State v. Jones

Citations

• 351 Conn. 324

Syllabus

Convicted of murder in connection with the shooting death of the victim, the defendant appealed. He claimed that the trial court improperly had 19 In light of our conclusion, we do not reach the second certified issue of whether the referee correctly permitted the complainant to amend his complaint after the start of the contested case proceedings. 351 Conn. 324 FEBRUARY, 2025 325 State v. Jones admitted into evidence certain testimony related to his alleged gang affilia- tion and certain evidence related to his actions after law enforcement person- nel attempted to arrest him. Held: The trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing evidence of the defendant's alleged gang affiliation, as the probative value of that evidence outweighed any unfair prejudicial impact. The state offered the gang affiliation evidence to establish a motive for the shooting, there was a sufficient link between the defendant's gang affiliation and the shooting, and the trial court took steps to mitigate the danger of any unfair prejudice. The trial court properly allowed evidence of the defendant's evasive conduct after law enforcement personnel attempted to arrest him, as such evidence was probative of the defendant's consciousness of guilt. Although the defendant's evasive conduct occurred more than sixteen years after the shooting, that conduct occurred close in time to when law enforce- ment attempted to arrest him and to when he learned that the police had a reason for his arrest, which was a strong indicator of his consciousness of guilt. Argued November 7, 2024—officially released February 25, 2025