State v. Turner

187 A.3d 454, 181 Conn. App. 535
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedMay 1, 2018
DocketAC40248
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 187 A.3d 454 (State v. Turner) 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. Turner, 187 A.3d 454, 181 Conn. App. 535 (Colo. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

EVELEIGH, J.

*537 The defendant, Tyquan Turner, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of felony murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54c, robbery in the first degree in violation of General Statutes 53a-134 (a) (2), and conspiracy to *538 commit robbery in the first degree in violation of General Statutes 53a-48 and 53a-134 (a) (2). On appeal, the defendant claims: (1) there was insufficient evidence presented at trial to convict him of conspiracy to commit robbery in the first degree; (2) the trial court improperly admitted documentary and testimonial evidence regarding cell phone coverage maps in violation of his federal due process right to a fair trial; (3) prosecutorial improprieties during the state's closing and rebuttal arguments deprived him of his right to a *460 fair trial; and (4) the trial court improperly instructed the jury with respect to robbery in the first degree. 1 We *539 disagree and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the trial court. 2

On the basis of the evidence presented at trial, the jury reasonably could have found the following facts. On the afternoon of July 13, 2013, the victim, Miguel Rodriguez, was standing on the sidewalk in front of 10-12 Flatbush Avenue in Hartford. Charlene Lara, a resident of the neighboring 18 Flatbush Avenue, was smoking a cigarette on her second floor porch. At approximately 3:54 p.m., Lara observed two people approach the victim from an open parking lot alongside 10-12 Flatbush Avenue, heard two series of gunshots, and called 911. Shortly thereafter, police and emergency response personnel found the victim, who was being tended to by residents of 10 Flatbush Avenue. The victim later was pronounced dead at Hartford Hospital.

Approximately seven or eight friends and family members of the victim were present when the shooting occurred. Those who were interviewed at the scene, although generally unwilling to provide any information about the incident or a suspect, indicated that the victim was missing a gold chain and medallion. 3 Police officers, however, located two eyewitnesses who were willing to give statements regarding the incident, Lara and Jose DeJesus. 4 A *461 firearm or spent shell casings were never recovered. *540 On July 14, 2013, Dennis DeMatteo, a detective with the Hartford Police Department, received a phone call from an "[associate] of the family" who was "[o]ne of the friends and family" of the victim. The caller stated that the defendant was responsible for the victim's death and that the victim's family members and associates were planning retaliation. The caller also provided a photograph of the defendant, which DeMatteo circulated within his department. On July 16, 2013, Audley McLean, an owner of K & M Jewelry Corporation (K & M) contacted the Hartford Police Department. McLean stated that he had purchased a gold chain and medallion from Lorenzo Christian on the afternoon of July 13, 2013. McLean provided a photograph of the jewelry, a copy of the check, and Christian's state identification card to the police. Acting on that information, DeMatteo traced the check to a Webster Bank branch, located on Park Street in Hartford, and an account owned by Alexandra Colon, the mother of the defendant's daughter.

On August 6, 2013, Detective George Watson, while driving an unmarked police vehicle, stopped at an intersection in the north end of Hartford. Watson observed the defendant and Christian, whom he recognized from flyers circulating within his department, pull alongside his vehicle. The defendant then "took off." Watson, along with other Hartford police officers, pursued the vehicle until the defendant drove into the back of a building complex that had no exit. The defendant and Christian abandoned the vehicle, jumped a nearby fence, and continued on foot. The defendant was not apprehended but dropped his cell phone as he was exiting the vehicle. The cell phone was recovered by *541 Hartford police. Christian was apprehended by Hartford police and admitted that he had been in possession of the chain and medallion.

On August 17, 2013, DeMatteo interviewed Colon at the Hartford Police Department. Colon admitted to cashing a check for the defendant and Christian. Colon also was shown the cell phone recovered on August 6, 2013, and, on the basis of a crack in the phone's screen, she identified it as the defendant's and provided DeMatteo with the defendant's cell phone number. With that number, DeMatteo confirmed that Sprint Corporation (Sprint) was the defendant's cell phone carrier and, thereafter, a subpoena was issued, ordering Sprint to produce the defendant's cell phone records from July 13, 2013, the day the homicide occurred, through August 6, 2013, the day the phone was recovered. Sprint's response to the initial subpoena was incomplete and did not include any records for July 13, 2013. The subscription information, however, indicated that the cell phone number was changed on July 14, 2013, the day after the crime, at the request of a person by the name of "Patrick." In response to a subsequent subpoena, Sprint produced the cell phone records, associated with that prior phone number, for July 13, 2013.

DeMatteo sent the cell phone records and locations of investigative interest to Andrew Weaver, a sergeant in the Hartford Police Department's special investigations division, who performed a call detail *462 mapping analysis. 5 *542 Weaver input that data into a computer program called Oculus GeoTime, and produced a time lapse video visually representing the movement of the defendant's cell phone between approximately 3:04 p.m. and 6:48 p.m. on the day of the crime. 6 Weaver also took screenshots *543 of the video at different times between approximately 3:24 p.m. and 5:08 p.m. on the day of the crime.

On August 25, 2013, the defendant was approached by Hartford police Officer *463 Carlos Montanez. The defendant identified himself as Aaron Patrick and presented fake identification under the same alias, which listed 7 Cherry Street as his residence. The defendant initially was charged with interfering with police on the basis of his having presented that fake identification.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
187 A.3d 454, 181 Conn. App. 535, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-turner-connappct-2018.