State v. Hinton, 352 Conn. 183

Background

Jordan Hinton was convicted of felony murder, attempt to commit first-degree robbery, criminal possession of a pistol, and carrying a pistol without a permit, related to an incident at a Bridgeport barbershop in 2017 during which another individual, Mark Christian, shot and killed Deon Rodney during an attempted robbery.
The state alleged that Hinton tried to rob Omar Rivera outside the barbershop and that Rodney was shot when intervening in the robbery’s aftermath.
At trial, the prosecution relied heavily on Rivera’s two video-recorded police interviews, where Rivera identified Hinton as his assailant but claimed amnesia at trial and could not recall the events.
The jury found Hinton guilty of felony murder and other offenses but not of murder as an accessory; the manslaughter conviction was vacated on double jeopardy grounds.
On appeal, Hinton challenged the sufficiency of the evidence, the felony murder instruction, the admissibility of Rivera’s interviews under the Confrontation Clause, and the sufficiency of Rivera’s interviews alone to support the conviction.

Issues

Issue	Hinton's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Must the state prove that the shooter (Christian) was Hinton's accessory for felony murder liability under §53a-54c?	Yes; state must prove Christian was an accessory to attempted robbery, sharing Hinton's intent.	No; felony murder statute does not require accessory liability, only that a "participant" causes death in course of the felony.	State need not prove shooter was an accessory; statute only requires a death caused by any participant in course of and in furtherance of the felony.
Was there sufficient evidence that Rodney was killed during and in furtherance of the robbery attempt?	No; insufficient evidence connecting Christian as an active participant or that his act was in furtherance of the robbery.	Yes; evidence showed Christian actively participated after the attempted robbery and killed Rodney while aiding Hinton's crime.	Sufficient evidence existed for conviction; jury could reasonably find Christian's act was in course of and in furtherance of the attempt.
Did the trial court err in jury instructions by not requiring proof Christian was an accessory?	Yes, court erred by not instructing that Christian had to be an accessory with specific intent.	No error; instructions tracked statutory requirements, not the accessory statute.	No instructional error; statute does not require accessory status, and the charge was proper.
Did admitting Rivera’s video interviews violate the Confrontation Clause?	Yes; Rivera was functionally unavailable due to claimed amnesia, so cross-examination was ineffective.	No; defense expressly waived any objection and agreed to admissibility.	Claim waived by counsel’s express agreement; not reviewable on appeal.
Are out-of-court statements alone sufficient to support conviction?	No; Hinton urged overruling Newsome, arguing corroboration is required.	Yes; precedent allows conviction based solely on reliable out-of-court statements.	Declined to overrule precedent; Rivera's interviews were reliable, corroborated, and sufficient.

Key Cases Cited

State v. Bennett, 307 Conn. 758 (felony murder liability extends to all participants in predicate felony, not just accessories)
State v. Andrews, 313 Conn. 266 (defines "in the course of" and "in furtherance of" as temporal and causal limitations for felony murder)
State v. Whelan, 200 Conn. 743 (out-of-court statements can be admitted as substantive evidence if declarant is available for cross-examination)
State v. Newsome, 238 Conn. 588 (a reliable out-of-court statement, if admitted under proper standards, may serve as sole evidentiary basis for conviction)
State v. Simms, 201 Conn. 395 (discusses "in furtherance of" requirement for vicarious felony murder liability)
State v. Young, 191 Conn. 636 (interprets "in furtherance of" as requiring logical nexus between felony and homicide)
State v. Ghere, 201 Conn. 289 (temporal proximity of homicide to predicate felony for felony murder liability)