Two teenagers who held up nine pedestrians at gunpoint from La Jolla to Hillcrest were sentenced Dec. 10 to 21 and 13 years in prison respectively, but two robbery victims told the judge the sentences were too harsh. Victor Ledesma, 19, received 21 years and four months, and Jonah Michael Ledesma, 18, got 13 years from San Diego Superior Court Judge Timothy Walsh. The comments by William Brandler, a post-doctoral fellow and an autism researcher at UCSD, and William Blumenfeld, a student, surprised Walsh, because he said most victims want greater sentences. Victor and Jonah Ledesma, who are not related, must serve 85 percent of their sentences, said Deputy District Attorney Jim Koerber. Brandler and Blumenfeld said their lives were not significantly altered by the Jan. 23 robberies. “They’re kids,” said Blumenfeld. “You are in a unique category,” said the judge to the defendants. “You’re forgiving. It’s only by pure luck that nobody was injured… or killed when they’re putting guns into people’s faces.” Walsh could have sentenced Victor Ledesma to 42 years and Jonah Ledesma to 24 years. They received extra years for personal use of a gun during the robberies. They pleaded guilty to eight robberies, one attempted robbery, auto theft, evading officers with reckless driving and conspiracy to commit robbery, which started late on Jan. 22 and went into the early morning hours of Jan. 23.
Both men were fined $11,033 and given credit for serving 370 days in jail. A restitution hearing will be held later.
Victor Ledesma’s sentence was longer because he has Juvenile Court convictions for robbery, attempted robbery, residential burglary, grand theft and auto theft, said Koerber. The spree started at First and Pennsylvania avenues in Hillcrest when a man was robbed at gunpoint and knifepoint. Victor and Jonah Ledesma later robbed people on La Jolla Boulevard near Nautilus Street and Neptune Place in La Jolla, according to court records. The bandits also robbed people near the Ingraham Street bridge. Police officers chased them in Mission Beach to the Point Loma area, where they and two minors were arrested. Jonah Ledesma was 17 when the robberies occurred but has since turned 18. He was ordered to stand trial as an adult.