State v. Smith, SC 20600

• Court: Supreme Court of Connecticut
• Writing for the Court: KAHN, J.
• Citation: 344 Conn. 229,278 A.3d 481
• Parties: STATE of Connecticut v. Onaje Rodney SMITH
• Docket Number: SC 20600
• Decision Date: 09 August 2022

344 Conn. 229
278 A.3d 481

STATE of Connecticut
v.
Onaje Rodney SMITH

SC 20600

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued March 22, 2022
Officially released August 9, 2022

278 A.3d 486

Jennifer B. Smith, assistant public defender, with whom, on the brief, was Mark Rademacher, senior assistant public defender, for the appellant (defendant).

Ronald G. Weller, senior assistant state's attorney, with whom were Thadius L. Bochain, deputy assistant state's attorney, and, on the brief, Paul J. Ferencek, state's attorney, and Michelle Manning, senior assistant state's attorney, for the appellee (state).

Robert C. Santoro filed a brief for Grayshift, LLC, as amicus curiae.

Marisol Orihuela and Jim Davy, pro hac vice, filed a brief for Upturn, Inc., as amicus curiae.

Robinson, C.J., and McDonald, D'Auria, Mullins, Kahn, Ecker and Keller, Js.

KAHN, J.

278 A.3d 487

344 Conn. 233

The defendant, Onaje Rodney Smith, appeals directly to this court from the judgments of the trial court convicting him of various crimes arising from five consolidated cases, the most serious of which included first degree robbery, second degree arson, and attempt to commit murder.¹ On appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court improperly denied his motion to suppress evidence discovered during a search of his cell phone and evidence obtained from T-Mobile, his cell phone service provider, because the warrants authorizing those searches were not supported by probable cause and lacked sufficient particularity to comport with the fourth amendment to the United States constitution.² The state disagrees with each of these

344 Conn. 234

claims and asserts, in the alternative, that any error was harmless. For the reasons that follow, we agree with the defendant that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the information obtained from the execution of both warrants. We further conclude, however, that this error was harmless with respect to some, but not all, of the crimes alleged. As a result, we affirm in part and reverse in part.

The following facts, which the jury reasonably could have found from the evidence

278 A.3d 488

admitted at trial, and procedural history are relevant to our review of the defendant's claims. On January 9, 2017, Tyreik Gantt, Jeremy Middleton, Jaiden Parker, and the defendant, all members of the Milla Death Row gang,³ went for a drive in Norwalk inside of a stolen red hatchback. During that drive, the group agreed to rob a food deliveryman. At approximately 6:34 p.m., an internet search for "China Moon Norwalk, CT" was conducted on an iPhone owned by Gantt. Parker then used Gantt's pay-as-you-go Tracfone to place an order for food from China Moon Restaurant.

Wuquiang Huang, the deliveryman for China Moon Restaurant, testified that he arrived at 4 Rolling Lane in Norwalk at approximately 7 p.m. to deliver the food. When Huang exited his vehicle to make the delivery, he was approached by two men wearing dark clothing and ski masks. One of the men brandished a black handgun, held it "[a]bout an inch" from Huang's chest,

344 Conn. 235

and demanded Huang's wallet. The armed man then took Huang's wallet, which contained a souvenir Chinese bill, while the other masked man took the food that Huang had brought with him. The two men then entered the car they had arrived in, which Huang described as a red vehicle with four doors and "no trunk in the back."⁴ A third man, who had been in the driver's seat of the vehicle, then drove away.

On January 14, 2017, at approximately 6:09 p.m., Gantt's iPhone was used to search "China Town Express Norwalk, CT" and two phone calls to that restaurant then were made on his Tracfone. Fen Yen Chen, the deliveryman for China Town Express, drove a 2011 black Toyota Camry with New York license plates to make that delivery at 19 Derby Road in Norwalk. When Chen was unable to locate the address, he called the number listed on the receipt for the order, which was associated with Gantt's Tracfone, and was told by the man who answered that the address was "a house right across from the red car."

