State v. Carter

Decision Date23 April 1985
Citation196 Conn. 36,490 A.2d 1000
CourtConnecticut Supreme Court
PartiesSTATE of Connecticut v. Stephen A. CARTER.

Before PETERS, C.J., and PARSKEY, SHEA, DANNEHY and SCHALLER, JJ.

SCHALLER, Associate Justice.

The defendant, Stephen A. Carter, was charged by information with robbery in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-134(a)(2) 1 and two counts of larceny in the second degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-123(a)(2) and (a)(1) 2 in connection with a February 23, 1976 theft of a car and robbery of a Gas Land service station in Waterford. He was also charged with attempted robbery in the first degree in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-49 and 53a-134(a)(2) and larceny in the second degree in violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 1981) § 53a-123(a)(1) in connection with a March 1, 1976 theft of a car and attempted robbery of a FISCA service station in Waterford. The cases were consolidated for trial. After a trial to the jury, the defendant was found guilty on all counts.

Although the defendant originally appealed from the convictions in both cases, the sole issue presented on appeal is the sufficiency of the evidence connecting the defendant with the Gas Land robbery and car theft. 3 The defendant claims that the trial court erred in denying his motion to set aside the verdict, 4 on the basis that the evidence was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he participated in the Gas Land robbery and larcenies. We do not agree.

In challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions, the defendant acknowledges that, on review, the evidence must be given the construction most favorable to sustaining the jury verdict. He maintains, however, that the verdict The state claims that the jury could reasonably have concluded that the defendant committed the Gas Land crimes, particularly in light of his accomplice's testimony that the same man assisted in both service station robberies, as well as the inferences that could be drawn from the numerous similarities in the two robberies.

must have been based on speculation and that the inferences drawn were not reasonable.

If we view the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict, the jury could reasonably have found the following facts: At the time of the crimes in question, the defendant lived with his wife at 108 Hawthorne Drive, New London. He was a member of the United States Navy, stationed at the submarine base in Groton.

GAS LAND ROBBERY

On the weekend before Monday, February 23, 1976, the defendant and his wife drove to New York and brought Lawrence Thompson, a long-time friend, and his girlfriend, Athena Osborne, to New London for a visit. The defendant used a car belonging to a shipmate and friend, Thomas Barto. Thompson and the defendant had known each other since childhood, having grown up together in New York City. Thompson visited the defendant about twice a month, usually staying at the defendant's apartment for a few days.

On this occasion, Thompson brought with him a .410 gauge sawed-off shotgun, with a stock on it. The defendant handled the shotgun in his apartment at some time during that weekend. The defendant is about 5'5" in height and weighs approximately 135 to 140 pounds. Thompson is approximately 5'11" in height. Both the defendant and Thompson are black males.

During the afternoon of February 23, 1976, Barto drove Thompson to Two Guys Department Store where Thompson purchased a "slaphammer," a device that can be used to remove ignitions from cars. Thompson told Barto that he was going to use it to steal cars. They returned to the defendant's apartment. When Barto left the apartment, Thompson had the slaphammer. Once in the apartment, Thompson showed the slaphammer to the defendant, who knew what it was used for.

Later that day, several of the defendant's friends were at his apartment, including Michael Harrison, a white shipmate of the defendant, Michael Mueller, another navy friend of the defendant, Thompson, Osborne, and Barto. Barto, who had returned about 5 p.m., left again between 6 and 6:30 with Mueller. When they left, all the others were still there.

On February 23, 1976, between 7:15 p.m. and 7:45 p.m., a brown 1965 Mustang belonging to Paul Vitello, a student at Connecticut College, was stolen from the campus where it had been parked and locked. A coat hanger was used to break into the car; the ignition was removed with the slaphammer, and a screwdriver was used to start the car.

At approximately 8 p.m. that evening a "reddish color" Mustang, later identified as Vitello's, parked at an island in the Gas Land service station located on Route 32 in Waterford. A man emerged from the car, putting a mask over his face, and pulled a shotgun from under his coat. The man was a black male, approximately 5'10" in height with short hair, wearing a dark blue coat. The man ordered the attendant to go into the back room of the service station and lie face down. The man then took the attendant's wallet and withdrew five dollars. At this point, a second male, the driver of the car, came in and asked the attendant where the money was kept. The attendant indicated that it was in the money box from which the man took approximately $525. After locking the attendant in the back room, the two men left in the Mustang. At approximately 12:30 a.m. on the next day, the Montville police discovered the Vitello vehicle parked with the motor running at a tavern on Route 32 in Uncasville, a short distance from the Gas Land station. When the Montville police returned at 2 a.m., the vehicle was still there. The Waterford police then had the car towed to the Waterford police department where Vitello identified his car.

