State v. Espino

Citations

• 337 Conn. 425

Syllabus

Convicted, on a conditional plea of nolo contendere, of the crime of posses- sion of a controlled substance with intent to sell, the defendant appealed, claiming that the trial court improperly denied her motion to suppress certain evidence that was seized after the police detained her, without a warrant, in a vehicle in the parking lot of the apartment building in which she lived while executing an unrelated search warrant on an apartment in that building. More specifically, the defendant claimed that the trial court incorrectly had concluded that the warrantless seizure fell within the exception to the fourth amendment warrant requirement that authorizes law enforcement officers executing a search warrant to detain the occupants of the premises while a proper search is conducted because, inter alia, she was not in the immediate vicinity of the premises to be searched within the meaning of that exception. Held that the exception to the warrant requirement on which the trial court relied in denying the defendant's motion to suppress was inapplicable, as the defendant was not within the immediate vicinity of the premises to be searched when she was detained by the police, and, accordingly, her fourth amendment rights were violated, and the evidence obtained as a result of the warrantless seizure should have been suppressed; because the facts of this case and the issue presented on appeal were identical to those in the companion case of State v. Rolon, (337 Conn. 397), this court's reasoning in Rolon controlled the present case. Argued June 5—officially released November 13, 2020 The listing of justices reflects their seniority status on this court as of the date of oral argument. November 13, 2020, the date that this decision was released as a slip opinion, is the operative date for all substantive and procedural purposes. 426 AUGUST, 2021 337 Conn. 425 State v. Espino