Chen parked the Camry near the red car and left it with the engine running. Chen then saw two men wearing ski masks, hoodies, and gloves get out of the passenger side of the red car and approach him. Chen pretended to call 911 when one of those men brandished a gun, but the armed assailant subsequently shot the phone out of his hand. Chen then asked the men to take his money but to leave his wallet. In response, the unarmed assailant told his companion to shoot Chen. The armed assailant then shot Chen in the thigh. Chen fell to the ground and handed the men money from his pocket. Both men then got into Chen's Camry and drove away. The red car in which they had come followed.

344 Conn. 236

During the ensuing investigation into the crimes against Chen, the police found two .25 caliber shell casings. Forensic testing later determined that those two shell casings were fired from the same gun.

Around 8:15 p.m. that same evening, police officers responded to reports of a burning vehicle on Oakwood Place, a street in Stamford. One of the responding officers described that vehicle as a burgundy Subaru Forester. In the investigation that followed, police officers determined that someone had intentionally lit a fire in the rear passenger seat of that vehicle using gasoline as an accelerant.

278 A.3d 489

Police officers subsequently viewed security camera footage from a Shell gas station located at 243 West Avenue in Stamford from the day of the Chen robbery and vehicle fire. That footage showed the red Subaru Forester pulling into the gas station with the stolen black Camry at approximately 7:44 p.m. on January 14. That same footage showed the driver of the Camry entering the store to purchase gas while a passenger remained in the back seat. After purchasing the gas, the driver of the Camry exited the store and proceeded to pump gas directly into the backseat of the Forester while the Forester's driver stood watch. At trial, Parker identified Gantt as the driver of the Camry who purchased and pumped the gas.

Parker testified that, on January 19, 2017, Gantt and the defendant drove the stolen Camry to pick up Parker and another friend, Shahym Ranero, from their respective residences in Stamford. While driving around Stamford, the group was looking for Gregory Flemming, a rival gang member⁵ they "had a beef with." According to Parker, their intention was to "[l]ikely shoot at [Flemming]" or otherwise "deal with [him]." Parker stated

344 Conn. 237

that the group eventually spotted Flemming, who had dreadlocks and was wearing florescent striped pants, while they were driving down High Street in the Camry. The defendant then allegedly lowered the window of the front passenger seat and fired a .25 caliber handgun toward Flemming. Flemming, uninjured, then took off running toward West Main Street.⁶

Following the shooting, the group drove to a plaza on West Main Street where Gantt, Parker, and Ranero smoked marijuana. About ten minutes later, the group drove to a convenience store on West Main Street. As they proceeded to the store, the defendant again spotted Flemming and allegedly said, "I'm going to clean [Flemming] up ...."

Parker testified that the defendant proceeded to enter the store wearing a face mask and carrying the same .25 caliber gun he had used on High Street. Parker testified that he saw the defendant "put the gun to [Flemming's] head ... and [pull] the trigger." Although Parker himself witnessed only one shot, he testified that, after the defendant returned to the vehicle, he admitted to "let[ting] off a couple more." The group then drove away in the black Camry.

The police received a call at approximately 7:04 p.m. reporting that a black male with dreadlocks had been shot in the head at a store located at 417 West Main Street in Stamford. Responding emergency personnel observed that Flemming had been shot twice—once in the head and once in the leg. A subsequent review of the store's surveillance footage showed Flemming walking into the store, followed moments later by a

344 Conn. 238

gunman who had emerged from a dark colored four door sedan. The gunman can be seen shooting Flemming in the head and then leaving in the same sedan. The store's surveillance footage showed that the shooter was wearing a black jacket, black shoes, black gloves, dark colored pants, and a mask. Video surveillance footage from an apartment building on Bedford Street approximately

278 A.3d 490

one hour before the shooting showed the defendant wearing clothing matching that of the shooter captured on the store's video. Bullet casings from a...