State v. Torres

• Decision Date: 19 August 1997
• Docket Number: No. 15513,15513
• Citation: 242 Conn. 485,698 A.2d 898
• Parties: STATE of Connecticut v. Victor TORRES
• Court: Connecticut Supreme Court

Page 898

698 A.2d 898

242 Conn. 485

STATE of Connecticut v. Victor TORRES

No. 15513.

Supreme Court of Connecticut.

Argued April 30, 1997.

Decided Aug. 19, 1997.

Harry Weller, Assistant State's Attorney, with whom, on the brief, were John A. Connelly, State's Attorney, and John Davenport, Assistant State's Attorney, for appellant (State).

Susan M. Hankins, Assistant Public Defender, for appellee (defendant).

Before BORDEN, BERDON, NORCOTT, PALMER and McDONALD, JJ.

PALMER, Associate Justice.

The defendant, Victor Torres, was convicted after a jury trial of conspiracy to commit murder in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a-48 (a) ¹ and 53a-54a (a). ² The trial court rendered judgment sentencing the defendant to a term of imprisonment of fifteen years. The defendant appealed from the judgment of conviction to the Appellate Court, and a divided panel of that court reversed the trial court's judgment on the ground that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury's guilty verdict. ³ State v. Torres, 41 Conn.App. 495, 676 A.2d 871 (1996). We granted the state's petition for certification limited to the issue of whether the Appellate Court properly determined that the defendant's conviction was not supported by the evidence. State v. Torres, 239 Conn. 902, 682 A.2d 1012 (1996). Because we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to sustain the jury's verdict, we reverse the judgment of the Appellate Court. ⁴

The opinion of the Appellate Court describes many of the facts that the jury reasonably could have found. "The defendant was a 'regional commander' of a street gang known as the 'Latin Kings.' For several weeks, the defendant's gang was involved in an ongoing dispute with a rival gang known as 'Los Solidos.' In the afternoon hours of September 26, 1993, the Latin Kings conducted an emergency meeting ... to discuss a recent incident in which a member of their gang was shot at by a member of the rival gang. During the meeting, Jose Martinez, a member of the gang and a witness for the state, served as a lookout. Although Martinez had attended nine prior gang meetings in which the defendant had been present [in the two month period immediately preceding the shooting], he did not attend the emergency meeting, nor did he know whether the defendant was there. At the meeting, the gang devised a plan to retaliate for the shooting incident by killing a member of Los Solidos.

"After the meeting, Jose Velez, another gang member, instructed Martinez to keep watch for rival gang members from the roof of a four-story building located on East Clay Street [in the city of Waterbury]. When Martinez arrived, four other gang members, including Velez, were already there. The group possessed an assortment of firearms including an M-16 rifle with a scope, a shotgun and several handguns. Velez had a portable [citizens band (CB) ] radio that he used to maintain contact with other gang members, some of whom had remained at Morales' Cafe, which was referred to by the gang as 'sector one.' Other gang members were stationed in different locations throughout the area.

"At approximately midnight, [one of the victims], Ana Plaza, was returning to her home at 79 East Clay Street, which is located across the street from the building where the group stood lookout on the roof. Plaza was accompanied by her son, Obdulio, her daughter, Melissa, and her infant granddaughter. As Plaza and her family prepared to enter Plaza's house, Velez and the others observed their actions from the rooftop. Velez had a brief conversation over the portable radio with an unknown individual about the activity at the Plaza residence. Immediately following that conversation, Velez instructed his people to fire at the Plaza family. At least three gang members immediately opened fire discharging several rounds of ammunition for a duration of approximately twenty seconds.

"As a result of the gunfire, Ana Plaza was struck by a bullet in her hip and Melissa was struck by a bullet in her arm. As both women began screaming, Obdulio ran into the house and phoned the police and an ambulance. Meanwhile, the shooters fled from the roof of the building into a vacant apartment, stuffed their weapons into a duffel bag and ran from the area.

