State v. McCarthy

Citations

• 210 Conn. App. 1

Syllabus

Convicted of three counts of kidnapping in the second degree and one count each of conspiracy to commit robbery in the second degree and larceny in the second degree, the defendant appealed to this court. The defendant drove R, an individual who sought to purchase heroin from him and who owed him money, to a bank. Unbeknownst to the defendant, who had remained in his vehicle during the incident, R robbed the bank. Although the defendant was unaware of R's wrongdoing, as he drove away from the scene, he noticed a police cruiser following him and began to drive very erratically and at high speeds. After his motor vehicle became disabled, the defendant stopped in front of a gas station. The defendant and R exited the vehicle, ran toward a Jeep that was parked at a gas pump, and demanded that W, the driver of the Jeep, get out of the vehicle. When W responded that his family was inside, the defendant ran to the passenger side of the vehicle, climbed over M, W's wife, and got into the driver's seat. R attempted to enter the backseat of the Jeep but was unsuccessful, as M and W's grandchildren were strapped into booster seats in the backseat. The defendant promptly exited the gas station at a high rate of speed with M and her grandchildren still inside the vehicle. The defendant took M's cell phone from her and entered the highway, continuing to drive erratically and at a high rate of speed. Approximately ten minutes after gaining control of the Jeep, the defen- dant pulled over to the side of the highway to let M and her grandchildren exit the vehicle. The defendant then immediately drove away, without returning M's cell phone, and M had to flag down a passerby for assis- tance. The defendant was not charged with any crimes relating to the robbery of the bank, rather, the charges against him stemmed solely from his taking of the Jeep. Held: 1. The defendant could not prevail on his claim that he was entitled to a new trial on the kidnapping charges because the trial cour