State v. Ovechka
State v. Ovechka
Opinion of the Court
Opinion
The defendant, Paul Ovechka, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of assault in the second degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-60 (a) (2).
The following facts and procedural history are necessary for the resolution of the defendant’s appeal. The defendant and Michael Rynich, a Bridgeport police officer, were next door neighbors.
On July 23, 2003, the defendant was charged in an information
The defendant claims that there was insufficient evidence to support the verdict because the state did not prove that he used a dangerous instrument. Specifically, the defendant contends that the state failed to prove that the substance,
Our standard of review is well settled when the sufficiency of the state’s evidence is challenged after a conviction. “In reviewing a sufficiency of the evidence claim, we apply a two-part test. First, we construe the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict. Second, we determine whether upon the facts so construed and the inferences reasonably drawn therefrom the jury reasonably could have concluded that the cumulative force of the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. ... In evaluating evidence, the trier of fact . . . may draw whatever inferences from the evidence or facts established by the
To prove the defendant guilty of assault in the second degree pursuant to § 53a-60 (a) (2), the state was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, with intent to cause a physical injury to Rynich, caused such injury to Rynich by means of a dangerous instrument. General Statutes § 53a-3 (7) defines “ ‘[d]angerous instrument’ ” in relevant part as “any instrument . . . which, under the circumstances in which it is used ... is capable of causing death or serious physical injury . . . .” General Statutes § 53a-3 (4) defines “ ‘[s]erious physical injury’ ” as “physical injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes serious disfigurement, serious impairment of health or serious loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ . . . .”
We turn now to the evidence elicited at trial, construed in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict, from which the jury concluded that the defendant was guilty of assault in the second degree. The defendant conceded that he was on his lawn spraying weed killer on weeds, within the fence line of his property, when he saw Rynich leave his house and get into his vehicle. The jury also heard testimony from Rynich.
The state argues that “the severity of the injuries Rynich suffered permitted the jury to infer that Rynich’s injuries were attributable to weed killer and that weed killer was a ‘dangerous instrument.’ ” A review of the record reveals that the state did not provide sufficient
The state also argues that the manner in which the defendant used the spray made the instrument a dangerous instmment. Our cases have recognized, and experience has shown, that almost an infinite number of seemingly innocuous implements can, by the circumstances and manner of their use, become dangerous instruments. See, e.g., State v. Prat, 66 Conn. App. 91,
We determine that on the facts construed in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict, along with the inferences reasonably drawn therefrom, the jury reasonably could not have found the defendant guilty of assault in the second degree. There was not sufficient evidence that the defendant used a dangerous instrument in causing the injury. The defendant admitted that he intended to harm Rynich, which established beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant intended to physically injure another person. Pellenberg, Rynich and
The judgment is reversed only as to the charge of assault in the second degree and the case is remanded with direction to render judgment of not guilty on that charge. The judgment is affirmed in all other respects.
In this opinion BISHOP, J., concurred.
General Statutes § 53a-60 (a) provides in relevant part: “A person is guilty of assault in the second degree when ... (2) with intent to cause physical injury to another person, he causes such injury to such person or to a third person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument other than by means of the discharge of a firearm . . . .”
Although the defendant makes other claims challenging his conviction, because this claim is dispositive, we do not address his remaining claims.
The defendant lived at 190 Lynn Place, located on the comer of Lynn Place and Barkley Street, and Rynich lived at 126 Barkley Street in Bridgeport. At the time of the trial, they had been next door neighbors for about four years.
The charges originally had been brought in three separate files which, upon the state’s motion, the court, J. Fischer, J., j oined for trial on September 5, 2003.
There was conflicting testimony regarding the substance that the defendant sprayed into Rynich’s eyes. The defendant testified that he sprayed pepper spray, which had been in his pocket, at Rynich. The state introduced evidence to establish that the spray used was weed killer, which the defendant had been spraying on his property. We decline to determine whether sufficient evidence existed to establish whether pepper spray or weed killer was sprayed in Rynich’s eyes. Regardless of the substance involved, the state did not prove that whichever substance was involved had the potential character of a dangerous instrument capable of inflicting physical injury.
