State v. Lamantia
State v. Lamantia
Opinion
*649 *516 The defendant, Jasmine Lamantia, appeals from the judgment of conviction, rendered after *650 a jury trial, of interfering with an officer in violation of General Statutes § 53a-167a and tampering with a witness in violation of General Statutes § 53a-151. On appeal, the defendant claims that the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction for these offenses. We agree with the defendant with respect to the interfering with an officer count, but disagree as to the tampering with a witness count. Accordingly, we reverse in part and affirm in part the judgment of the trial court.
The jury reasonably could have found the following facts in support of the verdict. 1 On the evening of July 24, 2015, Earl F. Babcock and Jason Rajewski spent three or four hours socializing at a bar in Norwich. At that time, Rajewski was involved romantically with the defendant. At some point that evening, the defendant arrived at the bar. After midnight, Babcock and Rajewski followed the defendant to a house located at 18 Bunny Drive in Preston. At this location, some teenagers, including the defendant's son, Joshua Bivens, were having a party. Upon her arrival, the defendant parked her car and immediately ran into house. Babcock parked his car and remained outside with Rajewski.
David Moulson, the defendant's former boyfriend, 2 drove his vehicle into the driveway, and directed the *651 headlights at Babcock and Rajewski. Moulson, exited his car and ran toward them while swinging his arms. Babcock fell over backwards, as he was "disoriented" by the headlights shining in his eyes. Moulson and Rajewski engaged in a verbal and physical altercation that ended with Rajewski striking Moulson with his right hand and Moulson bleeding from his face. Moulson ran into the house and called the police. Babcock and Rajewski left after hearing from the defendant about Moulson's phone call. Five minutes later, Babcock dropped Rajewski off at his house, and then proceeded home.
Jonathan Baker, a Connecticut state trooper, received a dispatch to 18 Bunny Drive for an active disturbance at approximately 2:30 a.m. Baker spoke with Moulson in the presence of the defendant. Moulson claimed that two males, one of *517 whom he identified as Rajewski, had assaulted him as he exited his vehicle. Baker obtained an address for Rajewski, and proceeded to that address to continue the investigation.
At Rajewski's residence, Baker knocked on the door. Rajewski indicated that he knew why Baker was there and then presented his cell phone to Baker. Rajewski asked Baker to read the text messages that he had received from the defendant. Baker read the text conversation and concluded that the defendant had requested that Rajewski lie to him. Rajewski then received a call from Babcock and permitted Baker to answer his phone. Baker took Rajewski into custody, drove him to the state police barracks for processing, and then went to Babcock's house. Following a conversation, Baker arrested Babcock and transported him to the barracks for processing.
Later that morning, the defendant arrived at the barracks to pick up Moulson, who also had been arrested.
*652 Baker confronted the defendant about the text messages that she had sent to Rajewski, and then placed her under arrest. The defendant subsequently was charged, tried, and convicted of interfering with a police officer in violation of § 53a-167a(a) and tampering with a witness in violation of § 53-151 (a). The court imposed a concurrent sentence for each count of one year incarceration, execution suspended, and two years of probation. This appeal followed. Additional facts will be set forth as necessary.
On appeal, the defendant claims that the evidence was insufficient to sustain her conviction. We begin by setting forth our well established standard of review. "In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to support a criminal conviction 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 [finder of fact] reasonably could have concluded that the cumulative force of the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt....
"We note that the jury must find every element proven beyond a reasonable doubt in order to find the defendant guilty of the charged offense, [but] each of the basic and inferred facts underlying those conclusions need not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.... If it is reasonable and logical for the jury to conclude that a basic fact or an inferred fact is true, the jury is permitted to consider the fact proven and may consider it in combination with other proven facts in determining whether the cumulative effect of all the evidence proves the defendant guilty of all the elements of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt....
