State v. Tucker

517 A.2d 640, 9 Conn. App. 161, 1986 Conn. App. LEXIS 1152
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedNovember 18, 1986
Docket4797
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 517 A.2d 640 (State v. Tucker) 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. Tucker, 517 A.2d 640, 9 Conn. App. 161, 1986 Conn. App. LEXIS 1152 (Colo. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

Daly, J.

In this appeal from a conviction of the crime of being an accessory to assault in the second degree, in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-60 (a) (2) and 53a-8, the defendant raises three claims of error: (1) that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction; (2) that the court erred in refusing to charge that General Statutes § 53a-8 does not apply to an accessory after the fact; and (3) that the court erred in refusing to charge that proof of intent to employ a dangerous instrument was required under General Statutes § 53a-60 (a) (2).1

The jury could reasonably have found the following facts: On October 21, 1984, the victim walked to Stafford Street, Bristol, to show an apartment on that street. Upon arrival at the apartment, he saw Larry Drumwright and the defendant get out of a faded green 1969 Chevrolet and rush toward him. The complainant had previously worked with both men and recognized each of them. The defendant displayed a knife and threatened the victim, who then ran one block down Stafford Street and into and out of a pizza parlor. Drumwright ran after the victim, overtook him in front of the pizza shop, and slashed him seven times on the arms and chest with a knife or straight razor. During the fight, the Chevrolet pulled up and the driver alighted and looked in the direction of the struggle. After the slashing, Drumwright got into the car on the passenger side and was driven away from the scene. The entire episode lasted approximately ten minutes.

[163]*163The defendant’s first claim of error is that the evidence presented was insufficient to sustain the conviction. The standard that applies when a jury verdict is challenged for insufficiency of the evidence is firmly entrenched in Connecticut law. “ ‘ “[T]he issue is whether the jury could have reasonably concluded, upon the facts established and the inferences reasonably drawn therefrom, that the cumulative effect of the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” ’ ” State v. Monk, 198 Conn. 430, 432, 503 A.2d 591 (1986); State v. Wright, 8 Conn. App. 399, 405, 513 A.2d 176 (1986). In addition, the evidence must be construed in the light most favorable to upholding the jury’s verdict. State v. Monk, supra; see also State v. Carter, 196 Conn. 36, 44, 490 A.2d 1000 (1985). “In determining that each element of the crime charged is proved beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury may make reasonable and logical inferences but may not resort to speculation and conjecture. State v. Monk, supra, 433; State v. Gaynor, 182 Conn. 501, 503, 438 A.2d 749 (1980).” State v. Wright, supra.

“ ‘We do not sit as a [seventh] juror who may cast a vote against the verdict based upon our feeling that some doubt of guilt is shown by the cold printed record. We have not had the jury’s opportunity to observe the conduct, demeanor, and attitude of the witnesses and to gauge their credibility. ... In addition, we cannot retry the facts or judge the credibility of the witnesses.’ ” (Citations omitted.) State v. Wright, supra, 405-406. This court will not disturb a trier’s determination of guilt if, “ ‘ “after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” ’ ” (Emphasis in original.) State v. Chace, 199 Conn. 102, 105, 505 A.2d 712 (1986).

[164]*164In order to convict one as an accessory for aiding and abetting, the state must prove that the accused had both criminal intent and community of purpose with the principal perpetrator of the crime. General Statutes § 53a-82 requires (1) that the accessory have the intent to aid the principal, and (2) that, in so doing, he have the intent to commit the offense with which he is charged. See State v. Vincent, 194 Conn. 198, 479 A.2d 237 (1984); W. LaFave & A. Scott, Criminal Law (1972) § 64, p. 505 n.53. These two requirements effectively exclude from the statute’s purview those whose innocent acts do in fact aid one who commits a crime; State v. McCalpine, 190 Conn. 822, 832, 463 A.2d 545 (1983); while still including those who have criminal intent and community of purpose “ ‘even though not present actively aiding, abetting or being guilty of a positive act in the commission of an offense.’ ” State v. Hicks, 169 Conn. 581, 585, 363 A.2d 1081 (1975), quoting State v. Pundy, 147 Conn. 7, 11, 156 A.2d 193 (1959).

The jury in this case could reasonably have believed that the victim recognized both the defendant, a black male, and the assailant as they exited the car. The defendant brandished a knife or straight razor and threatened to “get” the victim. The victim attempted to flee the scene, but was overtaken by the assailant, who chased him on foot. While the victim did not actually see who drove the car to the scene of the slashing, witnesses testified that it had been driven there by a black male. The assailant got into the car on the passenger side and was driven away. The jury’s inference that the defendant was the driver was reasonable, particularly in light of the fact that only about ten min[165]*165utes elapsed from the time the assailant and the defendant first got out of the car, to the time the assailant got back into it, to be driven away from the scene of the slashing. We are convinced from a review of the evidence that it was sufficient to support the jury’s verdict.

In the first of his two requests to charge,3 the defendant maintains that the common law crime of accessory after the fact is not covered under General Statutes § 53a-8. Thus, he asserts, since he did not actively participate in the assault, but merely drove the assailant from the scene, he did not violate General Statutes § 53a-8. The facts of this case indicate, however, much more than the common law crime of accessory after the fact. The defendant drove the assailant to the site of the first encounter with the victim where he too threatened the victim. The defendant then followed the fleeing victim in the car enabling him to drive the assailant from the scene of the actual slashing. In addition, the modern approach is to abandon the old common law terminology and to hold a person legally responsible for the actions of another when he is an accomplice of that other person in the commission of a crime. Connecticut has adopted this approach through General Statutes § 53a-8. State v. Harris, 198 Conn. [166]*166158, 164-65, 502 A.2d 880 (1985); Model Penal Code (1985) § 2.06, comment 6; see also W. LaFave & A. Scott, supra, § 63, p. 501.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
517 A.2d 640, 9 Conn. App. 161, 1986 Conn. App. LEXIS 1152, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-tucker-connappct-1986.