At murder sentencing outside Minneapolis restaurant, victim’s family and killer express fear

Nacho was the center of his large family, which packed the Hennepin County courtroom. He was constantly on the phone and a best friend to his children, including his son Eddie, whose foot tapped anxiously as he gave his victim impact statement to the court. Eddie talked about their unbreakable bond, how when they got a bad meal they would throw chips in and laugh and say, “The chips were pretty good.” They played basketball and football and drove for hours just to be together.

“Sir. Robles,” Eddie said, looking at his father’s killer as he laced his fingers together and looked back, “you took my father, my best friend, my mentor from me.”

Before sentencing, Canario Robles was given the customary right to speak last.

He looked at the Orellana family, some of whom had said they were terrified of him, of his eventual release from prison, of what he might do to them and of his apparent lack of responsibility for his crime.

Canario Robles began to sob and said, “There is no letter I can write to explain the remorse I feel for that family.”

He said he didn’t care how much time he spent in prison; all that mattered was that they knew he was sorry. Canario Robles said he grew up without a father, that his uncle was killed with a gunshot to the head and that he will live every day forever with the “split-second” decision he made outside a Minneapolis nightclub. He said he dreams of Orellana every night. In those dreams he sees Orellana with his family and in the hospital. On the worst nights, he carries Orellana’s body in an attempt to restore his heartbeat.