State v. Freeman

Citations

• 201 Conn. App. 555

Syllabus

Convicted, on a conditional plea of nolo contendere, of the crime of robbery in the first degree, the defendant appealed to this court, claiming that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss because his prosecu- tion was time barred by the applicable five year statute of limitations (§ 54-193 (b)). The warrant for the defendant's arrest had been obtained by the police two weeks before the expiration of the limitation period, however, it was not executed until seven days after the statute of limita- tions had expired. Held that the trial court properly denied the defen- dant's motion to dismiss: contrary to the defendant's claim, the trial court applied the correct legal test, as set forth in State v. Swebilius (325 Conn. 793), in determining whether the statute of limitations had been tolled; moreover, the trial court correctly determined that the state made reasonable efforts to serve the arrest warrant before the statute of limitations had expired and that the delay in the service of the warrant was reasonable, as the stipulated facts showed that, following the defen- dant's confession to the robbery, the state expeditiously prepared and obtained an arrest warrant and a writ of habeas corpus to transport the defendant, who was incarcerated at the time, to the Superior Court to serve him with the warrant before the expiration of the limitation period, and the fact that the defendant was not transported to the Superior Court and served with the warrant until seven days after the statute of limitations had expired did not undermine the reasonable efforts of the state; furthermore, the court properly based its decision, in part, on the state's assertion that the nine day delay from the signing of the writ of habeas to the transport of the defendant was not unusual given the logistical, practical and safety precautions associated with transporting a person from a correctional facility to a courthouse, as it was within the purview of the court to use its k