FISCA ROBBERY ATTEMPT 5

On March 1, 1976, at approximately 8:30 p.m., two men in a black Ford Mustang drive into a FISCA service station located on Route 85 in Waterford. As Barry Bourque, the attendant on duty, approached the car, the driver got out, pulling a mask over his face. The man told Bourque to be quiet and walk toward the building. Bourque called to two friends who were about to leave the station. At this point, a second man emerged from the car, aimed a sawed-off shotgun at Bourque, and told him that he would be "the first to die." About halfway to the building, Bourque grabbed the gun, which then discharged with the bullet striking the service station. The stock of the shotgun, identified as a .410 gauge sawed-off shotgun, broke off when Bourque grabbed the gun. The robber took the stock with him as he fled. Both men left the scene on foot, leaving the car running. One of them dropped a wool cap which he had worn.

When the Waterford police arrived shortly thereafter, Bourque described the men as black males, one approximately 5' 8" and the other about 5' 7" tall, both weighing between 130 and 140 pounds. When the police searched the area, they found Lawrence Thompson at a nearby intersection. Thompson was taken to the FISCA station where Bourque stated that Thompson's clothes and general description matched those of the men who tried to rob the station.

Thompson was taken to the Waterford police department and lined up with several officers in the hall. A trained police dog that had been exposed to the wool cap left at the scene went up and down the line and stopped in front of Thompson, indicating some contact on his part with the cap. This cap, however, was not the one worn by Thompson the night of the FISCA robbery. He had been wearing a knit cap with holes cut in it, as a mask, whereas the cap dropped at the scene had no eye holes. The cap contained a negroid head hair, as well as some textile fibers having the same characteristics as carpet fibers from the defendant's apartment.

When arrested, Thompson was wearing a jacket bearing a label with the name "Carter," the initials "S.A." and a military identification number assigned to the defendant.

The car used in the robbery had been taken earlier that evening from a commuter parking lot located on Route 85 in Waterford. The car was identified by the owner, Nancy Suchodolski, that same evening at approximately 9:30 p.m. at the Waterford police station. Upon inspection, the owner noticed that the ignition was missing. A coat hanger had been used to break into the vehicle. A screwdriver and a wire which was part of a coat hanger were found on the seat. With the ignition removed, a screwdriver can be used to start a car.

Thomas Barto testified that a couple of days after the FISCA robbery attempt, he had a conversation with the defendant at his apartment. The defendant handed Barto the slaphammer that Thompson had purchased at Two Guys Department Store on February 23, 1976. According to Barto, the defendant asked him to get rid of the slaphammer, saying that the police were looking for it because "it was used to steal a car in a robbery." When questioned as to what robbery the defendant was talking about, Barto replied that he believed the defendant was talking about "the Gas Land and FISCA." When questioned on redirect whether he had previously testified that the defendant had told him about his involvement in these two robberies, Barto answered in the affirmative. Barto also testified that the defendant said that he, Thompson and Harrison had tried to rob the FISCA service station. In the process, the attendant had grabbed the shotgun he was holding and it had gone off.

Lawrence Thompson had pleaded guilty and admitted his involvement in the Gas Land and FISCA crimes. Thompson admitted that he stole the Vitello vehicle and robbed the Gas Land service station on February 23, 1976. Thompson also admitted stealing the Suchodolski vehicle and...

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  • State v. Grenier, (AC 18211)
    • United States
    • Appellate Court of Connecticut
    • 9 Novembre 1999
    ...It is the trier of fact which determines the credibility of witnesses and the weight to be accorded their testimony. State v. Carter, 196 Conn. 36, 45, 490 A.2d 1000 (1985). Expert witnesses cannot be permitted to invade the province of the jury by testifying as to the credibility of a part......
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    ...704 A.2d 806 (1997). "The evidence must be construed in a light most favorable to sustaining the jury's verdict. State v. Carter, [196 Conn. 36, 44, 490 A.2d 1000 (1985)]. It is within the province of the jury to draw reasonable and logical inferences from the facts proven. Id.; State v. Wi......
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