Tutson v. Commissioner of Correction

72 A.3d 1162, 144 Conn. App. 203, 2013 WL 3368957, 2013 Conn. App. LEXIS 349
Connecticut Appellate Court·Decided July 16, 2013·No. AC 32988·Published·Cited by 34 cases

Opinion

Opinion

KELLER, J.

The petitioner, Trendel Tutson, appeals following the denial of his petition for certification to appeal from the judgment of the habeas court denying his amended petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The petitioner claims that the habeas court abused its discretion when it denied the petition for certification to appeal and that the court improperly (1) failed to read all of the exhibits introduced at the habeas proceeding and that this failure is reflected in gross factual errors in the court’s decision; (2) concluded that he was not prejudiced by his trial counsel’s mishandling of his alibi defense; and (3) concluded that he received effective assistance from his trial counsel. Because the petitioner has failed to demonstrate that the court improperly [205]*205denied the petition for certification to appeal, we dismiss the appeal.

In 2002, the petitioner was convicted of attempt to commit murder in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-54a and 53a-49, and assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-59 (a) (5). He was sentenced to twenty years incarceration. After considering the claims raised by the petitioner in his direct appeal, this court, concluding that the trial court violated the petitioner’s right to present a defense, reversed the judgment of conviction and remanded the case for a new trial. State v. Tutson, 84 Conn. App. 610, 627-28, 854 A.2d 794 (2004). Following a grant of certification to appeal; State v. Tutson, 271 Conn. 935, 861 A.2d 511 (2004); our Supreme Court reversed this court’s judgment, and remanded the case to this court to consider a claim that this court, in its earlier decision, did not resolve. State v. Tutson, 278 Conn. 715, 718, 899 A.2d 598 (2006). Following that remand, this court affirmed the judgment of conviction. State v. Tutson, 99 Conn. App. 655, 915 A.2d 344 (2007).

The facts underlying the petitioner’s conviction were set forth previously by this court, as follows: “[0]n March 26, 2001, between 1 and 1:30 p.m. . . . Ernesto Molina was driving a 1992 red Volkswagen Jetta on Bond Street in Hartford, looking to buy marijuana. Molina was joined by two passengers, Jorge Pagan, Molina’s best friend, who sat in the front passenger seat, and Michael Alvarado, who sat in a backseat. As the vehicle traveled on Bond Street, Molina and Pagan noticed a small white car traveling toward them in the opposing lane. They also noticed that there was a passenger in the front seat. As the cars passed, Molina and Pagan saw the face of the driver of the white car.

“After the vehicles passed, the white car turned around and, with increasing speed, began following the [206]*206red Jetta on Bond Street. Molina and Pagan noticed this and became concerned. In an attempt to elude the car, Molina increased his speed to eighty-five to ninety-five miles per hour and drove through stop signs and traffic lights. Molina ultimately turned onto Brownell Avenue and the white car did the same. As the cars were traveling at fifty-five miles per hour, Molina looked in his rearview mirror and saw a long black pole, which he thought was a rifle, come out of the driver’s side window of the white car and turn in the direction of the Jetta. Molina then heard a noise and felt something strike the back of his head. A large caliber bullet had pierced the back of the Jetta and traveled through the vehicle’s trunk and passenger compartment. A fragment of that bullet lodged in the back of Molina’s head. Although injured, Molina kept driving, turning right onto Broad Street and continuing to Hartford Hospital. The white car did not follow the Jetta, turning left onto Broad Street instead.

“At the hospital, the police immediately were notified of the incident. They arrived at the hospital shortly thereafter and briefly spoke with Molina, Pagan and Alvarado regarding the shooting. The police also conducted a formal interview of Pagan at the police station during which Pagan described the driver and passenger of the white car.

