GR L 5871; (December, 1910) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-5871
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. PEDRO DE LA CRUZ and FELIX SORIANO, defendants-appellants.
December 17, 1910
FACTS:
On the night of August 1, 1909, Sergeant Pedro de la Cruz, Felix Soriano, and Alejo Root (all Scouts) were searching for Primo Avedillo and Cirilo Enriquez, who they claimed had insulted Sgt. Cruz. After failing to find them at one house, they located Avedillo and others serenading. Alejo Root struck Avedillo on the mouth with his fist, prompting Avedillo to flee. Cruz, Soriano, and Root pursued him. Cruz and Soriano overtook Avedillo, held him fast, ill-treated him, and threw him to the ground. While Avedillo was incapacitated and held by them, Alejo Root arrived and stabbed him twice with a dagger (once in the stomach and once in the chest, with the latter wound piercing the heart, causing instant death).
The Court of First Instance convicted all three (Pedro de la Cruz, Felix Soriano, and Alejo Root) of homicide and sentenced them to seventeen years and four months of reclusion temporal. Only Pedro de la Cruz and Felix Soriano appealed the judgment.
ISSUE:
Whether Pedro de la Cruz and Felix Soriano are liable as co-principals for the crime of murder, despite Alejo Root being the one who inflicted the fatal stab wounds.
RULING:
Yes, Pedro de la Cruz and Felix Soriano are guilty as co-principals of the crime of murder.
The Supreme Court found that the killing was qualified by treachery (alevosía). Primo Avedillo, after being struck and running away, was pursued, overtaken, held fast, ill-treated, and thrown to the ground by Cruz and Soriano. While in this completely helpless state, he was stabbed to death by Root. The assailants employed means that directly and specially tended to insure the commission of the crime without any risk to themselves from the defense that the assaulted party might have made, as Avedillo had no chance to resist or defend himself. This establishes the crime as murder.
Regarding the appellants’ liability, the Court ruled that even though Alejo Root alone inflicted the fatal wounds, Cruz and Soriano were co-perpetrators. They acted together in common accord and with unity of purpose throughout the incident, from seeking out Avedillo to the final assault. Their active participation in catching, holding, and incapacitating Avedillo on the ground was indispensable. The Court stated that had they not held Avedillo, he might have escaped Root’s reach. Thus, their direct participation in restraining the victim made them equally culpable as co-authors of the murder.
The Court reversed the lower court’s judgment, sentencing Pedro de la Cruz and Felix Soriano, as co-authors of the crime of murder, to cadena perpetua, with accessory penalties, and to pay an indemnity of P1,000, jointly and severally with Alejo Root, to the heirs of the deceased.