State v. Balidemaj

• Court: Connecticut Superior Court
• Writing for the Court: Elizabeth C. Learning Judge of the Superior Court
• Docket Number: KNL-CR22-0167244-T
• Decision Date: 08 December 2025
• Citation: State v. Balidemaj, KNL-CR22-0167244-T (Conn. Super. Dec 08, 2025)
• Parties: STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. ATLANTIK H. BALIDEMAJ

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STATE OF CONNECTICUT v. ATLANTIK H. BALIDEMAJ

No. KNL-CR22-0167244-T

Superior Court of Connecticut, Judicial District of New London

December 8, 2025

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION RE: DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO SUPPRESS

Elizabeth C. Learning Judge of the Superior Court

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY AND FINDINGS OF FACT

A. Procedural History

On August 22, 2025, the defendant filed a motion to suppress, and on November 3, 2025, the defendant filed a supplemental memorandum in support of the motion to suppress. On November 5, 2025, the state filed a memorandum in opposition to the defendant's motion to suppress.

On November 4, 5, 12, and 18, 2025, the court conducted a hearing on the defendant's motion to suppress. Officer Tyler Pacheco, Officer Ryan Landry, Sgt. Scott Meikle, Det. Sgt Steven Schmidt, K-9 Officer Jared Nelson, Detective Kenneth Wright, and Detective Steve Callender-all of the Norwich Police Department-testified as witnesses.^[1] Ms. Arisleida Lopez and State's Attorney's Office Inspector Stephen Bernstein also testified as witnesses.

Eight exhibits were admitted into evidence by the state and three exhibits were admitted into evidence by the defense.

Following the pretrial hearing, the court invited counsel to file post-hearing briefs. The defendant and the state filed post-hearing briefs on December 1, 2025. The court has considered the evidence introduced at the hearing as well as the written and oral arguments of counsel. In reaching its conclusions, the court has fairly and impartially considered all of the evidence received; evaluated the credibility of the witnesses; assessed the weight, if any, to be given to specific evidence and measured the probative force of conflicting evidence; reviewed the full exhibits, relevant statutes, constitutional provisions, and case law; and drew such inferences from the evidence, or facts established by the evidence, that it deemed reasonable and logical. Any other evidence on the record not specifically mentioned in this decision that would support a contrary conclusion, whether said evidence was contested or uncontested by the parties, was considered and rejected by the court.

B. Findings of Facts

On November 5, 2022, at approximately 5:33 a.m., Norwich Police responded to the Uncas Condominium complex ("Uncas Condos") in Norwich following a 911 call. The 911 caller reported hearing an argument followed by a gunshot outside of his condo. He then discovered a young woman lying in the cul de sac with a gunshot wound to her face. This woman later succumbed to her injuries. Officer Pacheco was the first officer on scene and located the woman lying face up in the cul de sac with blood-like substance on her face and under her head. The 911 caller was unable to provide the police with a name or address of the woman but believed she had recently moved to the complex. At that early hour in the morning, police noted only one condominium with lights on, Unit 74. Police knocked on the door of that unit and received no response. Within five minutes, a woman emerged from Unit 74, Arisleida Lopez, who was identified as the decedent's mother. Ms. Lopez became hysterical when she opened her door and discovered her daughter lying in a pool of blood in the cul de sac.

According to police, Ms. Lopez was emotionally distraught, hysterically crying and difficult to understand as they held her back from the crime scene and attempted to ascertain what she may know about the events leading up to her daughter's shooting. At 5:44 a.m., she told K9 Officer Jared Nelson her daughter had been in her room with "one of those kids from Bella Fiore's" a few minutes earlier. She clarified further that her daughter had just been with "one of the sons from Bella Fiore" and they had been arguing. She could not recall his name when asked.

Police were familiar with the Bella Fiore Restaurant and its adjacent bar, Modelo's. The police knew the establishments to be owned by Harvey Balidemaj, as the midnight shift frequently provided assistance to the restaurant and bar at the close of business to ensure the safety of the patrons as they left the premises. They were also aware that Harvey Balidemaj had two adult sons, the defendant and his brother Ari Balidemaj, with whom the police were also familiar. Most of the police witnesses testified that they could identify the brothers by sight although not by name.

