State v. Cane

Citations

• 193 Conn. App. 95

Syllabus

Convicted of the crimes of criminal possession of a firearm, criminal posses- sion of ammunition and possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, the defendant appealed to this court, claiming, inter alia, that the trial court improperly denied his motion to suppress certain evidence and improperly granted the state's motion to join two separate cases against him for trial. The defendant had been charged, in one of the cases, with kidnapping and assault in connection with his alleged conduct with two women, D and P, at his home. The jury found him not guilty of all charges in that case. The police had conducted surveillance of the defendant's home and wanted to speak to him outside of the home because it was reported that he had a firearm when the kidnappings and assaults were alleged to have occurred. While one officer was speaking with the defendant on a phone, the defendant went outside of his home several times and walked near one of his cars that was parked in the driveway before reentering the home. The police saw the car's lights flash and heard its engine run. The defendant told the officer on the phone that he had the keys to the car but had not started it remotely. After several hours of no contact with the police, the defendant came outside of his home again and walked toward a fence that bordered his property where he was arrested. The police then conducted a protec- tive sweep of the home. The next day, pursuant to search warrants, the police seized various items from the defendant's home and car that included weapons, ammunition, marijuana and other drug related mate- rials. Held: 1. The defendant could not prevail on his claim that the trial court errone- ously denied his motion to suppress the evidence that the police seized from his home and car: a. The warrantless search of the defendant's home after he was arrested and in police custody constituted a justifiable, protective sweep of the home in light of specific, articulable facts tha