State v. Chadwick St. Louis.

• Decision Date: 17 May 2011
• Docket Number: No. 32594.,32594.
• Citation: 128 Conn.App. 703,18 A.3d 648
• Parties: STATE of Connecticutv.Chadwick ST. LOUIS.
• Court: Connecticut Court of Appeals

128 Conn.App. 703

18 A.3d 648

STATE of Connecticut

v.Chadwick ST. LOUIS.

No. 32594.

Appellate Court of Connecticut.

Argued March 10, 2011.Decided May 17, 2011.

Deborah G. Stevenson, special public defender, for the appellant (defendant).Leon F. Dalbec, Jr., senior assistant state's attorney, with whom, on the brief, were Gail P. Hardy, state's attorney, and David L. Zagaja, senior assistant state's attorney, for the appellee (state).LaVINE, ALVORD and PETERS, Js.LAVINE, J.

The defendant, Chadwick St. Louis, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a trial before a three judge court, of one count of murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a–54a. On appeal, the defendant claims that the court improperly denied his motions (1) for a hearing pursuant to Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, 57 L.Ed.2d 667 (1978), because the police, either knowingly and intentionally or with reckless disregard for the truth, made a false statement and omitted exculpatory information in their affidavits in support of their applications

[18 A.3d 654 , 128 Conn.App. 706]

for the search and arrest warrants, (2) to dismiss because the search and arrest warrants were deficient as to probable cause and the search warrant was executed improperly, (3) to suppress statements he made to the police because the police failed to provide him with Miranda¹ warnings, failed to arrange for counsel upon his request and continued to interrogate him after he had requested counsel, (4) to suppress physical evidence obtained as a result of an unlawful search warrant, (5) for acquittal because the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the exact time or location when and where the offense took place and (6) for a new trial. We reject all of the defendant's claims and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The following facts and procedural history are relevant to the defendant's appeal. Christopher Petrozza worked for the defendant in his landscaping business. Petrozza and the defendant also socialized together outside of the workplace, and the defendant became financially indebted to Petrozza.

On September 14, 2006, Petrozza purchased a 1998 Audi for $5789 in cash. After purchasing the vehicle, Petrozza was short on funds and on September 29, 2006, Petrozza's mother, with whom he resided, advised him to collect the money that was owed to him by the defendant. On this date, Petrozza went to the defendant's home in Manchester. While Petrozza was at the defendant's home, the defendant intentionally caused Petrozza's death by striking him with a skid-steer loader, commonly known as a “Bobcat.” After killing Petrozza, the defendant took Petrozza's driver's license and buried Petrozza's body in the rear yard of his residence, covering the grave with large ornamental rocks. ²

After killing Petrozza, the defendant broke into a vehicle parked at his daughter's day care center and took a purse that contained a checkbook. The defendant went to a credit union and attempted to use Petrozza's license to cash a check from the stolen checkbook that he had forged and made payable to Petrozza.

On February 19, 2007, the Manchester police arrested the defendant on charges unrelated to the disappearance of Petrozza. The defendant indicated during the booking process that he had information relevant to the individual who was responsible for recent car break-ins. Several days later, the defendant told the police that Petrozza was responsible for the burglaries. In response, the police prepared a warrant for the arrest of Petrozza.

At his own initiative, the defendant continued to communicate with the Manchester police, the state police and the office of the state's attorney while he was incarcerated. Despite having provided police with information about criminal activity perpetrated by third parties, the defendant was not offered a reduced sentence for the crimes related to his February 19, 2007 arrest. The defendant then began to tell the police about the existence of a dead body in an effort to receive leniency for the February 19, 2007 arrest. After he met with the Manchester police several times, on June 5, 2007, the defendant admitted to having caused the death of Petrozza and described the circumstances of Petrozza's death as an “accident.” On June 19, 2007, the police recovered Petrozza's body from the yard of the defendant's residence.

The defendant was charged with one count of murder and on March 3, 2009, elected to be tried by a panel of three judges. On May 27, 2009, the defendant was convicted and sentenced to fifty years imprisonment. This appeal followed. Additional facts will be set forth as necessary.

