158 Years Each: 3 Men Sentenced in Ensenada, Baja California, for Killing San Diego’s Carter Rhoad and Australian Surfers Callum and Jake Robinson — Defense Says It Will Appeal
A judge in Ensenada, Baja California, on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, sentenced three men to 158 years and nine months in prison each for the 2024 murders of San Diego-based American Jack Carter Rhoad and Australian surfer brothers Callum and Jake Robinson, ABC News (Australia), AFP and Infobae reported. Judge Raúl Hernández Arellano sentenced Jesús Gerardo, alias “El Kekas,” Irineo Francisco and Ángel Jesús, whose full names are withheld under Mexican law, a week after convicting them.
How the 158 years add up
The Baja California Attorney General’s Office (FGE) said the term breaks down into 135 years for aggravated homicide, 10 years and nine months for aggravated robbery with violence and 13 years for violent vehicle robbery, SanDiegoRed reported. Infobae reported that came to 45 years per victim. Prosecutors had asked for 210 years; AFP noted that Baja California’s maximum prison term is 60 years but did not explain how that limit will apply.
The judge said the crime was aggravated because the tourists were unarmed, were attacked at a remote spot at night, and the men had time to reconsider and went ahead anyway, ABC reported. The defense has said it will appeal and has 10 days to do so, according to ABC.
Accounts of the reparations differ. ABC reported the men were ordered to pay 1,980,728 pesos for the Robinson brothers’ murders and 549,550 pesos for Rhoad’s. SanDiegoRed, citing the FGE, reported 1,628,550 pesos for the three victims plus 19,542 pesos for funeral costs. Infobae reported the judge rejected the prosecution’s 1.9 million-peso request for stolen property because its value was not proven.
The families
Rhoad’s mother, Page, thanked the judge and said she was grateful the men would not harm anyone else, ABC and AFP reported. Debra and Martin Robinson followed the hearing by video from Melbourne and said in a statement that they were satisfied with the sentences, though “no sentence, no matter how long, will ever bring our beautiful boys back,” ABC reported.
The three victims were camping at Punta San José, south of Ensenada, in late April 2024; their bodies were found in a well on May 3, 2024. ABC has reported that court documents link Irineo Francisco to the Sinaloa Cartel. El Kekas’s ex-partner, Ary Gisell Silva Raya, is serving 20 years after pleading guilty in November 2025. Travelers can follow the area on our Ensenada and Rosarito safety page.
Sources
- ABC News (Australia): Killers each sentenced to 158 years’ jail over murders of Jake and Callum Robinson in Mexico (Oct. 17, 2026, Australian time)
- AFP, via Yahoo Noticias: Tribunal dicta sentencia de 158 años para asesinos de surfistas extranjeros en Ensenada (Oct. 17, 2026)
- Infobae: Condenan a 158 años de prisión a ‘El Kekas’ y sus cómplices por asesinato de surfistas en Ensenada (Oct. 17, 2026)
- SanDiegoRed: Condenan a 158 años de prisión a los asesinos de los surfistas extranjeros en Ensenada (Oct. 16, 2026)
- Photos: Baja California FGE handouts, via Reuters/Infobae and SanDiegoRed.
Reported Oct. 17, 2026, from ABC News (Australia), AFP, Infobae and SanDiegoRed. The defense has said it will appeal. Outlets differ on reparation amounts and on the Robinson brothers’ ages, so ages are omitted and each reparation figure is attributed.