2 men linked to 'crime tourism' ring charged with $1 million watch theft in Los Angeles

Federal authorities have charged two men traveling to the United States from South America with stealing a $1 million watch from a Beverly Hills restaurant, alleging they were part of a “criminal tourism” ring.

The suspects allegedly stole the Patek Philippe at gunpoint on Aug. 7 from a man who was sitting with his wife and daughter at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel's terrace restaurant. One of the suspects pointed a gun at the man while the other removed the watch – a 5711/113p-001 Emerald Nautilus – from his wrist before fleeing in a getaway car, according to documents filed Tuesday in federal court in Los Angeles.

Three days later, police arrested the suspects – 21-year-old Jamer Mauricio Sepulveda Salazar of Colombia and 19-year-old Jesus Eduardo Padron Rojas of Venezuela – who were driving a different vehicle linked to an earlier armed robbery in Beverly Hills in which a $30,000 Rolex was stolen.

An affidavit attached to the criminal complaint says the suspects belong to a South American gang of thieves, a transnational criminal organization of citizens from countries such as Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. These groups often exploit the U.S. immigration system and make fraudulent claims to gain entry into the country, federal authorities said.

New York City has also seen numerous watch thefts in recent months. In some of these incidents, unknown assailants choked men until they lost consciousness and then ripped their watches off.

In the most recent theft on August 9, the victim was attacked in a subway station, according to the New York Police Department.

Last month, city police reported six more robberies dating back to March, some of them at upscale restaurants in Manhattan and Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

In June, a victim was robbed at gunpoint outside Carbone, a trendy Italian restaurant in Greenwich Village. Two men stole his $100,000 watch and then fled the scene on a motorcycle. In another robbery, three men were robbed at an outdoor restaurant in SoHo, where one of the attackers brandished a silver gun and stole watches valued at $40,000, $35,000 and $8,500.

The police are looking for several suspects in these incidents.

In the Los Angeles case, the criminals are said to have been monitoring the Patek Philippe for two weeks before striking. The victim and his family are British citizens living in the United Arab Emirates, court documents show.

If convicted on all counts, Sepulveda faces the statutory maximum sentence of life in a federal prison, while Padron faces up to 20 years in prison.

Authorities described the robbery as a form of “crime tourism” involving people living “nomadic lives” in Airbnbs and motels to avoid arrest after entering the U.S. They used fake IDs and aliases to conceal their identities and criminal pasts, court documents said.

Beverly Hills, where luxury boutiques line the streets, is a magnet for luxury shoppers and occasionally criminals.

Three men were sentenced to prison in 2022 for stealing a $500,000 Richard Mille watch at gunpoint from a street food stall at Il Pastaio restaurant in Beverly Hills. Two shots were fired during the robbery, one of which wounded a customer in the leg.