I

The defendant first claims that the court erred in denying his motion for a hearing pursuant to Franks v. Delaware, supra, 438 U.S. at 154, 98 S.Ct. 2674, because the police, either knowingly and intentionally or with reckless disregard for the truth, provided false information in the separate search and arrest warrant affidavits and omitted exculpatory information.³ We disagree.

The following facts are relevant to the defendant's claim. On June 15, 2007, members of the Manchester police department submitted an application for a search warrant to enter upon and search the exterior premises of the defendant's property for Petrozza's body. In the affidavit in support of their application, the affiants stated that they had met with Matthew Palermo. The affiants alleged that Palermo told them that he purchased an Audi from the defendant for $4000 and that as he was signing the bill of sale and other paperwork, he saw Petrozza's name as the listed owner.⁴ They also alleged that when Palermo attempted to register the Audi with the department of motor vehicles (department), he learned that he needed to get the Audi's paperwork notarized by Petrozza because he was the title owner. Palermo asked the defendant several times to put him in contact with Petrozza so he could have the paperwork notarized but the defendant stated that he could not get in touch with Petrozza. Finally, the affiants alleged that Palermo never signed Petrozza's name to any of the paperwork. On August 10, 2007, the police submitted a separate application for a warrant to arrest the defendant for murder. The affidavit in support of the arrest warrant contained the information concerning the sale of the Audi and Palermo's efforts to register it with the department, but it did not include anything about Palermo stating that he never signed Petrozza's name to any of the paperwork.

On December 11, 2008, the defendant filed a motion for a Franks hearing and corresponding motion to dismiss. The defendant claimed that, in their separate applications for the search and arrest warrants, the police did not include all of the information they received from their interview with Palermo. The defendant further claimed that the police included a false statement in the affidavit for the search warrant. This false statement, according to the defendant, led the court to conclude that there was probable cause to believe that the defendant killed Petrozza and then forged Petrozza's name to the bill of sale for the Audi so he could transfer the vehicle to Palermo for financial gain. Specifically, the defendant argued that the police omitted the portion of Palermo's statement in which he told the police that out of frustration, he was able to get the Audi's paperwork notarized so he could register the vehicle with the department without Petrozza being present and, instead, the police included a false statement in the affidavit that Palermo never forged Petrozza's name on any of the paperwork.⁵ This omission, the defendant claimed, entitled him to a Franks hearing because it falsely led the judge to believe that he had committed murder.

On March 11, 2009, the court held a hearing on the defendant's motion. The court concluded: “[T]he sentence, the Palermo sentence, omitted, is not material to the determination of probable cause. Whether or not Palermo had to forge documents to register the vehicle does not bear on the financial motive of the defendant.... [T]he simple fact is, the inclusion of this sentence by Palermo in the affidavit in support of the search warrant would not have defeated probable cause.” The court went on to conclude that the defendant had not carried his burden of making the required threshold showing in order to be accorded a Franks hearing. The issue for us to determine is whether the facts regarding who forged the department documents were relevant to the issue of probable cause to search the defendant's property and arrest him for murder.

We begin our review of the defendant's claim by detailing the requirements the defendant must satisfy to obtain a Franks hearing. “In order for a defendant to challenge the truthfulness of an affidavit underlying a warrant at a Franks hearing, he must: (1) make a substantial preliminary showing that a false statement knowingly and intentionally, or with reckless disregard for the truth, was included by the affiant in the warrant affidavit; and (2) show that the allegedly false statement is necessary to a finding of probable cause.... If the allegedly false statement is set aside, however, and there remains sufficient evidence to establish probable cause, a Franks hearing is not necessary.” (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Pappas, 256 Conn. 854, 863, 776 A.2d 1091 (2001).

“Not all omissions ... even if intentional, will invalidate an affidavit.... In fact, an affiant may omit facts that he believes to be either immaterial or unsubstantiated.... Thus, before a defendant is entitled to a Franks hearing for an alleged omission, he must make a substantial preliminary showing that the information was (1) omitted with the intent to make, or in reckless disregard of whether it made, the affidavit misleading to the issuing judge, and (2) material to the determination of probable...