State v. Luciano, 204 Conn.App. 388

April 22, 2016 bar fight: two victims — Jason Torello (struck in the head with a metal object and seriously injured) and Edward Corradino (sustained head wound and fractured ankle). An unidentified individual wielded the bat; Torello did not identify the batter.
Defendant Zaire Luciano exchanged punches with Corradino during the melee; several witnesses placed the defendant at or near the scene. Torello believed he saw Luciano leave in a red Corvette; police later seized that Corvette and found blood-stained clothing and items linking Luciano to the vehicle via DNA.
Key eyewitness Serrano described three men arriving with a bat, said Luciano shouted "whoa, whoa," and gave inconsistent, limited testimony; other eyewitness testimony was fragmentary and chaotic.
The state prosecuted Luciano for assault in the first degree (for Torello), assault in the second degree (for Corradino), and conspiracy to commit assault in the first degree; jury acquitted Luciano of the first-degree assault but convicted him of second-degree assault and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault.
On appeal Luciano argued insufficiency of the evidence as to (1) conspiracy to commit assault in the first degree and (2) assault in the second degree (use of a dangerous instrument). The appellate court reversed and directed judgments of acquittal on both counts.

Issue	State's Argument	Luciano's Argument	Held
Sufficiency to convict of conspiracy to commit assault 1 (agreement to use dangerous instrument)	Circumstantial evidence (group presence, prior racist comment, concerted attack, blood evidence in Luciano’s car, possible sighting of bat) supports an inference of a quick-formed agreement among participants.	No evidence linked Luciano to the unidentified bat-wielder or showed any coordinated action or prior relationship; any inference of agreement is speculative.	Reversed — evidence insufficient. No reasonable inference of an agreement between Luciano and the bat-wielder; conviction rested on impermissible conjecture.
Sufficiency to convict of assault in the second degree (injury to Corradino by dangerous instrument)	The state relied on Pinkerton theory and the chaotic group attack to attribute dangerous-instrument causation.	No testimony or forensic evidence establishing that Corradino’s injury was caused by a dangerous instrument; Corradino did not testify.	Reversed — evidence insufficient to prove Corradino’s injuries were caused by a dangerous instrument; directed acquittal.

State v. Green, 261 Conn. 653 (2002) (conspiracy conviction reversed where evidence of agreement was speculative)
State v. Smith, 36 Conn. App. 483 (1994) (conspiracy reversed where defendant lacked knowledge of coconspirators' weapon/plan)
State v. VanDeusen, 160 Conn. App. 815 (2015) (defendant's knowledge of coconspirator's weapon and active facilitation supported conspiracy)
State v. Millan, 290 Conn. 816 (2009) (conspiracy may be inferred from separate acts and surrounding circumstances; can form quickly)
State v. Crosswell, 223 Conn. 243 (1992) (agreement may be inferred from separate acts of alleged coconspirators)
Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640 (1946) (co-conspirator liability where offenses are within the scope, furtherance, and reasonably foreseeable)
State v. Petion, 332 Conn. 472 (2019) (limits on remand/conviction modification when jury wasn’t instructed on lesser included offense)
State v. LaFleur, 307 Conn. 115 (2012) (same principle regarding inability to modify verdict to a lesser offense absent instruction)