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The three defendants received identical sentences in an Ensenada courtroom for homicide, aggravated robbery with violence and vehicle theft with violence, according to the Associated Press. Jesús Gerardo García, known as El Kekas, Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús were convicted a week earlier following a trial that lasted several weeks and featured testimony from the victims’ families. The case has drawn widespread attention for exposing risks to foreigners in a state that depends heavily on tourism.
The surfers were attacked on April 27, 2024, while camping at a remote beach in Punta San José roughly 80 kilometres from Ensenada, Reuters reported. Their bodies, showing gunshot wounds to the head, were later found in a well alongside the body of a local farmer, SBS News stated. Prosecutors described the incident as a botched robbery targeting the victims’ vehicle, with one stolen phone helping authorities locate the campsite that had been set on fire.
Parents Martin and Debra Robinson attended the proceedings from Australia and voiced their grief after the sentencing. Debra Robinson told the court that the murders had taken “the future we had imagined with them,” the BBC reported. Martin Robinson said the convictions represented an important step toward justice even though no verdict could restore their sons or Carter Rhoad, according to statements carried by The Guardian.
Baja California recorded 2,370 homicides in 2024 before the figure fell to 1,708 in 2025, a 28 percent drop in the daily average, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported citing state data. The state has ranked among Mexico’s top three for homicides in recent years, although most cases tie to illicit activities rather than tourist areas, the newspaper added. Attacks on visitors remain uncommon yet carry significant impact on the region’s reputation for surfing and wine-country travel.
The judge assigned 45 years per homicide victim for a total of 135 years on those counts, with 10 years and nine months added for the robbery and 13 years for the vehicle theft, Courthouse News Service explained. The men must also pay restitution of 1,098,728 pesos to the Robinson family and 549,550 pesos to Rhoad’s relatives. Defence lawyers announced they would appeal the verdict and penalties using every available resource.
An earlier separate trial sentenced García’s girlfriend to 20 years in prison after she admitted helping plan the robbery and reported that he had confessed to killing three foreigners, the Associated Press noted. The main trial included ballistic evidence linking one of the defendant’s guns to the scene even though not all weapons were recovered. The sentencing concludes a legal process that began with arrests days after the victims, all in their early 30s, went missing during what was meant to be a short surf excursion.
