New details are emerging about the arrests in a $1 million watch theft in Beverly Hills, and how the investigation turned up a shocking twist involving a gun that once belonged to Christopher Dorner ending up in the hands of a Venezuelan gang.
"They're coming and they're like ghosts," said former FBI special agent Bobby Chacon in reference to South American theft groups.
They're described as crime tourists who come to the U.S. to rob and steal before fleeing back to South America.
One of the latest victims lost a $1 million watch while his wife and 5-year-old twin daughters watched the armed robbery earlier this month. The suspects were identified as Jamer Mauricio Sepulveda Salazar, 21, of Colombia and Jesus Eduardo Padron Rojas, 19, of Venezuela.
An investigation into the armed robbery of a $1 million watch in Beverly Hills took a bizarre twist when authorities turned up a handgun that once belonged to cop killer Christopher Dorner.
Investigators say Rojas held the victim at gunpoint during the robbery, according to the federal complaint. The same complaint states that the suspects robbed someone else of a $30,000 watch, just days earlier.
The U.S. The Department of Justice says the perpetrators were caught on camera and arrested over the weekend.
On Aug. 10, law enforcement conducted a warrant search at the Airbnb where the suspects were believed to be staying. Among other items, they discovered a handgun that had been registered to Dorner.
Dorner was the former LAPD officer who went on a murderous vendetta against law enforcement in 2013 before he died in a fiery standoff in the San Bernardino Mountains.
It was ten years ago this week that fired LAPD officer Christopher Dorner went on nine-day rampage as he sought revenge on the department.
"Christopher Dorner had it in 2013... somehow, it was either stolen or he sold it back then and it made its way through probably many, many different hands. It's anybody's guess how many times this weapon has been used in robberies and killings," Chacon said.
How they came to be in possession of the Dorner handgun remains unclear.
Interim LAPD Chief Dominic Choi told reporters Thursday that the gun was not a service weapon and was not owned by the police department.
Meanwhile, Chacon said there are more criminals like them and people should take heed.
"This is very, very serious. These groups are very serious and it's only going to get worse over time until we get a hold of the border situation. These people come from third-world countries where they do not treat crime the same way," he said.
"They move around, from Texas to California, to somewhere else, and because they don't have any kind of trail to follow - any kind of documents or anything - they can get away with it."
Salazar is charged with one count of interference with commerce by robbery and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Rojas is is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery.
Both are expected to be arraigned next month. If convicted, they face between 20 years and life in prison.
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