Case Digest (G.R. No. 199271)
Facts:
In People of the Philippines vs. Jehar Reyes (G.R. No. 199271, October 19, 2016), the accused-appellant, Jehar Reyes, was charged with violating Section 5, Article II of Republic Act No. 9165 (the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) for allegedly selling three heat-sealed plastic packets containing white crystalline substance (total weight 1.44 grams) to poseur buyers PO2 Jesus Rudson Villahermosa and PO1 Januario Miro on November 27, 2002 at around 2:00 p.m. in Sitio Cayam, Barangay Ward I, Tiber, Minglanilla, Cebu. The buy-bust team, led by Senior Police Inspector Arnel Banzon, secured marked buy-bust money amounting to P1,000.00 and recovered two additional packets from Reyes upon frisking. The items were marked “JR-B,” “JR-1,” and “JR-2” at the police station and submitted for laboratory examination, which confirmed the presence of Methamphetamine Hydrochloride. Reyes pleaded not guilty; the Regional Trial Court (RTC) convicted him on March 9, 2007, sentencing him toCase Digest (G.R. No. 199271)
Facts:
- Charge and operative facts
- On November 27, 2002, at around 2:00 PM in Sitio Cayam, Brgy. Ward I, Tiber, Minglanilla, Cebu, PO2 Jesus Rudson Villahermosa and PO1 Januario Miro, acting as poseur-buyers, approached accused Jehar Reyes’s residence for a buy-bust operation.
- Reyes allegedly sold one plastic pack of white crystalline substance (later marked “JR-B”) to the poseur-buyers for ₱1,000.00; upon arrest and frisk, two additional packs (“JR-1” and “JR-2”) were recovered from his person. The total weight of the three packets was 1.44 g.
- Prosecution and defense versions
- Prosecution witnesses (Villahermosa, Miro, Insp. Arnel Banzon, P03 Marlon Lumayag, Jude Daniel Mendoza) recounted surveillance, the buy-bust transaction, immediate arrest, marking of the seized packs, submission for laboratory testing (Chemistry Report No. D-2390-2002), and positive results for methamphetamine hydrochloride.
- Defense witnesses (the accused and neighbor Cesar Canada) denied any sale: Canada testified that police illegally entered without a warrant while Reyes was asleep, found no money or shabu during the search, and forcibly brought Reyes away; no buy-bust transaction occurred.
- Lower court decisions
- RTC (Branch 10, Cebu City) on March 9, 2007 convicted Reyes of illegal sale under Sec. 5, Art. II, RA 9165, sentencing him to life imprisonment and ₱500,000 fine; ordered confiscation and destruction of the shabu packets.
- CA on June 13, 2011 (CA-G.R. CEB CR-H.C. No. 00792) affirmed conviction, holding that (a) the sale transpired, (b) the corpus delicti was properly marked and preserved, and (c) the chain of custody was unbroken despite minor procedural deviations.
Issues:
- Whether the Court of Appeals erred in affirming Reyes’s conviction for illegal sale of dangerous drugs under Sec. 5, Art. II of RA 9165.
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)