Infamous LA officer’s gun found in $1 million watch robbery case
LOS ANGELES — A gun registered to notorious Los Angeles cop Christopher Dorner was found in the Airbnb of two men accused of stealing a $1 million watch in Beverly Hills, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.
Detectives discovered the weapon on Aug. 10 after connecting the rental to a vehicle involved in another theft in Beverly Hills, authorities said. One of the suspects, Jesus Eduardo Padron Rojas, a 19-year-old Venezuelan citizen, told police he had held the gun and left it at the Airbnb, authorities said. The weapon is registered to Dorner, who killed four people in 2013.
Jamer Mauricio Sepulveda Salazar, a 21-year-old Colombian citizen, and Padron were part of a “crime tourism” group that stayed at the rental home, authorities said. The gun was found in a pillowcase on a bed where a witness told police Padron had slept, according to a sworn statement.
Sepulveda and Padron were arrested in their vehicle on Tuesday and charged with felonies related to armed robbery.
Authorities are investigating how the killer officer’s gun ended up in the men’s possession, Justice Department spokesman Ciaran McEvoy said. Dorner, who felt wronged by the LAPD when he was fired, killed the daughter of a former LAPD captain and her fiancé, as well as two others over a nine-day period in 2013 before dying in a dramatic confrontation with police.
Sepulveda and Padron told detectives they were involved in the armed robbery of a $30,000 Rolex on Aug. 5 in Beverly Hills and, two days later, the watch estimated to be worth more than $1 million, the affidavit said.
One suspect pointed a gun at a man sitting with his wife and two daughters on the patio of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel restaurant while the other removed the silver Patek Philippe watch from his wrist, the affidavit said. The crew had been monitoring the luxury watch for two weeks, Sepulveda told police.
The two men told investigators they were staying at the Airbnb building and had photos of the stolen Patek Philippe watch on their phones.
Prosecutors say members of these criminal tourism groups “lead a nomadic lifestyle to avoid police capture, including staying in Airbnbs and money-driven motels.”
Sepulveda and Padron are both in custody and made their first court appearances on Tuesday. They are scheduled to appear in federal court in downtown Los Angeles next month.