Federal investigators are trying to figure out how a handgun once registered to the infamous Christopher Dorner ended up in the possession of suspected criminal tourists from South America.
How did law enforcement find the weapon?
Law enforcement recovered the handgun after investigating an armed robbery outside the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on August 7.
The suspects targeted a tourist wearing a $1 million Patek Philippe watch as he sat on the hotel restaurant terrace with his wife and two daughters, according to the affidavit released by the U.S. Justice Department.
Two suspects threatened the man with a gun and took his watch from his wrist. A getaway driver, later identified as Jamer Mauricio Sepulveda Salazar, a 21-year-old Colombian, then drove the armed suspects out of town in a Toyota Corolla.
United States Department of Justice
The Beverly Hills Police Department learned that the team was planning to head to the Arizona border after the robbery, according to Jena MacCabe, the assistant U.S. attorney in charge of the case.
Three days later, Blythe Police Department officers arrested two of the suspects, Jesus Eduardo Padron Rojas, a 19-year-old Venezuelan, and Sepulveda, along with another woman on I-10 near the California-Arizona border. Sepulveda told investigators they were traveling to Miami to meet a co-conspirator and get their cut of the stolen watch, according to the affidavit.
The Justice Department said the Chevrolet Equinox Sepulveda was driving at the time of his arrest was directly linked to a separate armed robbery in Beverly Hills on Aug. 5. Investigators said surveillance cameras captured the Equinox driving into an Airbnb in Los Angeles.
The same day that Blythe police arrested the alleged crew members, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica police raided an Airbnb where the two men had been staying. Inside, they found a .45-caliber Glock 21 pistol, which had been registered to Dorner.
MacCabe wouldn’t confirm that the gun linked to Dorner was used in the $1 million armed robbery. She added that security camera footage from the Airbnb shows Padron holding the same handgun days after the armed robberies. It was the only firearm investigators found in the rental.
Sepulveda was charged with one count of interference with commerce by theft (Hobbs Act). Rojas was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit theft under the Hobbs Act.
“We suspect they are involved in other armed robberies out of state,” MacCabe said.[Homeland Security] “We are working to obtain information from other police departments that are investigating the same robbery crew and co-conspirators.”
The Justice Department is trying to determine how the handgun came into Dorner’s possession.
“We’re still trying to figure it out,” MacCabe said. “We’re trying to figure out how this gun, which was so old, came into their possession and was connected to this string of violent armed robberies.”
Who is Christopher Dorner?
Dorner was the disgraced LAPD officer who became the focus of a manhunt in Southern California after posting a manifesto on Facebook outlining plans to kill the families of people he said wronged him.
Investigators have linked Dorner to the murders of an Irvine couple and two police officers in 2013.
The extensive search captivated everyone in Southern California, including law enforcement, especially after then-Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced a $1 million reward to obtain information leading to his arrest and conviction.
Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images
The manhunt led investigators to the San Bernardino National Forest after locals spotted his truck at the Big Bear Lake ski resort. After that breakthrough, law enforcement tracked Dorner to a mountain cabin that eventually caught fire after a violent shootout and standoff.
Inside the charred cabin, San Bernardino County officials found Dorner’s remains. The San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office later confirmed the identity of the remains. through dental records.
