State v. Vanallen, 140 Conn. App. 689

Defendant Joseph VanAllen, with his two-year-old daughter present, was at his Hartford apartment on December 25, 2009.
Whaley (the child's mother) arrived with Camilla Williams and Nicole Williams to pick up the child.
An argument occurred; the defendant brandished a loaded handgun at Whaley's head while she was seated in a car.
The gun was pointed at Whaley and fired into the air several times, with the other adults nearby in the car.
Whaley drove away, the defendant fled, and shell casings were later recovered at the scene.
Defendant was convicted at jury trial of multiple offenses including carrying a pistol without a permit, criminal possession of a firearm, unlawful discharge, risk of injury to a child, breach of the peace, and two counts of reckless endangerment.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for risk of injury to a child and reckless endangerment	VanAllen endangered his child and others by firing near them and pointing a loaded gun.	Evidence did not show a risk of serious physical injury to the child or others.	Court upheld denial of acquittal; sufficient evidence supports risk to child and reckless endangerment.
Admissibility of shell casings found at the scene	Casings link to a discharged firearm and support the charged conduct.	Casings were not clearly connected to the defendant and could be prejudicial.	Court affirmed admission; casings were relevant and probative in context of other evidence.

State v. Green, 81 Conn. App. 152 (2004) (two-part sufficiency review for acquittal standard)
State v. Wayne, 60 Conn. App. 761 (2000) (risk of serious physical injury from pointing a loaded gun)