State v. Blackman

Decision Date25 August 1998
Docket NumberNo. 15401,15401
Citation246 Conn. 547,716 A.2d 101
PartiesSTATE of Connecticut v. Bryan BLACKMAN.
CourtConnecticut Supreme Court

Lauren Weisfeld, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant (defendant).

Lisa Herskowitz, Assistant State's Attorney, with whom, on the brief, were James E. Thomas, State's Attorney, and Joan Alexander, Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney, for appellee (State).

Before CALLAHAN, C.J., and BORDEN, KATZ, PALMER and McDONALD, JJ.

BERDON, Associate Justice.

The defendant, Bryan Blackman, 1 was tried by a jury and convicted of murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54a, 2 and felony murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54c. 3 He appeals his convictions pursuant to General Statutes § 51-199(b)(3), 4 claiming that: (1) the trial court improperly denied his motion to suppress his statements to the Bristol police department, which, he claims, were the tainted fruit of an illegal seizure; (2) the evidence was insufficient to show that he intended to kill the victim; and (3) the trial court gave an improper reasonable doubt instruction. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The jury heard the following evidence. At approximately 2:30 a.m., on September 4, 1993, the defendant visited Lorraine Clouse, who lived at 93 Davis Drive in Bristol, and showed her a .22 caliber pistol. After about twenty minutes, the defendant left Clouse's home, taking the gun with him. Soon thereafter, the defendant returned to Clouse's home and asked her for a hat, saying he was going to rob someone. Clouse told the defendant that she did not have a hat, and he said that he was still going to commit the robbery. Clouse followed the defendant outside, where she watched him approach the victim, who was walking down the street alone. The defendant took out the gun, moved very close to the victim, pointed it at the victim's head and demanded money. Clouse did not see the victim give the defendant any money, but saw the defendant fire a shot at the victim's head.

After firing the shot, the defendant ran away. Clouse went inside her house and locked her door. Shortly thereafter, the defendant knocked on her door and she let him in. The defendant went through Clouse's apartment and out the back door. Clouse went to bed before the police arrived.

Ketsy Rosario, who also lived on Davis Drive, heard a gunshot when she was outside in the Davis Drive area on September 4, 1993. Approximately thirty minutes later, the defendant approached her, and told her to "check it out," pointing toward the corner of a nearby building. He then said, "you haven't seen me," and left. Rosario later went to the area to which the defendant pointed, and saw a body on the ground.

Kim Del Valle and Carrie Reynolds were returning to Davis Drive at approximately 3:30 a.m. when the defendant, whom they knew, came up to them and asked them for a ride, claiming that his child was sick. The defendant appeared anxious and nervous. On the way to the defendant's home, they passed a police roadblock, and the defendant turned his head toward the middle of the car, away from the police cruiser. Reynolds thereafter dropped off the defendant.

The victim, Richard Whipple, was pronounced dead at a local hospital that night. The cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound to the right eye. The bullet was .22 caliber, and the autopsy revealed that the muzzle of the gun was between eight and twenty-four inches from the victim's right eye when fired.

Trooper William Podgorski of the Connecticut state police testified that, one week after the shooting, on September 11, 1993, he was assigned to the state police sobriety checkpoint on Route 69 in Wolcott. At approximately 2:45 a.m., Podgorski stopped the defendant and asked him for his driver's license and registration. The defendant could not produce a license or any photo identification, and he told Podgorski that his name was Bryan Blackman. Podgorski performed a motor vehicle data check and determined that the defendant did not have a license and, moreover, that he had received a motor vehicle infraction summons. In accordance with standard procedure, Podgorski took the defendant into custody and transported him to Troop A in Southbury.

Detective Edward Spyros of the Bristol police department met with the defendant in his cell in Southbury and gave the defendant a waiver of rights form, which the defendant read and initialed. Although the defendant first offered Spyros an alibi for the night of the shooting, he later admitted being at the scene of the crime.

