- Petitioner
- People of the Philippine Islands
- Respondent
- Simeon Yusay
- Citation
- G.R. No. 26957
- Court
- Supreme Court
- Division
- Second Division
- Ponente
- Villa-Real, J.
- Decided
- September 2, 1927
Whether defendant's acts constituted theft or estafa, and variance between information filed and facts proven at trial
Summary
Simeon Yusay was charged with theft of diamond earrings worth P600. The facts showed he took pawn tickets from the owner's servant and redeemed the jewels by misrepresenting himself as the owner. The Court of First Instance convicted him of theft, but the Supreme Court reversed the conviction. The Supreme Court found that while Yusay committed both theft (of the pawn tickets) and estafa (redemption through deceit), the information charged theft of jewels, not tickets. Since the jewels were voluntarily delivered by the pawnshop through deceit rather than stolen, there was a fatal variance between the charges and proven facts. This violated Yusay's constitutional right to know the nature and cause of accusation. The Court acquitted him and ordered the prosecution to file a new information based on the actual proven facts. The case establishes important precedent on variance between information and proof in criminal cases.