Two South American men were charged with robbery Aug. 13 in the theft of a man’s $1 million watch as he sat with his family outside the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.
Jamer Mauricio Sepulveda Salazar, 21, of Colombia is charged with one count of interfering with commerce by robbery, a violation of the federal Hobbs Act because the crime occurred next to a major roadway, and one count of possessing a firearm during a violent crime.
Jesus Eduardo Padron Rojas, 19, of Venezuela, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery.
The robbery took place at about 6:40 p.m. Aug. 7, according to the Beverly Hills Police, as the victim was dining with his wife and twin 5-year-old daughters on the patio of the upscale hotel.
One of the suspects pointed a handgun at the victim and pulled back the slide to load a bullet in the chamber, while the other removed a silver Patek Philippe Nautilus watch from his wrist.
“Fearing for his and his family’s lives,” the victim let the suspect take his watch without a struggle, according to court documents submitted by Thomas Ferguson, a federal deportation officer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The hotel was forced to temporarily stop service and void charges for the customers who fled during the robbery, and has since adjusted its security operations.
The victim has submitted an insurance claim for the full value of the watch, according to court documents.
Authorities say video footage of the patio showed the crime took only two seconds. Both suspects fled the scene in a blue Toyota Corolla, according to authorities.
Security footage led law enforcement to search an Airbnb on Aug. 10 where the defendants were believed to be staying.
Photos of the stolen watch were found on both defendants’ phones, according to court documents.
Later that day, law enforcement in Blythe, California, were tipped off by Beverly Hills police to stop a Chevrolet Equinox on Interstate 10 headed toward the Arizona state line. Authorities said the officer identified the two men inside the vehicle as possible suspects in the watch robbery.
The vehicle was allegedly linked to an Aug. 5 armed robbery in Beverly Hills during which a $30,000 Rolex was stolen, according to federal prosecutors.
The case also took a bizarre twist when authorities searched the rental house and found a Glock 21 .45-caliber handgun that belonged to former Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Dorner. Dorner killed several Southern California law enforcement officers before killing himself in a standoff in 2013.
Federal authorities suspect the two men are members of a South American theft group, a designated transnational criminal organization made up of citizens from Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela who exploit the U.S. immigration system to enter the country for crime tourism, according to a court filing.
If convicted of the robbery charges, Salazar faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison. Rojas faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
“We will not accept violent crime perpetrated by organized crime groups that exploit the freedoms of our country,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, based in Los Angeles.