At the hearing on the defendant's motion to suppress his statements, the trial court heard the following testimony. In accordance with state police procedure, the state police had issued prior news releases about the time and place of the sobriety checkpoint at which the defendant had been stopped. Moreover, a master sergeant had discussed with a judge in Waterbury the procedures to be used at the checkpoint. The judge had explained what was necessary for the checkpoint to be legal. Podgorski believed that state police procedures were followed. Podgorski testified that the police stopped every vehicle and asked every driver for his or her driver's license and vehicle registration.

At Troop A, Podgorski read the defendant his Miranda 5 warnings and asked him if he understood them. The defendant indicated that he did. The police processed the defendant and placed him in a holding cell. The state police had learned, prior to releasing the defendant, that the Bristol police had a warrant for his arrest on charges of breach of the peace and third degree assault. The state police notified the Bristol police, and the defendant was released into the custody of detective Spyros at approximately 4:52 p.m. on September 11. Spyros had reason to believe that the defendant was involved in the Davis Drive murder. Spyros met with the defendant in his cell in Southbury and gave him a waiver of rights form, which he read and initialed. Spyros asked the defendant if he understood his rights, and the defendant indicated that he did. The defendant then proceeded to talk with Spyros. Their discussion began in Southbury, continued during the ride to Bristol and ended at the Bristol police station. Their discussion lasted from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., then from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., and finally from 12 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. on September 12.

The defendant told Spyros that his real name was Kevin Harris, not Bryan Blackman, and that he had used the alias because he was on probation in Florida for automobile theft. Sometime during their discussion, Spyros told the defendant that there was a warrant for his arrest in Florida, and that Florida might want to have him extradited. Spyros asked the defendant if he knew why the Bristol police wanted to talk to him. The defendant replied that people on Davis Drive were saying that he had shot the victim, but would not say what had happened, for fear of being killed upon his release from jail. The defendant told Spyros that he would rather "take the body [murder] charge" than either tell the police what had happened or return to Florida. The defendant asked to speak with his girlfriend, which he did. When the defendant told Spyros that he wanted to speak with his lawyer, the interrogation ceased.

I

We begin with the defendant's claim that, but for the illegal motor vehicle arrest, he would not have been available to the Bristol police, and that his identification and statements are therefore the tainted "fruits" of that arrest that should be suppressed. 6 The state, while not conceding the illegality of the stop, argues that, even if the motor vehicle stop was illegal, the defendant's statements were not the "fruits" of that illegality. The state argues, further, that, even if they were, the taint was sufficiently attenuated and thus the evidence was properly admitted. We agree with the state.

The trial court found that the defendant had been taken into custody pursuant to a warrantless stop for a motor vehicle violation. It also found that the state had failed to prove that the initial stop of the defendant was reasonable, and, therefore, concluded that the initial stop was an improper seizure. See footnote 9. The court also found, however, that the Bristol police, who had a valid arrest warrant and knew that the defendant was a fugitive, did not improperly utilize the illegal motor vehicle stop. The trial court found, further, that the defendant's statements were not a product of the initial stop, and "any taint by virtue of the stop by the state police ... was innocent, was minimal and certainly ... not a violation of a [fourth] amendment right to so exclude [the] statements of the defendant." Because the defendant's statements were not the product of an exploitation of any illegality, and because they were sufficiently attenuated to purge any primary taint, the trial court denied the defendant's motion to suppress.

"Our standard of review of a trial court's findings and conclusions in connection with a motion to suppress is well defined. A finding of fact will not be disturbed unless it is clearly erroneous in view of the evidence and pleadings in the whole record.... [W]here the legal conclusions of the court are challenged, we must determine whether they are legally and logically correct and whether they find support in the facts set out in the memorandum of decision...." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Colvin, 241 Conn. 650, 656, 697 A.2d 1122 (1997).

"Under the exclusionary rule, evidence must be suppressed if it is found to be the 'fruit' of prior police illegality. Wong Sun v. United States, [371 U.S. 471, 485, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963) ]. All evidence is not, however, a 'fruit of the poisonous tree' simply because it would not have been discovered but for the illegal action of law enforcement officials. Id., at...

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