Suspect In Beverly Wilshire $1M-Watch Holdup Pleads Guilty

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — One of two "crime tourists" accused of stealing a $1 million watch at gunpoint off a man's wrist at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel pleaded guilty Monday to a federal charge.

Jamer Mauricio Sepulveda Salazar, 22, of Colombia pled guilty to one count of interference with commerce by robbery, known as a federal Hobbs Act crime, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Sepulveda is due back in court for sentencing July 14. He faces "practically inevitable" deportation," according to his plea agreement obtained by Patch. His co-defendant, Jesus Eduardo Padron Rojas, 19, of Venezuela is set to face trial next month.

A mystery remains around how the two men came into possession of a handgun that police say was registered to Christopher Dorner, a notorious former Los Angeles police officer whose 2013 killing spree of officers and their loved ones set off one of the largest manhunt's in California history.

The robbery occurred Aug. 7 at around 6:40 p.m. when the victim was sitting with his wife and 5-year-old twin daughters on the patio of The Blvd restaurant at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, near Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive, Homeland Security Task Force Officer Thomas Ferguson wrote in court documents obtained by Patch.

One suspect approached the group and pointed a semi-automatic handgun at the victim and pulled back the gun's slide, chambering a round. While he held the victim at gunpoint and yelled in Spanish, the second suspect approached the man and removed the silver Patek Philippe Emerald Nautilus watch from his wrist, prosecutors said.

The victim, a U.K. citizen and United Arab Emirates resident who was a guest at the hotel, said he feared for his and his family's lives and let the suspect take the watch without a struggle, according to court documents

• Read more details about the case, including information on Dorner's former gun and how the two suspects were caught.