State v. Ricketts, 57 A.3d 893

Defendant Sean T. Ricketts was convicted of robbery in the second degree on January 29, 2008, receiving ten years with execution suspended after 2.5 years and five years probation.
Probation began on November 17, 2009, with a condition prohibiting violation of any criminal laws of the state.
On February 19, 2010, Hartford officers observed an Acura with four occupants, including defendant, and recovered a firearm under the front passenger seat; no one possessed a valid pistol permit.
The following day, a judicial marshal found a bag of contraband in the defendant’s pocket during processing; the substance tested positive for marijuana.
The trial court held that the defendant violated his probation and vacated the original sentence, imposing seven years’ incarceration with execution suspended after five years and four years, nine months of probation.
On appeal, the defendant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to prove probation violation and the trial court’s sentencing discretion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence to prove probation violation	Ricketts violated probation by marijuana possession and by firearms-related conduct.	Insufficient chain-of-custody/evidentiary basis for marijuana and failure to prove § 29-38 violation beyond reasonable doubt.	Evidence supported probation violation; conviction affirmed.
Discretionary sentencing for probation violation	Court properly revoked probation and sentenced within statutory discretion for original conviction.	Sentence excessive for marijuana possession and firearm without permit under current statute.	Court acted within its discretion; judgment affirmed.

State v. Hill, 256 Conn. 412 (Conn. 2001) (two-stage revocation standard: factual finding then disposition)
State v. Holmes, 70 Conn. App. 4 (Conn. App. 2002) (probation revocation civil in nature; preponderance standard)
State v. Lanagan, 119 Conn. App. 53 (Conn. App. 2010) (clear error standard for probation violation findings)
State v. Preston, 286 Conn. 367 (Conn. 2008) (dispositional review; punishment for original crime)
State v. Fagan, 280 Conn. 69 (Conn. 2006) (dispositional framework for probation revocation)