People v.Lastra Sáez

93 P.R. 856
CourtSupreme Court of Puerto Rico
DecidedJanuary 27, 1967
DocketNo. CR-66-11
StatusPublished

This text of 93 P.R. 856 (People v.Lastra Sáez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v.Lastra Sáez, 93 P.R. 856 (prsupreme 1967).

Opinions

Mr. Justice Ramírez Bages

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Appellant Lastra Sáez was convicted of two offenses of burglary in the first degree. He was ordered to serve from one to four years in the penitentiary. The cases were tried jointly by the court after appellant waived his right to trial by jury. He assigns that said conviction was based on a confession he was induced to make when he was confronted with certain jewels and money obtained as a result of his illegal arrest and the illegal search of a package he was carrying. We do not agree, according to the evidence appearing in the record and the findings of fact inferred therefrom and which we set forth below:

On December 25, 1964 at 11:00 a.m. a telephone call came through at police station of the town of Naranjito, from the police of the town of Barranquitas. As a result of this call, policeman Zacarías Albino Ibarra, who was on duty in Naran-jito and who was at the station of that town when the call came, was ordered to detain automobile license plate No. PA-243-186. He was told “that in that car there was a person who was wanted for investigation; that Wilfredo Lastra Sáez was traveling in that car and the chauffeur was Cris-tóbal Colón”; and that “the police of Barranquitas wanted [858]*858Wilfredo Lastra Sáez.” Said policeman went to the entrance of the town of Naranjito to wait for the automobile to pass by. He testified that:

“At the outskirts of the town, at kilometer 6.5, I saw the automobile coming, I stopped the patrol car and ordered the vehicle to stop, when this young man [Lastra Sáez] who was traveling on the right-hand side . . . opened the door and darted out with the intention of running away and I jumped out of the patrol .car and I held him by the arm and stopped him.
“I told him to go with me to police station for investigation in relation to a burglary which occurred in Barranquitas..Right there I asked him whether he was carrying packages in the car and he denied it and then the chauffeur told me yes, that there was a package ....
“. . . and he himself [the defendant] accepted that it was a package containing clothes. He and the chauffeur opened the trunk and I searched and there was a large sum of money.
“There were dimes, nickels, half dollars, silver dollars, and two watches.”

On questioning by the prosecuting attorney as to whether he [the1 policeman] had talked to the defendant in relation to what he had seen in the package, the policeman replied:

“Immediately after I saw the package he told me it belonged to a certain Panchito, that he had taken it [he refers to the money] from the business of a certain Panchito, that now I know is Francisco Berrios.”
Prosecuting Attorney: “In addition to speaking to you about the money, did he say anything else ?”
Policeman: “That the watch belonged to Francisco, that it was in Francisco’s business. Also, the watch of a lady, whose name I cannot remember, she is in court now; that he had taken it away the same night that he took the money from that business.”

Once the policeman saw what was in the package, he proceeded:

“I took him to police station; I took the bag to police station and we-called the police of Barranquitas and told them that we [859]*859had detained the vehicle.. Then policeman, Pantaleón Quiles arrived and drove the two of us to Barranquitas.
“At police station in Barranquitas, as Panchito, Francisco Berrios, complained that there was money missing, policeman Pantaleón Quiles talked to him and he [the defendant] informed him that the money in bills ....
“What Wilfredo Lastra said to policeman Quiles in my presence in relation to the money which was missing in bills, because what I seized from him was the change in coins, was that the missing money was in possession of Wilfredo Lastra’s wife, and policeman Pantaleón Quiles went to the residence of defendant herein and brought the other amount of money which was missing.”

The trial judge ruled that the search of the package in question, as well as the search of appellant’s residence, were illegal and that the fruit of such searches was not admissible in evidence. On the other hand, he sustained that the defense could offer evidence as to whether the confession was induced by appellant’s confrontation with the money and the jewels mentioned.

On direct examination for the purpose of establishing that the confession was induced by the confrontation of Lastra Sáez with the money and the jewels, the latter testified:

“Yes, sir, I was induced to offer that testimony.”
“Why did you offer it?”
“I was induced because they showed me those objects that were taken from the car in which I was going home, and they showed them right in front of me and I testified upon seeing so many things, even some of my underwear inside that package, which I put into the package because I did not know anything about-that.”
“Did you testify induced by the objects that were shown to you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Was that the only reason for you-to testify that?”
“Yes, sir.”

[860]*860The prosecuting attorney, in his turn, asked:

“Then the policeman arrested you when you were traveling in the car and at that time he did not show you the jewels, you did not see them at any time?”
“No, sir.”
“You do not know where the policeman got the jewels, you did not see from where he got them, you do not know whether they were inside the trunk of the car?”
“In his testimony he says he took them from there?”

As to the jewels, defendant stated that he did not know to whom they belonged. On being questioned by the prosecuting attorney as to whether the jewels caused him some fear, defendant answered:

A. — “Sure, because they were involving me; they were trying to involve me.”
Q. — “Why did you let them involve you?”
A. — “Because I asked them to bring an attorney in order to testify and they refused and asked me and they did this to me on my face with a club.”
Q. — “And you offered your testimony because you asked for an attorney and they did not designate him ?”
A. — “They did not designate him.”
Q. — “Was that the reason?”
A. — “No, sir, because they showed me the jewels.”

The judge intervenes and asks the defendant:

Q. — “Say, sir, I want you to clarify -this for me: then, when the policeman searches the package, did he open it in your presence ?”
A. — “No, sir.”
Q. — “You do not know where the policeman opened the package ?”
A. — “At the police station in Naranjito, in a back room.” -

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Bluebook (online)
93 P.R. 856, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-vlastra-saez-prsupreme-1967.