GR 4486; (September, 1908) (Digest)
G.R. No. 4486
THE UNITED STATES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. ALFREDO REYES AND FORTUNATO DE LA CRUZ, defendants-appellants.
September 7, 1908
FACTS:
On August 27, 1907, in Olongapo, Zambales, a fight occurred between Chinamen and Filipinos. During this altercation, Chinaman Ching-Ching was fatally stabbed. The information charged Alfredo Reyes and Fortunato de la Cruz with assassination, alleging that they conspired: De la Cruz seized Ching-Ching from behind, holding his arms, while Reyes inflicted two mortal dagger wounds (in the throat and left shoulder), which caused Ching-Ching’s death within fifteen minutes.
The trial court found that De la Cruz, a strong man, indeed held Ching-Ching’s arms while Reyes stabbed him. Both accused denied participation; Reyes claimed an alibi, and De la Cruz admitted presence but denied knowledge of the killing, claiming he only threw sand at other Chinamen later. The prosecution’s eyewitnesses (Eng Ton and Lee He) corroborated the details of the killing. The Supreme Court dismissed a defense witness’s testimony as potentially biased and inconsistent with the timeline of events, noting that the stabbing occurred at the beginning of the fight.
The trial court convicted the accused of homicide, finding no aggravating or extenuating circumstances, and imposed a penalty of fourteen years, eight months, and one day imprisonment.
ISSUE:
Whether the crime committed by Alfredo Reyes and Fortunato de la Cruz was homicide or assassination, specifically, if the killing was attended by treachery (alevosia).
RULING:
The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the trial court and found Alfredo Reyes and Fortunato de la Cruz guilty of the crime of assassination.
The Court held that the acts of the accused constituted assassination because the killing was attended by treachery (alevosia). The evidence clearly showed that De la Cruz seized Ching-Ching from behind, binding his arms to his side, while Reyes simultaneously stabbed him with a dagger. This occurred at the very beginning of the fight, before a general melee ensued. The Court reasoned that the means employed by the accused “tended directly and especially to insure” against any risk arising from the victim’s potential defense, thereby qualifying the crime with treachery as defined in Article 10, Section 2 of the Penal Code. This circumstance brings the offense under the definition of assassination as penalized in Article 403 of the Penal Code.
Finding no other aggravating or extenuating circumstances, the Supreme Court sentenced Alfredo Reyes and Fortunato de la Cruz to imprisonment for life, jointly and severally pay one thousand pesos (P1,000) as civil indemnification to the heirs of the deceased, and pay their respective shares of the costs.