State v. Wilson

• Decision Date: 22 December 2009
• Docket Number: No. 29857.,29857.
• Citation: 118 Conn.App. 556,984 A.2d 114
• Court: Connecticut Court of Appeals
• Parties: STATE of Connecticut v. David J. WILSON.

984 A.2d 114

118 Conn.App. 556

STATE of Connecticut v. David J. WILSON.

No. 29857.

Appellate Court of Connecticut.

Argued October 14, 2009.

Decided December 22, 2009.

Russell Fuller, for the appellant (defendant).

Mitchell S. Brody, senior assistant state's attorney, with whom, on the brief, were Patricia M. Froehlich, state's attorney, and Bonnie R. Bentley, assistant state's attorney, for the appellee (state).

LAVINE, ROBINSON and PELLEGRINO, Js.

PELLEGRINO, J.

The defendant, David J. Wilson, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered following a court trial, of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs in violation of General Statutes § 14-227a (a)(1)¹ and recklessly operating a motor vehicle on a public highway in violation of General Statutes § 14-222(a).² The defendant thereafter pleaded guilty pursuant to § 14-227a (g) of previously having twice been convicted of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs. The defendant subsequently was sentenced to three years of incarceration, execution suspended after one year, and three years of probation. On appeal, the defendant argues that the evidence at trial was insufficient to support his conviction. The defendant contends that the evidence supported the theory that his intoxication was the result of involuntary inhalation of kerosene fumes after a five gallon container of kerosene spilled in the back of his work van. We reject this claim and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The court reasonably could have found the following facts. On June 15, 2006, at approximately 4 p.m., Joseph Santamaria, a former New Britain patrol officer for twenty-six years, was driving his motorcycle along Route 44 in the town of Pomfret on a sunny day. Santamaria's eleven year old son was seated behind him on the motorcycle. Santamaria brought his motorcycle to a stop at a traffic signal that had been temporarily installed as a result of bridge construction that had reduced the road to a single lane. While stopped at the signal, Santamaria's motorcycle was struck from behind by a van driven by the defendant. The impact caused the motorcycle to lunge forward several feet, and left the grill and hood of the van wedged between the motorcycle's tire and frame. Neither occupant of the motorcycle was seriously injured.

The defendant testified that he was driving from Manchester to his job in Brooklyn on the day of the incident. He had been assisting a contractor in laying a foundation in Brooklyn. The defendant contends that a five gallon container of kerosene needed for his work and carried in the back of his van had spilled the night before and that kerosene had gotten trapped under the rubber matting on the floor of the van. He testified that fumes from the kerosene caused his erratic behavior.

Immediately after the accident, Santamaria approached the driver's side window of the van and asked the defendant what had happened. Santamaria observed that the defendant's eyes appeared "a little squinty" and that when the two spoke, the defendant's answers were slow and nonresponsive. Santamaria subsequently telephoned the police, and, five to ten minutes later, state police Trooper Robert Scavello arrived on the scene.

According to Scavello, the defendant had a blank stare, appeared disoriented and "seemed like he didn't understand what [Scavello] was saying." Scavello also stated that the defendant's speech was slurred, a very slight odor of alcohol emanated from him and his groin area was wet. The defendant admitted that he had urinated on himself, telling Scavello that "after the accident, he just couldn't hold it anymore and had to go." Scavello further testified that while the defendant was outside the van, he appeared "off balance, kind of wobbly when he was walking, very lethargic" and appeared under the influence of some type of drug. He stated that the defendant's pupils were extremely constricted, probably the smallest he had ever seen. The defendant also admitted to Scavello that he had smoked marijuana earlier in the morning, drank a Budweiser beer sometime between 9:30 and 10:15 a.m. and ingested two pills that he believed to be Vicodin at 11 a.m.

Thereafter, Scavello administered several field sobriety tests, all of which the defendant failed. On the basis of the defendant's performance on those field sobriety tests, as well as Scavello's observations, the defendant was placed under arrest and charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs. Scavello next searched the defendant's van, which was filled with food, coffee cups, greasy tools and old pieces of wire. He detected no odor in the van.³ Scavello then drove the defendant to the barracks of Troop D of the state police.

At the police barracks, the defendant was administered an Intoxilyzer test, which revealed that the defendant's alcohol level was 0.008, well below the 0.08 legal limit. The Intoxilyzer, which is calibrated to detect any hydrocarbon interferants, such as kerosene, during the breath test, registered no such error message. The defendant also gave the police a urine sample, which detected the presence of cocaine and its metabolite but no other substances.⁴ Additional facts and procedural history will be provided as necessary.

The defendant claims that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs. According to the defendant, the evidence of impairment was not cognizable for purposes of proof pursuant to § 14-227a (a)(1) due to the fact that it was caused solely by his involuntary exposure to kerosene fumes in the van. According to the defendant, as he drove back to Brooklyn he was overcome by fumes from the kerosene that had spilled in the back of his van the prior evening. We conclude that the court properly rejected the defendant's hydrocarbon intoxication theory, and the court reasonably concluded that the cumulative force of the evidence established beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had been operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

We begin by setting forth our standard of review. "In reviewing a sufficiency of the evidence claim, we 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 [trier of fact] reasonably could have concluded that the cumulative force of the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.... [I]n viewing evidence which could yield contrary inferences, the [trier of fact] is not barred from drawing those inferences consistent with guilt and is not required to draw only those inferences consistent with innocence. The rule is that the [trier's] function is to draw whatever inferences from the evidence or facts established by the evidence it deems to be reasonable and logical." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) State v. Solomon, 103 Conn.App. 530, 539, 930 A.2d 716 (2007).

Moreover, our Supreme Court has stated: "[I]t 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.... In evaluating evidence, the [finder] of fact is not required to accept as dispositive those inferences that are consistent with the defendant's innocence. ... The [finder of fact] may draw whatever inferences from the evidence or facts established by the evidence it deems to be reasonable and...