54 Conn. App. 709 | Conn. App. Ct. | 1999
Opinion
The defendant, Carrie Jones, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of (1) conspiracy to commit robbery in the first degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-134 (a) (1) and 53a-48, (2) attempt to commit robbery in the first degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-49 and 53a-134 (a) (1), (3) felony murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54c and (4) having a weapon in a motor vehicle in violation of General Statutes § 29-38. More specifically, the defendant claims that the trial court improperly denied her motion for judgment of acquittal.
The defendant told the police that she and her husband and Minton had come to the area to buy drugs and were lost. Police discovered bullet holes in the rear-seat and in the back of the front seat. They also found three bullet holes in the front windshield and blood stains throughout the car. In the rear passenger compartment, the police found shell casings and a bag containing crack vials. They also found two handguns, one between the driver’s seat and console, and another outside the car near the right front fender. A shotgun was found underneath a wheelchair in the left rear passenger seat.
At trial, the jury heard testimony from James Stephenson, a firearms and tool mark examiner, and Virginia
At the conclusion of the state’s case-in-chief, the defendant moved for judgment of acquittal. The trial court granted the motion as to one of five charges then pending.
The defendant claims that the trial court improperly denied her motion for judgment of acquittal as to the remaining counts. Specifically, she argues that the state failed to present sufficient evidence to prove her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
“The standard of review employed in a sufficiency of the evidence claim is well settled. [W]e apply a two-part test. First, we construe the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict. Second, we determine whether upon the facts so construed and the inferences reasonably drawn therefrom the [trier of fact] reasonably could have concluded that the cumulative force of the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. . . . State v. James, 237 Conn. 390, 435, 678 A.2d 1338 (1996). . . . State v. Crespo, 246 Conn. 665, 670, 718 A.2d 925 (1998). On appeal, we do not ask whether there is a reasonable view of the evidence that would support a reasonable hypothesis of innocence. We ask instead, whether there is a reasonable view of the evidence that supports the [trier of fact’s] verdict of guilty. . . . State v. Torres, 242 Conn. 485, 490, 698 A.2d 898 (1997).” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Rolli, 53 Conn. App. 269, 271-72, 729 A.2d 245, cert. denied, 249 Conn. 926, 733 A.2d 850 (1999).
In this case, the jury had before it the defendant’s statement that Minton had informed the defendant and her husband that he wanted to rob someone and that her husband had agreed to go along with the robbery. The jury also heard evidence that the defendant stopped the car to pick up Rolle, the victim of the attempted
We conclude, under the facts in this case, that it was not unreasonable for the jury to conclude, on the basis of the evidence presented and the reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, that the defendant fired a gun at Rolle during the robbery attempt. The evidence, therefore, was sufficient to sustain the verdict on the remaining counts.
The judgment is affirmed.
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
The defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal was granted as to an additional count of murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54a on the ground that the state failed to prove intent.
Minton was the individual lying behind the defendant’s car.
The wheelchair apparently belonged to Charles Jones, who was paralyzed from the waist down as a result of a previous shooting.
See footnote 1.