State v. La Fountain

• Decision Date: 08 February 1954
• Citation: 140 Conn. 613,103 A.2d 138
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE v. LA FOUNTAIN. Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut

Page 138

103 A.2d 138

140 Conn. 613

STATE v. LA FOUNTAIN.

Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut.

Feb. 8, 1954.

Robert J. Woodruff, New Haven, with whom, on the brief, was A. S. Geduldig, Bridgeport, for appellant (defendant).

Lorin W. Willis, State's Atty., Bridgeport, with whom, on the brief, was Otto J. Saur, Asst. State's Atty., Bridgeport, for appellee (state).

Before INGLIS, C. J., and BALDWIN, O'SULLIVAN, QUINLAN and WYNNE, JJ.

QUINLAN, Associate Justice.

The defendant was informed against under § 8357 of the General Statutes and charged with aiding, abetting and counseling James Webb in committing robbery, while armed, upon John Thier. He was tried to the jury and found guilty. Upon this appeal, he claims error in the denial of his motion to set aside the verdict, in the charge and in various rulings made upon the trial.

The denial of the motion to set aside the verdict is the subject of the first two assignments of error. It will receive our first consideration. The jury reasonably could have found the following facts: The defendant was employed as a bridge painter in Highland, New York. Some time before the commission of the crime he began to talk to his coworkers Webb, Orphan and Garay about obtaining 'easy money.' On the morning of Thursday, July 20, 1950, a rainy day, the defendant and his three companions drove in Orphan's car from the vicinity of Poughkeepsie to Danbury. Of the four men, the defendant was the only one who was aware that Thursday was a pay day for the Danbury Power and Transportation Company. Previously, he had worked with John Thier, the paymaster of the company, and, on several occasions, had accompanied him to the bank where he obtained money for the pay roll. The defendant was acquainted with the customary procedure for obtaining the money. He knew there was a revolver in Orphan's car on the morning of July 20, 1950. On that morning, near the bank in Danbury, he pointed out John Thier to his three companions when Thier, before entering the bank, parked the car he was driving. The defendant had participated in the drawing of lots which resulted in Webb's being chosen to take the gun and commit the actual robbery. The defendant and his two companions, Orphan and Garay, remained in their car while Webb went to rob Thier. They had agreed to pick Webb up at a certain spot. When he did not appear at that place, they drove around Danbury looking for him. Not finding him, they proceeded to drive toward Poughkeepsie, New York. On the way they heard a radio report about the robbery and that the robber had been last seen in Bridgeport. They then went to Bridgeport. Failing to find Webb there, they drove to his home in Wappingers Falls. Upon their arrival, Webb's wife told them that Webb had not returned. The defendant stated that they would remain for two weeks, if necessary. Webb returned late in the night bringing the money, amounting to about $2900, with him. It was placed on a table and divided among the four men, the defendant receiving a share. There is no need to relate the details of the robbery. It is not disputed that Webb committed it as planned.

It is apparent that, if the jury found the facts as stated above, their verdict of guilty was warranted. In contending that the court erred in its denial of the motion to set aside the verdict, the defendant relies upon the claim that the jury could not have found those facts beyond a reasonable doubt, first because the state's case rested exclusively on the testimony of accomplices and, second, because the evidence in support of the defendant's alibi was so strong that it must have created a reasonable doubt of his guilt.

The action of the trial court in denying the motion is entitled to great consideration because of its position of advantage in passing upon the question. State v. Laudano, 74 Conn. 638, 646, 51 A. 860. Unless 'the manifest injustice of the verdict is so plain as to justify the belief that the jury or some of its members were influenced by ignorance, prejudice, corruption, or partiality,' we cannot set the verdict aside. State v. Chin Lung, 106 Conn. 701, 704, 139 A. 91, 92. It was within the province of the jury to determine the credence to be accorded the testimony of Orphan, Garay and Webb and what effect should be given the evidence offered in support of the alibi. State v. Taborsky, 139 Conn. 475, 482, 95 A.2d 59; State v. Groos, 110 Conn. 403, 406, 148 A. 350. The three men were accomplices, but, subject to a proper charge upon that subject, of which we shall speak later, the mere fact that they were accomplices does not require corroboration of their testimony. State v. Heno, 119 Conn. 29, 33, 174 A. 181, 94 A.L.R. 696; State v. Frost, 105 Conn. 326, 334, 135 A. 446. Moreover, they were corroborated by Mrs. Webb as to the division of the spoils, and she was not an accomplice. So far as the defendant's alibi is concerned, it was supported by testimony of several witnesses which tended to prove that the defendant was in New Haven at the time the crime was being committed in Danbury. At least one of these witnesses, however, showed marked bias, and as to all of them there was some question of their ability to relate their testimony or supporting data to the specific day in question. The jury were entitled to disbelieve their testimony and were justified in finding beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant aided, abetted and counseled James Webb in committing robbery with violence. The denial of the motion to set aside the verdict was proper.

Various assignments of error are addressed to the charge, which must be tested by the finding. The statement of facts adequately describes the state's claims of proof. Such claims of proof of the defendant as are pertinent may be summarized as follows: At the time of the trial the defendant, a single man of good character, twenty-seven years old, lived with his parents in New Haven. He was not present at the claimed robbery and took no part in it, having spent the entire day of July 20, 1950, and the following day in New Haven. While he was employed at Poughkeepsie as a bridge painter for the railroad, he commuted from Danbury, where he then lived with his parents, by means of a car pool. On the morning of July 20, he was late in arriving at his pick-up spot and missed his ride. He decided to go to New Haven. He went by bus to Sandy Hook, then took a regular bus to New Haven and went directly to the office of the Westville Trucking Company, where he intended to apply for a job. He left the office of the company about 5 p.m. During the day, he drove a truck to bring in mother parts at the request of Maurice Hansen, who was in the Westville Trucking Company's yard working on a truck. He also made a trip to lower State Street, New Haven, where a truck driven by Carl Hansen had stalled. It contained articles of freight being shipped by the Bronson and Townsend Company. He was not engaged in his work on the bridge on either July 20 or July 21. After beginning the bridge painting job, the defendant became acquainted with James Webb, Michael Orphan and Joseph Garay, all of whom had been working with him since early May, 1950, but he was not with them at any time on July 20 or July 21, 1950. He again went from Danbury to New Haven on July 21, hired an automobile for his own use, and looked for employment. He returned to Danbury the evening of July 21. He moved to New Haven soon afterward.

The third assignment concerns the refusal to charge pursuant to written requests. We have repeatedly said: ...