Three men get 158 years for killing surfers in Ensenada
A Baja California judge handed down the sentence a week after the verdict in the April 2024 killings; the defense said it will appeal.
A judge in Ensenada, a port city on the Pacific coast of Mexico's Baja California state, sentenced three men on Friday, Oct. 16 to 158 years and nine months in prison each. They were convicted of killing Australian brothers Callum and Jake Robinson and their American friend, Jack Carter Rhoad, ABC News Australia reported. The guilty verdict came seven days earlier.
The convicted men are Jesús Gerardo (alias "El Kekas"), Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús. ABC gives only their first names. According to Al Jazeera, the sentence covers three crimes: homicide, armed robbery and armed vehicle theft. The Baja California state prosecutor's office had asked for 210 years per defendant, which it described as an "exemplary sentence."
The attack took place in April 2024, when the three were traveling to surf. Their disappearance was reported because they never arrived at their lodging, and their bodies were later found in a well on remote land. For prosecutors, it was a robbery that ended in murder. The defense argued the evidence was not enough. The lawyers have 10 days to appeal and said they will.
Martin Robinson, the brothers' father, called the verdict "a significant moment" in his family's "long and painful journey to seek justice." Antonio Otáñez, who heads the Baja California surfers' association, said "justice has been served." Debra and Martin Robinson said they were satisfied with the sentences.
The case drew wide coverage in Australia and the United States. The date of the appeal hearing has not been announced.
