Case Name: People of Porto Rico, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Juan Ayala, Defendant and Appellant
Court: Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
Jurisdiction: Puerto Rico
Decision Date: 1930-01-23
Citations: 40 P.R. 459
Docket Number: No. 3968
Parties: People of Porto Rico, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Juan Ayala, Defendant and Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: Puerto Rico Reports
Volume: 40
Pages: 459–459

Head Matter:
People of Porto Rico, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Juan Ayala, Defendant and Appellant.
No. 3968.
Argued January 22, 1930.
Decided January 23, 1930.
Arturo Aponte, for appellant. A. B. Gómez, for appellee.

Opinion:
Me. Justice Wole
delivered the opinion of the court.
When the evidence tends to show that the defendant was riding in a truck with a pistol underneath his right thigh the court is justified in finding, not by circumstances but as a matter of direct evidence, that defendant was carrying the said pistol. The case of People v. Ramos, 34 P.R.R. 455 is distinct. A machete is an instrument in common use, independently of its being a weapon, and it was incumbent upon the government in that case to show that the defendant was actually carrying the machete or cane-lmife. The position in which the pistol was found — so close to the body of the defendant — established a prima facie case which the evidence of the defendant might have dispelled but did not. We find no error and the judgment should be affirmed.