The handgun belonging to a notorious Los Angeles cop turned killer was recovered during an investigation into a $1 million armed robbery in Beverly Hills.
Two South American nationals, alleged members of a gang that preys on tourists in the Los Angeles area, were indicted Tuesday on charges they stole a Patek Philippe watch worth $1 million at gunpoint from a man dining with his family on the patio of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Aug. 10, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the Central California District announced. Reported.
Prosecutors said police were able to track where the suspect was staying from the 90210 hotel to an Airbnb in Exposition Park, about 10 miles away.
Police executed a search warrant at the property Saturday morning and found a handgun registered to mentally unstable former LAPD officer Christopher Dorner.
Dorner was notorious as a disgruntled ex-cop who shot and killed four people, including a fellow officer, and wounded three others in a targeted attack in 2013 that sparked a nine-day manhunt.
The case ended with Dorner’s suicide after a shootout with police at a cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains.
Before his murderous frenzy, Dorner Claimed He was wrongfully fired from his job as a Los Angeles Police Department officer and vowed revenge on police officers in a bizarre manifesto posted to Facebook.
Prosecutors said the Glock 21 .45-caliber handgun, once owned by the police killer, was found hidden in a pillowcase when officers searched his home.
It is unclear how the suspect obtained Dorner’s firearm or whether it was used during the Patek Philippe robbery.
Homeland Security Investigations, Beverly Hills Police and Blythe, California, Police are investigating, according to prosecutors.
Hours after searching the Airbnb, police stopped a Chevrolet Equinox for a traffic violation and arrested two armed robbery suspects, Jamar Mauricio Sepulveda Salazar, 21, and Jesus Eduardo Padron Rojas, 19.
Prosecutors said the SUV was also involved in a separate armed robbery in Beverly Hills on Aug. 5, in which a Rolex worth $30,000 was stolen.
“We will not tolerate violent crimes perpetrated by organized crime groups who exploit our nation’s freedoms,” said attorney Martin Estrada.
“Our number one mission is to protect our communities. Those who undermine public safety will be held accountable. We should all be grateful for the swift action of police, who apprehended the suspect before he caused further harm.”
Sepulveda, a Colombian national, was charged with one count of obstruction of commerce by robbery and one count of possession of a firearm with intent to facilitate a crime of violence, according to prosecutors.
Padron, a Venezuelan national, was charged with one count of conspiracy to robbery.
If convicted on all charges, Sepulveda could face life in federal prison.
If convicted of the conspiracy charge, Padron could face up to 20 years in prison.
Both defendants are scheduled to be arraigned in September in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
