G.R. No. L-2750: THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. SANTIAGO ALDOS, ET AL., defendants-appellants. (August 22, 1906)

FACTS:
The defendants-appellants were charged with robbery. The prosecution’s witnesses, Luis Catajay, Teodoro Catajay, and David Cervo, positively identified the defendants as among the perpetrators who stole three carabaos. The Constabulary pursued the robbers and, within twenty-four hours and approximately a day’s journey away, recovered the stolen property near the residence of the defendants.

ISSUE:
Whether the defendants are guilty of the crime of robbery (robo).

RULING:
Yes, the defendants are guilty. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but modified the penalties. The crime committed was robo en cuadrilla (robbery committed by a band). The Court held that objections to the sufficiency of the complaint could not be raised for the first time on appeal, as they were not presented in the trial court. The judgment was modified as follows: Santiago Aldos was sentenced to fourteen years, eight months, and one day of cadena temporal (temporal imprisonment), and the other appellants were sentenced to nine years of prision mayor (correctional imprisonment). In all other respects, the judgment was affirmed.