"Moreover, it does not diminish the probative force of the evidence that it consists, in whole or in part, of *653 evidence that is circumstantial rather than direct.... It is not one fact, but the cumulative impact of a multitude of facts which establishes guilt in a case involving substantial circumstantial evidence.... In evaluating evidence, the [finder] of fact is not required to accept as dispositive those inferences that are consistent with the defendant's innocence.... The [finder of fact] may draw whatever inferences from the evidence or facts established by the evidence it deems to be reasonable and logical....
"Finally, [a]s we have often noted, proof beyond a reasonable doubt does not mean proof beyond all possible doubt ... nor does proof beyond a reasonable doubt require acceptance of every hypothesis of innocence posed by the defendant
*518
that, had it been found credible by the [finder of fact], would have resulted in an acquittal.... On appeal, we do not ask whether there is a reasonable view of the evidence that would support a reasonable hypothesis of innocence. We ask, instead, whether there is a reasonable view of the evidence that supports the [finder of fact's] verdict of guilty." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
State
v.
Crespo
,
I
We first address the defendant's claim that the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction of interfering with a police officer. The defendant argues that our decision in
State
v.
Sabato
,
Section 53a-167a(a) provides in relevant part: "A person is guilty of interfering with an officer when such person obstructs, resists, hinders or endangers any peace officer ... in the performance of such peace officer's ... duties." Accordingly, "[t]he elements of this crime ... are (1) a person obstructs, resists, hinders, or endangers, (2) a peace officer, (3) while the officer is in the performance of his or her duties."
State
v.
Wearing
,
In
State
v.
Briggs
,
On appeal, the defendant contends that the communication that formed the basis for her conviction of interfering with a police officer was nonviolent and nonthreatening text messages directed to Rajewski, not Baker. 3 The following additional *519 facts are necessary for *655 our discussion. In the course of his investigation, Baker left Bunny Drive and proceeded to Rajewski's residence. Baker knocked on the door and asked if Rajewski knew why he was there. Rajewski responded affirmatively, and then handed Baker his cell phone. Rajewski requested that Baker read the text messages that he recently had received from the defendant.
Baker testified that the text messages were "a conversation between [Rajewski] and [the defendant] about how their stories have to match and have to be on the same pages and the cops were coming and a couple of other things." Baker then explained that he had recorded the text message conversation into his police report. 4 The defendant first texted Rajewski telling him that the "cops are coming," that he should "make sure [he was] bloody" and that she had stated to Baker that Moulson was abusive to her. Rajewski simply replied, "ok." The defendant then texted that Rajewski should wait outside because the police were coming to his residence and that he should delete this text conversation. Next, the defendant asked Rajewski to tell the police that Moulson had "stalked" her, that Rajewski should claim to have been involved in an altercation at a bar, had been bleeding when he arrived at Bunny Drive, and had followed her to Bunny Drive only *656 because he loved the defendant. Finally, the defendant texted Rajewski that they needed "to stick with the same story" and that their statements needed "to match."
Rajewski replied that he was going to tell the truth, specifically, that Moulson had "tried to kick [his] ass, so [Rajewski] beat him up." Rajewski's text messages conveyed that he was upset, and that "enough is enough." The defendant responded with a question mark, and then that his story needed to match hers. After additional conversation via text message, Rajewski again stated that "he was not going to tell a story, he's just going to tell what happened."
Our analysis begins with
State
v.
Williams
,
Our Supreme Court rejected the defendant's claim of insufficient evidence as to his conviction for violating § 53a-167a. Id., at 468-69,
The court then turned to the defendant's claim that § 53a-167a was fatally overbroad. Id., at 472-74,
*658
Approximately twenty-seven years later, in
State
v.
Sabato
, supra,
The defendant in
Sabato
claimed that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction for attempt to interfere with a police officer. "First, he argues that § 53a-167a does not proscribe physical or verbal conduct directed against a third party .... Second, he contends that applying § 53a-167a to his conduct, which was outside the presence of a police officer, would render the statute void for vagueness." Id., at 595,
*521
We concluded that
State
v.
Williams
, supra,
Our Supreme Court granted the petitions for certification filed by the state and the defendant.
State
v.
Sabato
,
The court reviewed its prior interpretation of § 53a-167a in
State
v.
