People v Lopez; G.R. No. 104662; 16 Jun 1995; 245 SCRA 95

in Legal Chyme by

FACTS:
The police promptly arrested appellant seven months after he stabbed two people, one of whom died from his wounds. He was charged with and convicted of murder.

ISSUE(S):
Whether or not appellant may still question is warrantless arrest.

HELD:
NO. When accused-appellant was arrested and a case was filed against him, he pleaded not guilty upon arraignment, participated in the trial and presented his evidence. Appellant is thus estopped from questioning the legality of his arrest. It is well-settled that any objection involving a warrant of arrest or procedure in the acquisition by the court of jurisdiction over the person of an accused must be made before he enters his plea, otherwise the objection is deemed waived. He did not move for the quashal of the information before the trial court on this ground. Consequently, any irregularity attendant to his arrest, if any, was cured when he voluntarily submitted himself to the jurisdiction of the trial court by entering a plea of not guilty and by participating in the trial. Moreover, the illegal arrest of an accused is not sufficient cause for setting aside a valid judgment rendered upon a sufficient complaint after trial free from error.

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