G.R. No. 137806 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. JOHN KENNETH DE GUZMAN AND JASPER DESIDERIO, ACCUSED, JOHN KENNETH DE GUZMAN.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, finding herein accused John Kenneth de Guzman y Baluyot guilty as principal of the crime of murder beyond reasonable doubt, he is hereby sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua , to indemnify the heirs of the victim in the amount of P75,000.00 as actual damages and to pay the costs of the proceedings." Hence, this appeal. [5] The Facts Version of the Prosecution In its Brief, [6] the Office of the Solicitor General relates the prosecution's version of the facts in this manner: "On March 15, 1997, at around 11:00 o'clock in the evening, while William Estrella y Kliatchko and his two brothers, Herminio, Jr. and [Leander], together with three others, were drinking beer and telling stories in front of Alicia Store, which is located at J. Buizon Street, Sto. Cristo, Baliuag, Bulacan, a scooter driven by accused Jasper Desiderio @ Jugi arrived and slowly passed by the group. Suddenly and without any provocation, appellant, the scooter's other passenger who was armed with a pistol, fired six (6) shots at the group. William, who was at that time standing and whose back was facing the road, was hit at the back portion of his left shoulder. Immediately thereafter, the scooter sped away. "Julius Silva, who was with William's group minutes earlier, and who was then walking home, heard gun shots coming from the direction of the Alicia Store. This prompted him to go back to the store and, in the process, he met appellant on board a scooter which was driven by another person whom Julius came to know as accused Desiderio. "Meanwhile, upon seeing William fall after having been shot by appellant, Leander lifted William and brought him to their house, which is located along the same street as the Alicia Store. On the other hand, Herminio, Jr., who had gone to the house ahead of Leander, informed their father that William was shot by appellant. This prompted the father to call up by telephone the Baliuag Police Station and report the shooting incident. Thereafter, PO1 Filemon Tomas was dispatched to the crime scene where he was able to recover a deformed slug. PO1 Tomas also went to the house of the Estrellas and even accompanied them in bringing William to the Carpa District Hospital at Baliuag, Bulacan. "Unfortunately, as the x-ray machine of the aforesaid hospital was out of order, William was brought to the Provincial Hospital of Bulacan at Malolos which, for lack of doctors who could treat William, referred William to the Jose Reyes Memorial Hospital in Manila, [where] William expired. x x x x x x x x x "[O]n the morning of March 17, 1997, SPO1 Celso Cruz of the Baliuag Police Station conducted further investigation of the shooting incident. From his interview of Herminio Estrella, Jr., SPO1 Cruz was able to prepare a sketch showing the relative positions of, among others, Herminio, Jr., Leander and William vi[s] a vi[s] appellant at the time the latter shot William while appellant was on board the scooter driven by accused Desiderio. L