Conviction for burglary overturned due to inoperable gun.

This week the Connecticut Supreme Court overturned convictions for burglary and home invasion on the basis that the weapon used to commit the offenses, an air gun was inoperable at the time. The defendant broke into the home of an acquaintance carrying an air gun, which had duct tape over the handle and the empty chamber designed to hold a CO2 cartridge. It is undisputed that the gun could not fire in that condition.

The state introduced the testimony of an expert who indicated that if the tape was removed, and a proper CO2 cartridge placed in the chamber, the air gun could and would fire. The trial court accepted the guilty verdict on the basis that the gun was operable under Connecticut General Statutes Section 53a-3(6). On appeal the defendant claimed that the gun was not operable under the statute at the time of the offense.

Generally, a weapon may be considered operable whether it was loaded or unloaded at the time it was used in the commission of an offense. However, as the Supreme Court noted, a weapon cannot be considered operable if it is incapable of firing a shot, if properly loaded, in its current state. The weapon in questions in this case was not capable of firing a shot at the time it was used, even if it had been loaded. The requirement that the multiple layers of duct tape be removed, and a CO2 cartridge be installed sufficed to find that the weapon was inoperable.

The court was certain to limit its holding by stating “…we conclude that an air gun that has been modified so that significant effort must be expended before the weapon can be loaded and/or discharged is not a weapon that is readily capable of discharging a shot.” The court noted the time it would take to remove five strips of duct tape and insert a CO2 cartridge is significantly longer than unlocking and removing a trigger lock from a gun or loading a bullet or clip into a conventional gun. The court then reversed the defendant’s convictions and remanded the case back to the trial court for a new trial under a different legal theory.