"Approximately ten days later, the police arrested the defendant and several other members of the Latin Kings. In an oral statement to Detectives Robert Henderson and Mark Deal of the Waterbury police department, the defendant admitted that he was a member of the Latin Kings and that he held the rank of regional commander at the time of the shooting. Although the defendant denied any personal involvement in the shooting, he informed the police that several members of a gang called the 'Nietas,' who were allied with his gang, were responsible for the shooting. The defendant stated that one of the shooters was called 'Cano,' and that a Latin King called 'Rambo' had helped with the disposal of the weapons used in the shooting." State v. Torres, supra, 41 Conn.App. at 496-497, 676 A.2d 871.

At the conclusion of the trial, the jury found the defendant guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. ⁵ The defendant thereafter moved for a judgment of acquittal, claiming that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury's verdict. The trial court denied the defendant's motion. The defendant appealed to the Appellate Court, which reversed his conviction on the ground that the jury's verdict was not supported by the evidence. This certified appeal followed.

"The standard of review employed in a sufficiency of the evidence claim is well settled. [W]e apply a two-part test. First, we construe the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict. Second, we determine whether upon the facts so construed and the inferences reasonably drawn therefrom the [jury] reasonably could have concluded that the cumulative force of the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. James, 237 Conn. 390, 435, 678 A.2d 1338 (1996). "In this process of review, it does not diminish the probative force of the evidence that it consists, in whole or in part, of evidence that is circumstantial rather than direct.... It is not one fact, but the cumulative impact of a multitude of facts which establishes guilt in a case involving substantial circumstantial evidence." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Brown, 235 Conn. 502, 510, 668 A.2d 1288 (1995).

"While the jury must find every element proven beyond a reasonable doubt in order to find the defendant guilty of the charged offense, each of the basic and inferred facts underlying those conclusions need not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.... If it is reasonable and logical for the jury to conclude that a basic fact or an inferred fact is true, the jury is permitted to consider the fact proven and may consider it in combination with other proven facts in determining whether the cumulative effect of all the evidence proves the defendant guilty of all the elements of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Newsome, 238 Conn. 588, 617, 682 A.2d 972 (1996). Moreover, "[i]n evaluating evidence that could yield contrary inferences the [jury] is not required to accept as dispositive those inferences that are consistent with the defendant's innocence." State v. DeJesus, 236 Conn. 189, 195, 672 A.2d 488 (1996). "As we have often noted, proof beyond a reasonable doubt does not mean proof beyond all possible doubt; State v. Ford, 230 Conn. 686, 693, 646 A.2d 147 (1994); State v. Patterson, [229 Conn. 328, 332, 641 A.2d 123 (1994) ]; State v. Little, 194 Conn. 665, 671-672, 485 A.2d 913 (1984); nor does proof beyond a reasonable doubt require acceptance of every hypothesis of innocence posed by the defendant that, had it been found credible by the [jury], would have resulted in an acquittal.... On appeal, we do not ask whether there is a reasonable view of the evidence that would support a reasonable hypothesis of innocence. We ask, instead, whether there is a reasonable view of the evidence that supports the jury's verdict of guilty." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. DeJesus, supra, at 196, 672 A.2d 488; see also State v. Sivri, 231 Conn. 115, 134, 646 A.2d 169 (1994).

Furthermore, "[t]his court cannot substitute its own judgment for that of the jury if there is sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict." State v. Tomasko, 238 Conn. 253, 258, 681 A.2d 922 (1996). Accordingly, "[w]e do not sit as a [seventh] juror who may cast a vote against the verdict based upon our feeling that some doubt of guilt is shown by the cold printed record.... Rather, we must defer to the jury's assessment of the credibility of the witnesses based on its firsthand observation of their conduct, demeanor and attitude." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id. Finally, "[i]n reviewing the jury verdict, it is well to remember that [j]urors are not expected to lay aside matters of common knowledge or their own observation and experience of the affairs of life, but, on the contrary, to apply them to the evidence or facts in hand, to the end that their action may be intelligent and their conclusions correct." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Ford, supra, 230 Conn. at 693, 646 A.2d 147; State v. Little, supra, 194 Conn. at 674, 485 A.2d 913; see also State v. Zayas, 195 Conn. 611, 620, 490 A.2d 68 (1985) ("[i]t is an abiding principle of jurisprudence that common sense does not take flight when one enters a courtroom").

Because the defendant was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, we also must consider the essential elements of the crime of conspiracy. "To establish the crime of conspiracy [to commit murder ... the state must show] that an agreement was made between two or more persons to engage in conduct constituting [the...