Argued
September 18, 2019
Procedural
History
Substitute
information charging the defendant with the crimes of
criminal possession of a firearm, criminal possession of
ammunition, carrying a pistol without a permit, stealing a
firearm, illegal receipt of a firearm, illegal possession of
a weapon in a motor vehicle and interfering with an officer,
brought to the Superior Court in the judicial district of
Waterbury, geographical area number four, and tried to a jury
before K. Murphy, J.; thereafter, the court granted
the defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal as to
the count alleging stealing a firearm; verdict and judgment
of guilty, from which the defendant appealed to this court.
Reversed in part; judgment directed.
Judie
Marshall, for the appellant (defendant).
Rocco
A. Chiarenza, assistant state's attorney, with whom, on
the brief, were Maureen Platt, state's attorney, and
David A. Gulick, senior assistant state's attorney, for
the appellee (state).
Lavine, Devlin and Harper, Js.
OPINION
DEVLIN, J.
The
defendant, Anthony E. Brooks, Jr., appeals from the judgment
of conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of illegal
receipt of a firearm in violation of General Statutes §
29-33 (b).[1] On appeal, the defendant asserts that
there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction of
that charge because the state did not prove when or how the
defendant received the firearm. We disagree with the
defendant's argument but conclude, for another reason,
that there was insufficient evidence to support the
defendant's conviction of illegal receipt of a firearm.
Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of conviction only on
this count and remand this case with direction to vacate the
conviction of this offense.[2]
As
relevant to this appeal, the jury reasonably could have found
the following facts. On September 9, 2015, the police
attempted to conduct a motor vehicle stop of the defendant
for his failure to obey a stop sign. After crashing his car
and fleeing on foot, the defendant was confronted by the
police and was seen tossing an object away from him. The
police recovered the object, which proved to be a Remington
Arms Model 1911 R1 .45 ACP handgun that had been reported
stolen on July 27, 2012.
Following
a jury trial, the defendant was convicted on November 30,
2016 of, inter alia, illegal receipt of a firearm in
violation of § 29-33 (b). The statute provides in
relevant part: ‘‘[N]o person may purchase or
receive any pistol or revolver unless such person holds a
valid permit to carry a pistol or revolver . . . a valid
permit to sell at retail a pistol or revolver . . . or a
valid eligibility certificate . . . or is a federal marshal,
parole officer or peace officer.'' General Statutes
§ 29-33 (b).[3] On appeal, the defendant argues that there
was insufficient evidence to support his conviction on this
count. We agree.
Although
the parties disagree as to the precise meaning of the word
‘‘receive'' in § 29-33 (b), both
agree that it means more than mere possession. At trial, the
state proved that on September 9, 2015, when the defendant
was found to be in possession of a firearm, he was
disqualified from receiving a firearm because he was a
convicted felon. The state, however, concedes that it did not
prove that the defendant was disqualified at the time that he
received the firearm, nor did it establish when the defendant
came into possession of the firearm. The state, therefore,
further concedes, and we agree after examining the record,
that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the
defendant violated § 29-33 (b).[4]
The
judgment is reversed only as to the conviction of illegal
receipt of a firearm and the case is remanded with direction
to vacate the defendant's conviction of that offense; the
judgment is affirmed in all other respects.
In this
opinion the ...