Guilty: 3 Men Convicted in Ensenada, Baja California, of Killing San Diego’s Jack Carter Rhoad and Australian Surfers Callum and Jake Robinson — Prosecutors Want 210 Years, but the State’s Max Is 60
A judge in Ensenada, Baja California, on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, found three men guilty of murdering San Diego-based American Jack Carter Rhoad and Australian surfer brothers Callum and Jake Robinson on a 2024 surf trip south of the city, CBS News and The Associated Press reported. Judge Raúl Hernández Arellano convicted Jesús Gerardo García, alias “El Kekas,” Irineo Francisco “N” and Ángel Jesús “N,” and will announce their sentences on Oct. 16, CBS reported.
What the judge decided
The three men were also found guilty of armed robbery and armed carjacking CBS News reported. The judge found they acted with premeditation and advantage over their victims (premeditación, alevosía y ventaja), according to an AFP report published Oct. 9 by Grupo Animal. The judge said he was ashamed the murders had happened in his country, ABC News (Australia) reported.
The Baja California prosecutor’s office asked for an “exemplary” sentence of 210 years for each man, CBS reported. AFP noted that the maximum prison term in Baja California is 60 years.
“Never be forgotten”
Debra Robinson shed tears as the verdict was read, AFP reported. Martin Robinson, the brothers’ father, said the ruling “represents a significant moment in our long and painful journey to seek justice for our beloved sons” and that, although no verdict could bring them back, the family hoped it was “an important step toward justice,” according to AFP. “They will never be forgotten,” he said.
AFP reported that Rhoad, 30, had played professional soccer in Guatemala and ran a clothing company in San Diego. Callum Robinson had moved to the U.S. to play lacrosse, and Jake Robinson was a doctor, ABC reported.
What the trial heard
The men disappeared at Punta San José in late April 2024, and their bodies were found in a well on May 3, CBS reported. Prosecutors said the victims were attacked while defenseless at their campsite, AFP reported. García’s ex-partner, Ary Gisell Silva Raya, who is serving 20 years after pleading guilty to robbery charges in November 2025, testified that García told her one of the men begged for his life, according to CBS and AFP. ABC reported that court documents link Irineo Francisco to the Sinaloa Cartel. Prosecutors described the killings as a robbery gone wrong, and the defense argued the evidence did not prove the case, ABC reported.
Travelers can follow the area on our Ensenada and Rosarito safety page.
Sources
- CBS News / The Associated Press: 3 men found guilty of killing American and Australian brothers on surfing trip in Mexico (Oct. 9, 2026)
- AFP, via Grupo Animal: Tribunal declara culpables a los tres homicidas de surfistas extranjeros en Ensenada (Oct. 9, 2026)
- ABC News (Australia): Mexican men guilty of murdering brothers Jake and Callum Robinson (Oct. 10, 2026, Australian time)
- Photos: AFP and Cuartoscuro, via Grupo Animal.
Reported Oct. 9, 2026, from CBS News/AP, AFP and ABC News (Australia). The three men have not yet been sentenced, and the account of the killings is the prosecution’s and witnesses’ as reported by those outlets. Outlets give slightly different ages for the Robinson brothers, so they are omitted here.