Williams
, supra,
The court in
Sabato
rejected the state's true threats argument on the basis that it violated the theory of the
*660
case, and thus, due process.
The state attempts to distinguish the present case from the
Sabato
opinions and
State
v.
Williams
, supra,
We are not persuaded by the state's interpretation of
State
v.
Williams
, supra,
Additionally, we are not persuaded by the state's attempt to distinguish the present case from the Sabato decisions. Neither this court nor our Supreme Court based its decision on whether there was evidence that the defendant specifically intended to interfere with a police officer when he sent his text message to the third party. Rather, the focus of both courts was on the fact that the verbal conduct did not amount to fighting words and could not constitute a violation of § 53a-167a.
The state also directs us to
State
v.
Williams
,
On appeal, the defendant claimed, inter alia, that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for violating § 53a-167a(a). Id., at 793,
At first blush,
State
v.
Williams
, supra,
The sole basis for the defendant's conviction for violating § 53a-167a was the text messages sent to Rajewski. These words, which cannot be construed as fighting words, were not proscribed by that statute. As a result, we conclude that there was insufficient evidence to sustain her conviction for interfering with a police officer.
II
The defendant next claims that the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction of tampering with a witness. Specifically, she argues that the state failed
*664
to prove that she sent the text messages to
*524
Rajewski
7
with the specific intent required for a conviction of § 53a-151(a), that is, the intent to influence a witness at an official proceeding. See
State
v.
Ortiz
,
Section 53a-151(a) provides: "A person is guilty of tampering with a witness if, believing that an official proceeding is pending or about to be instituted, he induces or attempts to induce a witness to testify falsely, withhold testimony, elude legal process summoning him to testify or absent himself from any official proceeding."
8
See also
State
v.
Bennett-Gibson
,
Our Supreme Court has stated that this statutory language "plainly warns potential perpetrators that the statute applies to any conduct that is intended to prompt a witness to testify falsely or to refrain from testifying in an official proceeding that the perpetrator believes to be pending or imminent."
State
v.
Cavallo
,
Before addressing the specific arguments in this case, it is helpful to review our Supreme Court's decision in
State
v.
Ortiz
, supra,
The police considered the defendant as a suspect in the death of Labbadia, and went to speak with the defendant's girlfriend, Kristen Quinn. Id., at 554-55,
One week later, the defendant, intoxicated and suicidal, told Middletown police officers that he "was tired of being accused of ... something that he [did not] do." (Internal quotation marks omitted.) Id., at 555,
Approximately seven weeks later, the defendant returned to Quinn's home, this time in possession of a small handgun. Id."The defendant told Quinn that he had the gun for 'insurance' if she told 'the cops about what he said about [Labbadia].' The defendant said that if Quinn spoke to the police '[her] house was going to go up in smoke ....' The defendant stated that he knew where Quinn's grandparents lived. The defendant told Quinn that he was going to 'put [her down] on [her] knees, put the gun to [her] head and scare [her] straight.' "
The defendant in
Ortiz
subsequently was found guilty, inter alia, of tampering with a witness. Id., at 558,
Next, the court in
Ortiz
considered the defendant's sufficiency claim. Id., at 572-74,
*668 In the present case, the defendant challenges only the requirement that the state prove that she sent text messages to Rajewski with the intent to induce him to testify falsely. Specifically, she contends that it was too speculative for the jury to infer that she possessed the required intent to induce Rajewski to lie or withhold testimony at a future official proceeding at the time she texted him. She also argues that it would have been speculation for the jury to find that Rajewski would in fact testify when a future official proceeding could be resolved via a nolle prosequi, diversionary program or guilty plea. In other words, it simply was not probable that a "criminal court proceeding" would occur in which Rajewski would testify. Finally, she maintains that, at most, the jury could infer that she had attempted to prevent his arrest.
The defendant's argument suffers from two flaws. First, she incorrectly assumes that the future official proceeding was limited to Rajewski's criminal trial. She offers no support for this interpretation of § 53a-151(a). In
State
v.
