State v. Lewis

Citations

• 333 Conn. 543

Syllabus

The defendant, who was convicted, on a conditional plea of nolo contendere, of carrying a pistol without a permit and criminal possession of a pistol or revolver, appealed from the judgment of conviction, claiming, inter alia, that the trial court improperly denied his motion to suppress a gun found on his person during a patdown search by a police officer. The defendant contended that the officer's seizure of him and patdown were unlawful under the federal and state constitutions. A woman, V, had called 911 at approximately 4 a.m. to report a domestic assault. V indi- cated to the 911 dispatcher that, approximately fifteen minutes before- hand, a black man identified as ''O,'' whom V had been ''dealing with,'' broke a window in her apartment and choked her. V noted to the dispatcher that O was wearing black clothing and a fitted orange and grey hat. V further explained that O had left her apartment but that she could hear him talking outside of her open window and, thus, believed that he was still nearby. V also told the dispatcher that O did not have any weapons. Approximately five minutes after the 911 call, police officers were dispatched to respond to the scene. The officers were informed that it was a domestic violence incident involving choking and that the perpetrator was likely in the area of the apartment, and they were given a description of O and what he was wearing. The officer who ultimately conducted the patdown search had been on patrol nearby in his police vehicle when he responded to the call. Approximately one minute after the dispatch call, the officer observed the defendant standing alone in a parking lot area that was in close proximity to the apartment, talking on a cell phone with no one else around, while it was raining heavily. Believing that the defendant matched the description of the perpetrator, the officer stopped and, while remaining in the vehi- cle, asked the defendant his name. When the defendant did not respond, the officer exited