State v. Knight

In State v. Knight, 50 Conn. App. 109, 717 A.2d 274 (1998), the Court considered a nearly identical factual scenario to the one in the present case in which the defendant was charged with sale of narcotics and sale of narcotics within 1500 feet of a school. In that case, an officer using high-powered binoculars observed the defendant exchange a clear plastic bag containing a small white object for paper currency. The recipient of the package was arrested almost immediately thereafter and found to possess a clear plastic bag containing cocaine. The defendant was arrested approximately thirty minutes later. On appeal, the defendant challenged both the credibility of the officer and the sufficiency of the evidence, and we concluded with respect to the sufficiency claim that "the trial court properly determined that there was sufficient evidence from which a trier of fact reasonably could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crimes charged." Id., 113.