GR 45211; (March, 1937) (Digest)
G.R. No. 45211 ; March 3, 1937
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. NEMESIO BORENAGA, RODOLFO JURIDICO, and JOSE SIRUELO, defendants-appellants.
FACTS
The accused were charged with robbery in an inhabited house for entering a Redemptorist convent at night, breaking open a locked cabinet, and taking items valued at P230. All three were recidivists, having been previously convicted of theft. Nemesio Borenaga pleaded guilty at arraignment. His co-accused, Rodolfo Juridico and Jose Siruelo, initially pleaded not guilty but changed their plea to guilty after the prosecution and defense had presented their evidence. The trial court sentenced each to an indeterminate penalty.
ISSUE
Whether the trial court erred in imposing the indeterminate penalty on the appellants.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court modified the penalties based on the correct application of mitigating and aggravating circumstances. The crime is robbery in an inhabited house under Article 299 of the Revised Penal Code. For Borenaga, his spontaneous plea of guilty prior to the presentation of evidence was a mitigating circumstance, offsetting one of the two aggravating circumstances (nighttime and recidivism). Thus, he was sentenced to an indeterminate penalty of six months and one day to three years, six months, and twenty-one days of prision correccional. For Juridico and Siruelo, their change of plea came after evidence was presented, so no mitigating circumstance applied. With two aggravating circumstances, each was sentenced to an indeterminate penalty of eight months to four years and two months of prision correccional. The appealed judgment was affirmed in all other respects.
AI Generated by Armztrong.