State v. Greenfield, 14582

• Decision Date: 07 December 1993
• Docket Number: No. 14582,14582
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of Connecticut v. Rofio GREENFIELD.

Page 879

634 A.2d 879

228 Conn. 62

STATE of Connecticut v. Rofio GREENFIELD.

No. 14582.

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued Sept. 23, 1993.

Decided Dec. 7, 1993.

Beth A. Merkin, Asst. Public Defender, with whom was Brian S. Carlow, Asst. Public Defender, for appellant (defendant).

Mary H. Lesser, Asst. State's Atty., with whom, on the brief, were Michael Dearington, State's Atty., and John M. Waddock, Asst. State's Atty., for appellee (state).

Before PETERS, C.J., and CALLAHAN, BORDEN, BERDON and NORCOTT, JJ.

BERDON, Associate Justice.

The defendant, Rofio Greenfield, raises three issues on appeal: (1) whether the trial court improperly denied the defendant's motion to suppress evidence as the fruit of an illegal seizure; (2) whether the trial court improperly found probable cause to prosecute the defendant for murder; and (3) whether the trial court improperly denied the defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal due to insufficient evidence of his intent to kill.

The defendant was charged with the crime of murder in violation of General Statutes § 53a-54a(a). ¹ In a hearing held pursuant to article first, § 8, ² of the constitution of Connecticut, and General Statutes § 54-46a, ³ the trial court found probable cause to prosecute the defendant for murder. After a jury trial, the defendant was convicted of murder, and sentenced to a term of imprisonment of forty-five years. He appeals to this court pursuant to General Statutes § 51-199(b). We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The jury could reasonably have found the following facts. On June 25, 1990, the defendant accompanied the victim, William Dolphin, into the victim's apartment building in New Haven. They were seen entering the building together by a resident of the building, Robert Terry. The defendant and the victim went into the victim's one room efficiency apartment on the sixth floor. The defendant attacked the victim, hitting him repeatedly, targeting his head and neck, and leaving him unconscious in the hallway.

After attacking the victim, the defendant left the building at a walking pace. Terry was sitting outside, at the back of the building, with his grandson Ken Evans, and they observed the defendant as he walked by, wearing a stained shirt. The defendant turned toward them. Evans said "hey," and the defendant looked startled, then raised his hand at them and Terry waved back. The defendant then turned around and walked in a different direction.

The victim's neighbor, Concetta Apuzzo, discovered the victim lying in the sixth floor hallway and called 911. When the paramedics and police arrived on the scene, they found the victim lying unconscious in the hallway outside his apartment. The victim's face was bloodied and he had a forehead compression, a dented area of the skull. The attack had left pools of blood from the bed area through the kitchen to the outside hallway, with blood splatters and smears on a counter, wall and bed. The floor of the kitchen was so covered with blood that there was no place for the crime scene technician to walk without stepping in it. There was a broken lamp on the bed, its shade on the floor, two chairs knocked over, and the victim's two denture plates were lying on the bed and floor. The overall condition of the apartment was described by investigating officer Robert Mullins as consistent with a "violent struggle."

While the police were investigating the scene and interviewing witnesses, the defendant returned to the apartment building. At this point, the defendant had no shirt on, and his pants and shoes were covered with blood. Sergeant Anthony Griego, noticing the defendant's appearance, asked the defendant to come in the building with him and the defendant did so voluntarily. Inside, Griego found Sergeant Joseph Howard and directed Howard's attention to the defendant. At the time, Howard was talking with Terry. Terry recognized the defendant and asked him if he was the same man who had been with the victim earlier and later had waved at him. The defendant answered, "Yeah."

Officer Alpha Dacosta testified that fingerprints found on the victim's stereo cabinet and cigarette lighter matched those of the defendant. Joy Reho, a specialist in blood and body fluid analysis at the state police forensic laboratory, tested the blood on the defendant's jeans and determined that it could not have come from the defendant and was consistent with the victim's blood type. Henry Lee, the director of the state police forensic laboratory and a crime scene reconstruction expert, testified that he had examined crime scene photographs and physical evidence to reconstruct the struggle between the victim and his assailant, using blood spatter pattern interpretation. In his opinion, there had been an attack near the bed, characterized by forceful impacts by a fist, kick, or object. At one point, the victim had been on the floor and had tried to get up, smearing blood on a wall with his hand. Blood spatters on the defendant's sneakers indicated that the sneakers must have been very near the impact, consistent with the defendant having kicked the victim.

