§ 53a-155 — Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence: Class D felony.

Connecticut § 53a-155

• Jurisdiction: Connecticut
• Title 53a: Penal Code
• Ch. 952: Penal Code: Offenses

Text

(a) A person is guilty of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence if, believing that a criminal investigation conducted by a law enforcement agency or an official proceeding is pending, or about to be instituted, such person: (1) Alters, destroys, conceals or removes any record, document or thing with purpose to impair its verity or availability in such criminal investigation or official proceeding; or (2) makes, presents or uses any record, document or thing knowing it to be false and with purpose to mislead a public servant who is or may be engaged in such criminal investigation or official proceeding. (b) Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence is a class D felony.

Legislative History

(1969, P.A. 828, S. 157; P.A. 15-211, S. 9.) History: P.A. 15-211 amended Subsec. (a) by adding provision re criminal investigation conducted by law enforcement agency and making technical and conforming changes. Cited. 214 C. 540; 236 C. 514; 237 C. 339. Section applies, no matter what stage the police have actually reached in their investigation, provided defendant believes it is probable that an official proceeding will arise; omission of the term “investigation” from section excludes situations in which defendant believes only an investigation, but not an official proceeding, is likely to take place. 314 C. 354. Cited. 1 CA 540; 6 CA 394; 25 CA 624. Section does not require a temporal proximity between the alleged act and the subsequent official proceeding; element re pending or about to be instituted official proceeding was satisfied when defendant reasonably could have contemplated that an official proceeding was likely to arise. 147 CA 53. Subsec. (a)(1): The word “conceal” is not defined in the section or elsewhere in the Penal Code, but a commonly understood meaning is to prevent disclosure or recognition of something and a jury could reasonably find that the defendant's placing of his vehicle in a private driveway with several other vehicles after striking the victim with his vehicle was an act of concealment. 227 CA 636.