The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal of accused-appellant Danny Rose y Daza and affirmed in full the Court of Appeals Decision finding him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of two distinct special complex crimes: robbery with homicide and carnapping with homicide. He was sentenced to reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole for each offense.
The Case
Rose and his co-accused, Amesto Cornillo, were charged with robbery with homicide before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Bacolod City. According to the Information, on or about August 6, 2011, in the City of Talisay, Negros Occidental, both accused, armed with a stone and a bladed weapon, took the wallet, collection money, and tricycle of Dexter John Linogon y Arevalo, a 17-year-old minor, with a total amount of PHP 60,400.00. By reason of the robbery, they attacked, stabbed several times, and hammered with a stone the head of Dexter, causing his death.
Cornillo remained at large. Rose pleaded not guilty and trial ensued. The prosecution presented three witnesses: eyewitness Scott Teodoro y Arevalo, investigating officer Senior Police Officer III Santiago B. Cabangal, and Dexter's father, Dominador Linogon y Jusayan.
Teodoro, a tricycle driver, testified that on August 6, 2011, at around 3:30 p.m., he saw Dexter operating his tricycle with Rose seated behind and Cornillo in the sidecar. Hearing cries for help, he stopped and saw Rose repeatedly stabbing Dexter with a knife while Cornillo struck Dexter's head several times with a large stone. After Dexter fell, the two took his wallet and money and fled using Dexter's tricycle. Teodoro said he personally knew both accused as fellow tricycle drivers.
Dominador testified that his son failed to return home that evening. The next morning, he identified his son's remains at Manapla Funeral Homes, noting Dexter had sustained 16 stab wounds. SPO3 Cabangal conducted an ocular inspection and confirmed that the recovered motorcycle had been abandoned and stripped of its sidecar. Rose was arrested on May 8, 2012 in Barangay Malingin, Bago City. In his defense, Rose denied the accusations and invoked alibi.
The RTC convicted Rose of robbery with homicide. On appeal, the Court of Appeals affirmed that conviction and additionally found him guilty of carnapping with homicide, holding that the Information effectively charged both special complex crimes.
The Issue
The question before the Court was whether Rose was properly convicted of both robbery with homicide and carnapping with homicide based on the facts and the charge in the Information.
The Ruling
The Court affirmed the conviction for robbery with homicide and also sustained the conviction for carnapping with homicide, finding the requisites of both special complex crimes established beyond reasonable doubt. The dispositive portion reads: "ACCORDINGLY, the appeal is DISMISSED. The June 26, 2024 Decision of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR-HC No. 04505 is AFFIRMED in toto."
Rose was found guilty of robbery with homicide under Article 294(1) of the Revised Penal Code and sentenced to reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole. He was also found guilty of carnapping as defined and penalized by Republic Act No. 6539, as amended by Republic Act No. 7659, with homicide, and likewise sentenced to reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole.
By the Numbers
- August 6, 2011 — date of the crime
- PHP 60,400.00 — total value of the wallet, collection money, and tricycle taken
- 17 years old — age of victim Dexter John Linogon
- 16 stab wounds — sustained by the victim
- May 8, 2012 — date Rose was arrested in Barangay Malingin, Bago City
- For robbery with homicide: PHP 100,000.00 civil indemnity, PHP 100,000.00 moral damages, PHP 100,000.00 exemplary damages, PHP 50,000.00 temperate damages
- For carnapping with homicide: PHP 100,000.00 civil indemnity, PHP 100,000.00 moral damages, PHP 100,000.00 exemplary damages
- 6% per annum — legal interest on all monetary awards from finality until full payment
The Court's Reasoning
The Court found that the occurrence of homicide was conclusively demonstrated by Dexter's Certificate of Death and the Post-Mortem Examination, which revealed he died of "acute blood loss secondary to multiple wounds in the head, neck, chest and abdominal area." The killing was committed by reason of and on the occasion of the robbery, satisfying the fourth element of that special complex crime.
On carnapping with homicide, the Court held that the accused unlawfully took the tricycle without the consent of Dexter or its owner; that intent to gain was manifest in their fleeing with the stolen tricycle, later recovered after being sold to a third party; that the taking was accomplished through the fatal assault; and that Dexter was killed in the course of the unlawful taking. These satisfied the requisites of the special complex crime.
The Court noted the special aggravating circumstance of minority attended both offenses, as Dexter was only 17 years old at the time of his death. By reason thereof, the imposable penalty for each offense should have been death, but pursuant to Republic Act No. 9346, the proper penalty is reclusion perpetua without eligibility for parole. Following People v. Jugueta, the Court set the damages for each offense, and following People v. Racal, temperate damages may be awarded where proven actual damages are less.
Source: Supreme Court Decision, G.R. No. 276965.
This report summarizes a public Supreme Court decision and is not legal advice.