Yuma man Mauricio Robles sentenced to 25 years for fatal apartment stabbing

On March 7, 2026, a judge sentenced 33-year-old Mauricio (Elias) Robles to 25 years in prison after Robles pled guilty last month to second-degree murder and burglary in connection with a fatal stabbing at a Yuma apartment complex. The victim, a 54-year-old man, was found with multiple stab wounds and pronounced dead at the scene near Avenue A and First Street, according to reporting by AZFamily and KYMA.

Officers responded to the April 2025 scene and later arrested Robles after a tense containment, KYMA and AZFamily reported. Authorities say Robles ran to a nearby apartment, barricaded himself and claimed he was armed, then later attempted to flee through the back; officers used a taser to take him into custody, AZFamily said. KYMA reported Robles began serving his sentence Friday.

At his initial court appearance after the April 2025 arrest, Robles was facing three felony charges, including first-degree murder, and was being held on a $1 million bond, AZFamily reported. The subsequent guilty plea to second-degree murder and burglary resolved those earlier charges in court proceedings described by KYMA and the Original Report, which noted Robles pled guilty “last month” before the March 7 sentencing.

Neighbors at the apartment complex described the two men as next-door neighbors who were friends and “often hung out together,” AZFamily reported. Yuma Police Sgt. Lori Franklin, quoted in AZFamily, put the case in local context: “Most homicides that you see around Yuma are people who are known to each other. It’s very rare that you have somebody that is just a random homicide.”

Local reporting from KYMA and AZFamily provides the timeline and scene details used in court filings: April 2025 arrest after officers found the victim, the barricade and taser deployment during the arrest, an initial $1 million bond and the later plea to second-degree murder and burglary. The case drew attention because the victim and defendant were acquaintances living near Avenue A and First Street, underscoring Yuma police comments that such deaths most often involve people who know one another.

As of the March 7 sentencing, the Yuma Police Department’s investigation into the April 2025 homicide remained part of the public record in earlier reports, and local outlets KYMA and AZFamily carried the primary on-scene details and court updates.