State v. Smith

Citations

• 344 Conn. 229

Syllabus

Convicted of various crimes, including first degree robbery, first degree assault, second degree arson, and attempt to commit murder, charged in five cases that were joined for trial, the defendant appealed to this court. The defendant, along with G, P, and another individual, all of whom were fellow gang members, had agreed to rob a food deliveryman. When the deliveryman, H, arrived at the requested location, two men wearing dark clothing and ski masks approached him. One of the men pointed a gun at H's chest and demanded his wallet. After taking the wallet and the food, the two returned to a red hatchback and drove away. Five days after that incident, G's cell phone was used to place a delivery order at a restaurant. When the deliveryman, C, arrived at the requested location, he was approached by two men wearing ski masks and hoodies, one of whom was armed. The armed assailant shot C's phone out of his hand, and, when C requested that the men leave behind his wallet after they took his money, the armed assailant shot C in the leg. Both men then entered C's Toyota Camry and drove away. The red hatchback in which the men arrived followed the Camry. Later that night, the police responded to a report of a burning vehicle described as a burgundy Subaru Forester. A subsequent investigation revealed security camera footage from a nearby gas station showing both the Forester and the stolen Camry pulling into the gas station approximately one-half hour before the police received the report of the burning vehicle. The footage showed the driver of the Camry purchasing gas and then pumping it directly into the backseat of the Forester. Five days later, the defendant was driving with G, P, and another individual in the Camry when they saw F, a rival gang member. The defendant lowered the vehicle's front passenger window and fired a gun toward F, who ran away uninjured. The defendant later spotted F again, and, while wearing a ski mask, the defendant followed F into a convenien