“Approximately one hour after arriving at the hospital, the police were contacted by the security department from the Learning Corridor (Corridor). The police were told that a member of the Corridor’s security personnel was walking to lunch between 1 and 1:30 p.m., when he heard what sounded like a gunshot resonating from Brownell Avenue. The police also were notified that this security officer searched Brownell Avenue after he learned about the shooting and recovered a twelve gauge shotgun shell from the north side of the street. The police ultimately took the shell into their [207]*207possession. At that time, it was neither dirty nor rusty and did not appear to have been on the street for a long time. The shell, however, was never tested for fingerprints. The police also took a videotape from the Corridor’s exterior surveillance camera. That tape revealed that two vehicles, one red, one white, were on Brownell Avenue and that the red vehicle turned right onto Broad Street while the white vehicle turned left. Neither gunfire nor the make of the vehicles could be discerned from the video. In addition, the video was time-stamped in a manner that made it unclear that the events depicted actually occurred on March 26, 2001.

“Approximately twelve hours after the shooting, at roughly 2 a.m. on March 27, 2001, Pagan, while driving to a gas station to buy a beverage, observed that he was being followed by the [petitioner] in a white Dodge Neon (Neon). Pagan immediately notified police officers that the vehicle that had been involved in the earlier shooting was following him. The police located the Neon and pursued it, but it fled, turning its headlights off in the process. Shortly thereafter, the police located the vehicle in the rear yard of 61 Whitmore Street. The vehicle appeared abandoned; the engine was not running, although it was still warm, and the doors were wide open. A short distance away, the police found the [petitioner] and Philip Washington hiding beneath some cars. Thereafter, the police brought Pagan to the scene where he positively identified the [petitioner] as the driver of the Neon in the earlier shooting and Washington as its passenger.

“The police subsequently discovered that Rooty Thomas, who lived in Meriden, was the lessee of the Neon. Once contacted, Rooty Thomas gave the police permission to search the vehicle.

“The police performed gunshot residue tests on the hands of the [petitioner] and Washington as well as on [208]*208the exterior and interior surfaces of the driver’s and passenger’s doors of the Neon. These tests disclosed lead particles on the palm of the [petitioner]’s left hand as well as on the back of his right hand. They further revealed the presence of lead, barium and antimony on the palm of Washington’s left hand and lead particles on the exterior of the vehicle’s passenger door.

“On April 5, 2001, Molina identified the [petitioner] from a photographic array shown to him by the Hartford police, and on March 8, 2002, Pagan did the same. No weapon was ever recovered.

“Trial of this matter began on March 11, 2002.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Tutson v. Commissioner of Correction, 72 A.3d 1162, 144 Conn. App. 203, 2013 WL 3368957, 2013 Conn. App. LEXIS 349 (Colo. Ct. App. 2013).

72 A.3d 1162 (Tutson v. Commissioner of Correction) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Banks v. Commissioner of Correction
Supreme Court of Connecticut, 2023
Ayuso v. Commissioner of Correction
215 Conn. App. 322 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2022)
Diaz v. Commissioner of Correction
214 Conn. App. 199 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2022)
Jones v. Commissioner of Correction
212 Conn. App. 117 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2022)
Lewis v. Commissioner of Correction
211 Conn. App. 77 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2022)
Fenner v. Commissioner of Correction
206 Conn. App. 488 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2021)
Bosque v. Commissioner of Correction
205 Conn. App. 480 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2021)
Banks v. Commissioner of Correction
205 Conn. App. 337 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2021)
Antonio A. v. Commissioner of Correction
Connecticut Appellate Court, 2021
Coleman v. Commissioner of Correction
Connecticut Appellate Court, 2021
Schuler v. Commissioner of Correction
200 Conn. App. 602 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2020)
Whistnant v. Commissioner of Correction
199 Conn. App. 406 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2020)
Villafane v. Commissioner of Correction
211 A.3d 72 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2019)
Henderson v. Commissioner of Correction
189 A.3d 135 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2018)
Bigelow v. Commissioner of Correction
167 A.3d 1054 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2017)
Haughey v. Commissioner of Correction
164 A.3d 849 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2017)
Arroyo v. Commissioner of Correction
160 A.3d 425 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2017)
Tutson v. Commissioner of Correction
144 A.3d 519 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2016)
Robinson v. Commissioner of Correction
144 A.3d 493 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2016)
Misenti v. Commissioner of Correction
140 A.3d 222 (Connecticut Appellate Court, 2016)