G.R. No. 1390 : January 19, 1904
THE UNITED STATES, complainant-appellant, vs. RAFAEL CERVANTES, defendant-appellee.

FACTS:
A complaint was filed charging Rafael Cervantes with the crime of brigandage under Act No. 518 . The trial court found the facts as proved but acquitted the accused, holding that the evidence did not sustain the allegation in the complaint that the band he belonged to was organized for the purpose of stealing personal property. The acquittal was issued without prejudice to a subsequent prosecution based on the facts established. The prosecution appealed, arguing that the testimony of witnesses Mateo de la Cruz and Regino de la Paz sufficiently proved the band’s intent to rob. Specifically, the witnesses testified that the band went house-to-house searching for effects and that they took chickens from village huts.

ISSUE:
Did the trial court err in acquitting the accused of brigandage on the ground that the evidence failed to prove the band was organized for the purpose of stealing personal property?

RULING:
Yes. The Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s decision. It held that the testimonies of the witnesses conclusively established that the band, of which the accused was a member, had robbery as its object. The acts of going to every house in search of effects and taking chickens constitute sufficient proof of the intent to steal personal property, which is an essential element of brigandage under Act No. 518 . Therefore, the facts set forth in the complaint were duly and sufficiently proved as constituting the crime. The Supreme Court sentenced Rafael Cervantes to twenty years of imprisonment and ordered him to pay the costs.