State v. Tomlinson

Citations

• 340 Conn. 533

Syllabus

Convicted of the crimes of murder and carrying a pistol without a permit in connection with the shooting death of the victim, the defendant appealed to this court. The state's theory was that the defendant and the victim were members of rival gangs, the ''150 gang'' and the ''Green Hollow Boyz,'' respectively, and that the defendant shot the victim in retaliation after the victim had been tried for and acquitted of the murder of H, another 150 gang member. At the time the victim was shot, the defendant's acquaintance, M, was in a nearby car driven by her friend, J. M saw the defendant, whom she knew as ''DT,'' cross the street and then heard gunshots. Meanwhile, J was having a phone conversation with her incarcerated boyfriend, D, on a recorded line. Within minutes of the shooting, M spoke to D and identified the defendant as the shooter. The police also executed a search warrant at the defendant's apartment on the night of the shooting. In one of the bedrooms, they found a mirror, on which someone had written ''150,'' ''GANG'' and ''DT.'' Prior to trial, the defendant sought to preclude evidence of his association with the 150 gang and a rap music video that had been posted on the Internet, which featured the defendant and two other members of the 150 gang, who were handling a gun. The trial court made preliminary rulings denying the defendant's motions. At trial, the state sought to present the expert testimony of A, a gang intelligence sergeant for the Bridgeport Police Department. Defense counsel objected, claiming that A's testimony was inadmissible because it was irrelevant insofar as there was no direct evidence that the defendant belonged to a gang or that the shooting was gang related. He also claimed that A's opinions were based on hearsay and that, as an expert witness, A was not allowed to testify as to hearsay. The trial court overruled the objection, and A testified that his duties included monitoring gang activity in Bridgeport through social media, w