State v. Griffin

Citations

• 339 Conn. 631

Syllabus

Convicted of the crimes of murder, criminal attempt to commit robbery in the first degree, conspiracy to commit robbery in the first degree, and criminal possession of a firearm in connection with the shooting death of the victim, the defendant appealed to this court. Several days after the shooting, a confidential informant told a detective, P, about a conver- sation he had with the defendant in which the defendant admitted to murdering the victim and wanting to sell the rifle that he had used to 632 NOVEMBER, 2021 339 Conn. 631 State v. Griffin do so. At P's urging, the informant went to the defendant's residence to place a hold on the rifle. During the ride back to the police station, the informant told P that he saw a rifle and ammunition in the defendant's bedroom. P immediately began preparing an application for a search warrant while the police surveilled the defendant's residence. The police became concerned that their presence had been noticed and entered the defendant's residence in order to secure it until the warrant was obtained. During a protective sweep, an officer entered the defendant's attic and saw the rifle in plain view. The search warrant application was then approved on the basis of P's affidavit, in which P averred, inter alia, that the police were relying on an informant whose ''information has been proven true and reliable.'' Thereafter, the defendant was detained and, in the early morning, brought to the station, where he waived his Miranda rights. He was then interviewed by two detectives, N and Z, for more than three hours, during which he confessed to the murder. Prior to trial, the defendant filed motions to suppress the rifle and other evidence discovered during the search of his residence and the statements he had made to N and Z during the interrogation. Specifi- cally, he claimed that the rifle was illegally obtained during a warrantless search and that his confession was involuntary as a result of certain coercive interrogation ta