We note that the state need prove only that the victim suffered physical injury to prove assault in the second degree. See General Statutes § 53a-60 (a) (2). The state, however, must prove that a dangerous instrument was used. Because a dangerous instrument is an instrument with the potential for causing serious physical injury, if the state had provided evidence that the spray, in the circumstances in which it was used, did in fact cause serious physical injury, the state necessarily would have proven that the defendant used a dangerous instrument in the assault.
The state argues in its brief that the ingredients listed on the container of the weed killer, which was a full exhibit at trial, would alert a reasonable person that the weed killer was a dangerous instrument, as used. In its brief, the state argued that one of these ingredients was a pesticide and another ingredient was an herbicide, and it supported this argument with citations to cases outside this jurisdiction. The state, however, did not introduce evidence to the jury of the nature or classification of specific ingredients in the weed killer. Also in its brief, the state argued that pesticides and herbicides are subject to extensive regulationin Connecticut because of their potentially harmful uses. This evidence, however, was not before the jury.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting. I respectfully dissent from the majority’s conclusion that there was insufficient evidence to support the verdict because the state did not prove that the defendant, Paul Ovechka, used a dangerous instrument. When construing the evidence in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict, I believe that there was sufficient evidence from which the jury reasonably could have concluded that the substance with which the defendant sprayed the victim, Michael Rynich, was, under the circumstances in which it was used, a dangerous instrument capable of causing serious physical injuries. The jury reasonably could have concluded that the dangerous instrumentality requirement was fulfilled because there was sufficient evidence from which it could find that Rynich did, in fact, suffer serious physical injuries.
The first spray blinded Rynich, causing him to fall to the ground. Once Rynich returned to his feet, the defendant sprayed him in his eyes again, blinding him for a second time. Rynich testified that he had bums on his face, neck and chest, and no matter how much he washed, “it wasn’t going away.” Sergeant Melody Pribesh of the Bridgeport police department saw Rynich in a hospital emergency room and observed that he was “fiery red, burnt . . . from the waist up in his face, and his eyes were very irritated, red and swollen and tearing.” After treating Rynich in the emergency room, Jeffrey Pellenberg, a physician, diagnosed Rynich with chemical conjunctivitis and chemical dermatitis. Pel-lenberg testified that “clearly, he was sprayed with some type of substance that was clearly irritative to his
The jury reasonably could have found that the injuries suffered by Rynich, particularly those with respect to his eyes, constituted a serious physical injuiy. The jury reasonably could have found that a loss of vision in both his eyes, albeit temporarily, constituted a loss or serious impairment of the function of any bodily organ. General Statutes § 53a-3 (4) does not require that the impairment of an organ be permanent. State v. Aponte, 50 Conn. App. 114, 121, 718 A.2d 36 (1998), rev’d in part on other grounds, 249 Conn. 735, 738 A.2d 117 (1999); State v. Rumore, 28 Conn. App. 402, 415, 613 A.2d 1328, cert. denied, 224 Conn. 906, 615 A.2d 1049 (1992).
Despite the difficulty of drawing a precise line as to where “physical injury” leaves off and “serious physical injury” begins, in light of the evidence concerning the extent of the injuries sustained by Rynich, I cannot say as a matter of law that the juiy could not reasonably have found that he suffered “serious physical injuiy.” See State v. Miller, 202 Conn. 463, 489, 522 A. 2d 249 (1987). I would conclude that there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find that the dangerous instrument element was satisfied and, consequently, would affirm the judgment as to that claim. I would have, therefore, proceeded to address the other issues raised by the defendant in this appeal.
For the foregoing reasons, I dissent, respectfully.
See footnote 6 in the majority opinion.
On appeal, the defendant also claims that (1) the court’s instructions on assault in the second degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a-60 (a) (2) were inadequate, (2) he was deprived of his constitutional right to present a defense because no instructions were given on defense of property, defense of premises or defense of dwelling, (3) the court’s instructions on self-defense failed to ensure that the state was required to disprove the defense beyond a reasonable doubt, (4) the evidence was insufficient to show that the state had disproved all available justification defenses beyond a reasonable doubt, (5) the court improperly excluded certain evidence from the jury room and (6) he was deprived of a fair trial by prosecutorial misconduct.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Connecticut v. Paul Ovechka
- Cited By
- 8 cases
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- Published