One of two defendants linked to the armed robbery of a $1 million emerald-encrusted watch from a tourist sitting on the patio of a restaurant at Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel pleaded guilty this week to a federal charge.
Jamer Mauricio Sepulveda Salazar, 22, of Colombia entered a plea in downtown Los Angeles to one count of interference with commerce by robbery, known as a federal Hobbs Act crime, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Sentencing is scheduled for July 14. A co-defendant, Jesus Eduardo Padron Rojas, 19, of Venezuela currently faces trial next month.
It remains a mystery as to how the defendants came into possession of a handgun registered to Christopher Dorner, a former LAPD officer who killed four people before dying at the end of a standoff with police 12 years ago.
The suspected robbers are believed to be part of a “crime tourism” group composed of foreign nationals who travel to the United States to engage in high-value theft. The robbery on the afternoon of Aug. 7, 2024, targeted a watch worn by a British tourist sitting with his wife and two daughters on the patio of the hotel cafe.
Prosecutors said one of the suspects approached and pointed a black semi-automatic handgun at the victim and pulled back the slide of the handgun, chambering a round. While the first suspect held the victim at gunpoint, the second suspect approached and snatched the silver Patek Philippe watch, estimated to be worth $1 million, from the victim’s wrist, prosecutors said.
The watch was later recovered in Miami following an investigation into a separate watch theft that took place in Florida months earlier. Both suspects then left the scene and eventually entered a blue Toyota Corolla, with Sepulveda allegedly serving as the getaway driver, according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at an Airbnb in Exposition Park where the defendants were reported to have stayed. During the search, officers found a Glock handgun registered to Dorner. Later that day, authorities conducted a traffic stop on a Chevrolet Equinox and identified Sepulveda and Padron inside the vehicle, according to court papers.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office believes the Equinox was involved in a previous armed robbery in the 400 block of Doheny Road in Beverly Hills on Aug. 5, 2024, during which a $30,000 Rolex was stolen.
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