Antiquera v. People

Summary

George Antiquera was charged with illegal possession of drug paraphernalia under RA 9165. Police officers conducting patrol duty saw men fleeing a house, approached and peeked through a partially opened door, observing accused and his partner in apparent drug session. Officers entered without warrant, arrested both, and seized drug paraphernalia that tested positive for shabu traces. RTC and CA convicted based on valid warrantless arrest theory. Supreme Court reversed, ruling the arrest was illegal since no crime was plainly visible requiring officers to push door open to observe. The illegal arrest rendered subsequent search and seizure invalid, making seized paraphernalia inadmissible as evidence. Since the paraphernalia constituted the corpus delicti, the court acquitted accused for lack of admissible evidence. The case establishes important precedent on limitations of warrantless arrests and the exclusionary rule for illegally obtained evidence.