G.R. No. L-2315

FACTS:
The defendants, Macario Gandole and Leon Lovena, were convicted of vagrancy under Act No. 519 . The complaint alleged they associated with known thieves or ladrones and wandered about the country at unusual hours of the night. The evidence against Macario Gandole showed only that a band of ladrones came to his house while he was sick in bed and gambled there for about two hours. As to Leon Lovena, the evidence showed the same band went to his house and gambled there for about an hour. The witness testified the leader of the ladrones took the men from Lovena’s house to another house, but it was unclear whether Lovena was taken with them.

ISSUE:
Whether the evidence presented was sufficient to sustain a conviction for the crime of vagrancy under Act No. 519 .

RULING:
No. The Supreme Court, agreeing with the Solicitor-General, held the conviction could not be sustained. Mere presence in one’s own home when ladrones visited, without evidence of association or wandering at unusual hours, is insufficient to prove vagrancy. The judgment of the lower court was reversed, and the defendants were acquitted. Costs were to be borne by the government.