Shortly after police received initial information from the Ms. Lopez, Harvey and Ari Balidemaj arrived at the condominium complex looking for the defendant. Between 5:48 a.m. and 6:01 a.m. they informed police that the defendant had called them several times that morning asking them to come to the condo complex to pick him up because he did not have a car and he was having issues with a girl. The defendant had told his brother the night before he was leaving Modelo's and going home with a girl, believed to be the decedent. Harvey Balidemaj advised the police that the defendant called him that morning and told him he had been drinking with a girl. Harvey Balidemaj further advised the police at that time that "when he drinks, he's pretty crazy I can tell you that."

While police were speaking to Harvey and Ari Balidemaj, K-9 Officer Nelson was speaking to Ms. Lopez a second time upstairs in her bedroom at which time she reiterated the same information that the man in her daughter's room was one of the sons of Bella Fiore and she believed him to be the "younger son".^[2] She stated she had seen this man the night before while with her daughter at Bella Fiore's. Her daughter had pointed out this man to her and said she thought he was cute. Ms. Lopez warned her daughter to stay away from this man as he was dangerous and a player. Ms. Lopez again stated to K-9 Officer Nelson that she did not know the man's name but twice stated that she knew exactly who he was. K-9 Officer Nelson, thereafter, reported this information to Sgt. Meikle who assigned him to start a dog track based on information provided by Harvey and Ari Balidemaj that the defendant had called looking to be picked up at the Uncas Condos, was no longer present, was not answering his phone and was likely on foot.

Ms. Lopez was interviewed a third time that morning, in her kitchen, at which time she told Sgt. Meikle more details. This interview took place at or around the time the defendant was located and detained on Route 32. She told police she was awakened that morning to an argument taking place in her daughter's bedroom and discovered the defendant, shirtless, in her daughter's room. Ms. Lopez explained that she became very upset with her daughter for bringing a man into their home and that she wanted him to leave. She described that she helped him to find his black hoodie with white lettering and his glasses which were located under the bed. She then walked him out of the condo through the front door.

While responding to the crime scene at approximately 6:05 a.m., Det. Sgt. Schmidt observed a lone male walking down Route 32 in Norwich near the Norwich Inn and Spa. Sgt. Schmidt had been provided with a few details of the crime prior to that point. He knew the police were looking for a white male, one of Harvey's sons, on foot in the vicinity of the crime scene. Sgt. Schmidt testified that there was no one else around at that time of the morning which added to his suspicion that this person was possibly "Harvey's son". He saw patrol officers further up the road and directed them to locate and identify this individual.

Within minutes, patrol officers located the male still walking on Route 32 away from the crime scene. The male appeared to be talking to someone on his cellphone and vaping at the time the police approached him. Police body-worn camera footage depicts the male as notably calm and unsurprised as he was approached by two police officers with their guns drawn and screaming at him to show his hands. They ordered the male to show his hands at least ten times before he complied. He then took a last drag on his vape pen before raising his hands above his head sixteen seconds into the encounter. The male identified himself as Atlantik Balidemaj and confirmed that he was Harvey's son. Given that he met the description of the person they were looking for, police detained the defendant by patting him down for weapons, placing him in handcuffs and securing him in a police vehicle at approximately 6:10 a.m. He was advised of his Miranda rights at that time. The defendant did not have a firearm on his person and told police he was coming from "the bar." After being advised by the police that there was a shooting in the area, the defendant stated that "he didn't do anything." While discussing with police whether his handcuffs could be moved to the front of his body because he was uncomfortable with them secured behind his back, he spontaneously stated that his father was "like half'. When asked what he meant by that, the defendant stated that "He has PTSD from the war. I never did anything. If he thinks I did anything, I never did anything."

At approximately 6:30 a.m., Officer Pacheco drove Ms. Lopez to A One Auto on Route 32 where the defendant was detained to identify whether the defendant was the man in her daughter's bedroom immediately prior to the shooting. She was crying and mumbling in the back, driver-side seat of the patrol car throughout the two and one-half minute ride to A One Auto. It was still dark at that time although the area was somewhat illuminated by overhead street lighting on both sides of W. Thames Street (Route 32), the lights of the A One Auto building as well as the lights from the car dealership across the street. Additionally, headlights from Sgt Schmidt's personal vehicle were on and although not...