State v. Graham

Citations

• 344 Conn. 825

Syllabus

Convicted of felony murder, conspiracy to commit robbery in the first degree, and carrying a pistol without a permit, the defendant appealed. The defendant and two friends, M and C, encountered the victim on a walking path and decided to rob him. C attempted to shoot the victim, but his gun jammed, and the defendant used his own gun to fatally shoot the victim. The three men took money and other belongings from the victim, 826 OCTOBER, 2022 344 Conn. 825 State v. Graham and fled the scene. Approximately one week later, the defendant recounted the details of the incident to his friend, B. Around the same time, M described the incident to S, a friend, while they were together in M's backyard. At trial, B and S both testified, pursuant to cooperation agreements they each had with the state, regarding the conversations that they had with the defendant and M, respectively. Defense counsel objected when the state attempted to question S regarding the statement M had made to him, but the trial court determined that M's statement to S was admissible under the relevant provision (§ 8-6 (4)) of the Connecticut Code of Evidence embracing the hearsay exception for statements against penal interest. In making that determination, the court found that M was unavailable to testify, M's statement to S was sufficiently trustworthy, and the statement was against M's penal interest insofar as it implicated M in a plan to rob the victim, even if the statement also was, to some extent, self-serving. The defendant testified in his own defense, claiming that an unknown individual had shot the victim. During closing argument, the prosecutor suggested that the jury should discredit the defendant's testimony because he had tailored it to reflect the evidence presented by the other witnesses who had testified before the defendant took the stand. On the defendant's appeal, held: 1. The trial court properly admitted M's statement to S, in which M inculpated the defendant in the shooting: a. The