant’s claims of error addressed to the court’s charge to the jury requires a brief preliminary discussion of the assault stat *268 utes. Under onr penal code, which became effective in 1971, assault is classified as first, second or third degree, the category depending upon the intent of the actor, the use of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, and the severity of the resultant injuries. General Statutes §§ 53a-59 through 53a-61. Section 53a-59 specifies three ways in which first degree assault may be committed, setting forth each way in a separate subsection: (1) by intentionally causing serious physical injury with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument; (2) by maiming; or (3) by reckless conduct, “under circumstances evincing an extreme indifference to human life,” which “creates a risk of death to another person” and which causes serious physical injury. 2 Second degree assault, as defined by § 53a-60, can be committed in five ways, of which three are pertinent to the present appeal: (1) by intentionally causing serious physical injury; (2) by intentionally causing physical injury by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument; or (3) by recklessly causing serious physical injury by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument. Third degree assault can also be committed in three ways as specified in §53a-61: (1) by intentionally causing physical injury; (2) by recklessly causing serious phys *269 ical injury; or (3) by causing physical injury, with criminal negligence, by means of a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument.

The information specifically charged the defendant with committing first degree assault in the way first described, alleging that the defendant, “with intent to cause serious physical injury to one Julio Echevarria did cause serious physical injury to said Julio Echevarria with a deadly weapon, to wit: a pistol, in violation of § 53a-59 (a) (1) of the Connecticut General Statutes.” In its charge to the jury, however, the court read all of the first degree assault statute and, after instructing the jury that the provisions pertaining to maiming were not applicable, explained in detail the subsections relating both to intentional assault and to reckless conduct. The court also instructed the jury that they should consider, as lesser included offenses, second degree assault committed either intentionally or recklessly, and third degree assault, committed intentionally, recklessly, or with criminal negligence. The defendant has assigned error in this portion of the charge, claiming that the state had limited itself to proving intentional rather than reckless assault, that there was no evidence of recklessness on the part of the defendant, and that neither second degree assault by recklessness nor third degree assault by recklessness or criminal negligence is a lesser included offense in a charge of first degree intentional assault.

A defendant is constitutionally entitled “to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation” against him. Conn. Const., art I § 8; U.S. Const., amend VI. “Nothing is more elementary in criminal law than that an accused is required to defend only against the charge alleged.” State v. Genova,

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Bluebook (online)
368 A.2d 222, 171 Conn. 264, 1976 Conn. LEXIS 1163, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ruiz-conn-1976.