Daniel Lowe, the victim's treating physician, testified that when the victim had been admitted to the hospital, he had abrasions and contusions around his head. X rays revealed facial fractures, including a fracture of the maxillary sinus bone, which is the supporting bone of the eye, and bilateral fractures above the eyes. Lowe opined that it would take a "major blow" transferring a considerable amount of energy to the head to cause these fractures, and stated his belief that the injuries had been caused by blows from a rapidly moving blunt object, fist or kick. Finally, Lowe testified that the defendant had remained in essentially a comatose state from the time of the assault until his death as a result of his injuries on July 9, 1990.

I

The defendant first claims that the trial court improperly denied his motion to suppress, because evidence used at his probable cause hearing and jury trial was the fruit of an unlawful seizure of his person by the police in violation of our state constitution. The main thrust of his suppression claim is that the police effectively seized him, without probable cause, during the course of an investigative interview at the police station. After this alleged seizure, the defendant made evasive statements and manifested certain bizarre behavior, evidence that he asserts should not have been admitted at the probable cause hearing because of the exclusionary rule. Furthermore, the defendant submits that his statements and conduct gave the police probable cause to arrest, and the arrest allowed the police to confiscate his bloodied clothing as part of a search incident to arrest. Therefore, the defendant concludes, the clothing should not have been admissible at trial because it was the fruit of an unlawful seizure. ⁴

If the police obtain physical evidence or statements as the result of the seizure of a person without probable cause, in violation of the constitution of Connecticut, article first, §§ 7 ⁵ and 9, ⁶ the "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine requires that the evidence be suppressed as the product of the unlawful seizure. See State v. Oquendo, 223 Conn. 635, 659-60, 613 A.2d 1300 (1992); State v. Dukes, 209 Conn. 98, 110, 547 A.2d 10 (1988). Therefore, a two-part analysis is required: was the defendant seized; and, if so, was there probable cause for the seizure.

In determining the threshold question of whether there has been a seizure, we examine the effect of the police conduct at the time of the alleged seizure, applying an objective standard. Under our state constitution, a person is seized only if " ' "in view of all of the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave." ' " State v. Oquendo, supra, 223 Conn. at 647, 613 A.2d 1300; see United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 553-54, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 1876-77, 64 L.Ed.2d 497, reh. denied, 448 U.S. 908, 100 S.Ct. 3051, 65 L.Ed.2d 1138 (1980). Therefore, a seizure may take place under the state constitution even in a case where there is no submission by the defendant to a show of authority or use of physical force by the police. State v. Oquendo, supra, 223 Conn. at 650-52, 613 A.2d 1300. ⁷

At the suppression hearing, the trial court determined that the defendant had not been seized at any point prior to his formal arrest. The trial court's determination was a finding of fact that will not be overturned unless it was clearly erroneous. State v. Torres, 197 Conn. 620, 625, 500 A.2d 1299 (1985). When a factual issue implicates a constitutional claim, however, we review the record carefully to ensure that its determination was supported by substantial evidence. State v. Northrop, 213 Conn. 405, 414, 568 A.2d 439 (1990) (reviewing factual findings in fourth amendment claims). At the hearing, Howard testified that his encounter with the defendant had begun in the lobby at 60 Warren Street. Howard approached the defendant, identified himself, and asked if they could talk about the incident. The defendant said that he had been a witness to the assault and would like to assist in the investigation. Howard noticed that the defendant was not wearing a shirt, and had what appeared to be blood on his hands, trousers and sneakers. The defendant told Howard that he had been socializing with the victim in the victim's apartment at the time of the attack. The defendant stated that two individuals had knocked on the victim's door, and then attacked the victim when he answered. The defendant also stated that he had a black belt in an unspecified martial art.

After hearing the defendant's description of the attack by the two assailants, Howard asked the defendant if he would go to the police department to answer more questions. The defendant consented, and rode in the front seat of Howard's police car....