State Of Connecticut v. Colon

778 A.2d 875 (2001)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Waterbury police received an anonymous telephone call alerting them to a possible homicide at an abandoned building. They discovered the bloody body of the victim who had been stabbed several times in the head, neck, arms, and torso, and also appeared to have been beaten about the head. A metal pipe and a small buck knife covered in blood and hair were discovered at the crime scene. The victim had 125 sharp force injuries and cuts and stabs over the head, the face, the front of the trunk, the back, and the arms and both legs. The victim also had defensive injuries, as though he had been attempting to protect himself from the blows. The wounds had been inflicted by the buck knife and the metal pipe discovered at the scene, and that another, much larger, weapon also had been used in the attack. An expert testified that the wounds were inflicted by a knife that was 'large . . . approximately eight inches long with a fat blade with a brass type of guard to it.' The victim had suffered a 'severe attack.' The 'assailant was swinging very, very violently at the victim,' and that the wall behind the victim showed signs of 'actual misses . . . [that occurred when] the assailant swung the weapon . . . against the wall . . . .' The victim bled to death over a period of time. Police identified the victim as Hector Police interviewed Kevin Soto and his girlfriend, Edith Santos, who appeared to have been acquainted with the victim. Ricci requested that the couple come down to the police station the next day to listen to a recording of the unidentified 911 caller. While Soto was at the station, Police realized that it was his voice on the 911 tape. Soto then admitted making the call and, after being issued a Miranda warning, disclosed his role in the crime and implicated D as the principal actor. D, after being issued a Miranda warning, admitted to the officers his participation in the murder. Police spoke to Soto a second time about the homicide and also interviewed Santos. Santos gave the police two different statements regarding the events of that day, one before and one after D was placed under arrest. Santos did not implicate D in the murder. She testified at trial that she had been afraid that D was still out on the street. Once she knew the D was in custody she disclosed everything she knew about the murder. She observed Soto leave the residence with the victim and then return about one half hour later. When Soto returned he was acting strangely. Soto revealed to her that he and D had stabbed the victim. When Santos arrived at her apartment and saw D, she could see that he was 'full of blood from head to toe.' D took a large 'sword' out of his sleeve and showed it to her. It also was covered in blood. Santos got D a garbage bag for his bloody clothes, while he showered and changed into clean clothes. She asked D if the victim was dead and he responded affirmatively. D deposited the bag of bloody clothes behind an abandoned building. When Soto and Santos parted ways with the D, they decided to call 911. Ivan Pagan testified that D came to his house and took a 'Pakistani sword' that he was holding for a relative. D returned approximately one hour later, in different clothes, and gave the sword back to him with a dent in the tip, covered in fresh blood and hair. D told Ivan Pagan that 'he [had] killed [Hector from] up the street.' Danny Pagan, Ivan Pagan's brother, testified that he saw D speak to Ivan Pagan on April 22, 1996. He observed D meet Soto up the street and then place the 'Pakistani knife' in his pants. When Danny asked D where he was going, D answered that he was going up the block 'on a mission' with Soto. Danny saw D return to their neighborhood and speak to his brother. Ivan later told Danny that D revealed to him that he had killed the victim. After speaking with the police, D approached Danny and told him that he and Soto had killed somebody with the sword, and he instructed Danny to move it from its initial hiding place. Danny moved the sword from the roof where his brother had hidden it, wrapped it in a black plastic bag and placed it in a nearby abandoned garage. D told the police that Soto, a member of the Latin Kings gang, told the D that the victim had 'disrespected the [Latin Kings] nation' and that they had to 'work him over.' D and Soto approached the victim and asked him if he wanted to smoke a 'blunt,' or a marijuana cigarette, in an abandoned building. D walked into the building before Soto and the victim, but turned around when he heard the victim say, 'Oh Kevin, why did you do that?' D turned around and saw the victim was holding his throat and a lot of blood was coming from the victim's throat. Soto had pushed the victim to the floor and shut the door. Soto passed him the knife and D stabbed the victim in the chest. When the victim resisted the attack, the defendant punched him and swung at him with the knife, while Soto beat him with a long metal bar. The victim was still moving when they left him. They went to the home of Santos where they cleaned the victim's blood off themselves and changed their clothes. D identified Soto as the other participant in the killing and described the murder weapon and the clothing he wore the night of the murder. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on all charges. D filed a postverdict motion for judgment of acquittal on the conspiracy charges because his sole alleged coconspirator had been acquitted of conspiracy in a separate trial after D's conviction but prior to his sentencing. D asserted that conspiracy requires a bilateral agreement and the acquittal of one conspirator necessarily precludes the conviction of the sole alleged coconspirator. The court held that evidence was lacking in Soto’s trial about when D said that they were 'going on a mission,' which the jury could have interpreted to be a conspiracy. The court denied the motion and D appealed.