Pommer
, supra, 110 Conn. App. at 614,
Second, and more importantly, we disagree that the evidence in the present case was insufficient to support a finding that "an official proceeding was pending, or about to be instituted ...." Our precedent contradicts the defendant's argument. In
State
v.
Foreshaw
,
The state charged the defendant, inter alia, with a violation of General Statutes (Rev. to 1989) § 53a-155 (a), which provides in relevant part: "A person is guilty of tampering with ... physical evidence if,
*527
believing that an official
proceeding is pending, or about to be instituted
, he: (1) Alters, destroys, conceals or removes any record, document or thing with purpose to impair its verity or availability in such proceeding." (Emphasis in original.)
State
v.
Foreshaw
, supra,
On appeal in
Foreshaw
, the defendant claimed that the state had failed to present sufficient evidence to support her conviction. Id., at 549-51,
In the present case, the jury reasonably could have found that the defendant tampered with Rajewski by
*670
sending him text messages shortly after his altercation with Moulson. The timing of this tampering is similar to the facts of
State
v.
Foreshaw
, supra,
In this opinion the other judges concurred.
We note that this case is replete with conflicting testimony regarding the timing and nature of the relationships between the various parties, as well as the events of the night of July 24, 2015, and the early morning of July 25, 2015. It was for the jury, and not this court, to resolve discrepancies in the testimony. We emphasize that "we must defer to the finder of fact's evaluation of the credibility of the witnesses that is based on its invaluable firsthand observation of their conduct, demeanor and attitude.... [The fact finder] is free to juxtapose conflicting versions of events and determine which is more credible.... It is the [fact finder's] exclusive province to weigh the conflicting evidence and to determine the credibility of witnesses.... The [fact finder] can ... decide what-all, none or some-of a witness' testimony to accept or reject." (Citation omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.)
State
v.
Colon
,
In July, 2015, the defendant and Moulson lived together, but no longer were involved romantically.
To the extent that the defendant claims the evidence was insufficient to sustain her conviction of § 53a-167 (a) because she sent the text message to a third party, Rajewski, and not the state trooper, Baker, we conclude that she abandoned such a contention as a result of an inadequate brief. "We are not required to review issues that have been improperly presented to this court through an inadequate brief.... Analysis, rather than mere abstract assertion, is required in order to avoid abandoning an issue by failure to brief the issue properly." (Internal quotation marks omitted.)
State
v.
Fowler
,
Neither Rajewski's cell phone nor the police report was admitted into evidence. Instead, the prosecutor used the police report to refresh Baker's recollection as to the text message conversation between the defendant and Rajewski.
Ultimately, our Supreme Court declined to reach these issues.
State
v.
Sabato
, supra,
In
State
v.
Aloi
, supra,
We note that the court instructed the jury that the tampering of a witness count applied either to Rajewski or Babcock. The defendant did not object to the court's charge. On appeal, the defendant claims that her right to due process was violated because the state's information did not charge her with tampering with Babcock. She further claims that the evidence was insufficient to sustain her conviction for violating § 53a-151(a) with respect to Babcock. In its brief, the state expressly conceded that it had not pursued a charge of tampering with a witness as to Babcock. With respect to the defendant's due process claim, the state argued that it failed under the third prong of
State
v.
Golding
,
"The term witness is broadly defined as any person summoned,
or who may be summoned
, to give testimony in an official proceeding .... General Statutes § 53a-146(6). The statutory scheme also includes a broad definition of official proceeding, that is, any proceeding held
or which may be held
before any legislative, judicial, administrative, or other agency or official authorized to take evidence under oath, including any referee, hearing examiner, commissioner, or notary or other person taking evidence in connection with any proceeding.... General Statutes § 53a-146(1)." (Emphasis in original; internal quotation marks omitted.)
State
v.
Ortiz
, supra,
In
State
v.
Pommer
, supra, 110 Conn. App. at 617,
On remand, the court must resentence the defendant as to this conviction. See
State
v.
Wade
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE of Connecticut v. Jasmine LAMANTIA
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published