Criminal Case Digest: People vs Oanis, 74 Phil 257 G.R. No. L-47722 July 27, 1943

People vs Oanis, 74 Phil 257
G.R. No. L-47722 July 27, 1943

Criminal Case Digest:
Digested Cases

Facts: As a group taking the route to Rizal street, Chief of Police Antonio Z. Oanis
and his co-accused Corporal Alberto Galanta were under instructions to arrest Anselmo Balagtas, a notorious criminal and escaped convict, and if overpowered,
 to get him dead or alive. Proceeding to the suspected house, they   went into a room and on seeing a man sleeping with his back towards the door, simultaneously fired at him with their .32 and .45 caliber revolvers, without firstmaking any reasonable inquiry as to his identity. The victim turned out to be a
peaceful and innocent citizen, Serapio Tecson who upon autopsy, multiple
gunshot wounds were found on his body which caused his death.

The defendants alleged and appealed that in the honest performance of their official duties, they acted in innocent mistake of fact.

Issue: Whether or not Chief of Police Oanis and Corporal Galanta were guilty of murder.

Ruling: New Rules of Court, Rule 109, Section 2 paragraph 2 provides, No
unnecessary
or unreasonable force shall be used in making an arrest, and the
person arrested shall not be subject to any greater restraint than is necessary for
his detention.
As the deceased was killed while asleep, the crime committed by
both was murder with the q
ualifying circumstance of alevosia. Even if it were true
that the victim was the notorious criminal, the accused would not be justified in
killing him while the latter was sleeping. In apprehending even the most notorious
criminal, the law does not permit the captor to kill him. It is only when the fugitive
from justice is determined to fight the officers of the law who are trying 



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